Mogwai (band)

Mogwai
Mogwai at the Royal Festival Hall in 2014. (l-r) John Cummings, Luke Sutherland, Barry Burns, Martin Bulloch, Dominic Aitchison, Stuart Braithwaite
Background information
Origin	Glasgow, Scotland
Genres	Post-rock
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Rock Action, Sub Pop, Chemikal Underground, Matador, Play It Again Sam, Rocket Girl
Associated acts	Crippled Black Phoenix, Minor Victories
Website	www.mogwai.co.uk
Members	Stuart Braithwaite Dominic Aitchison Martin Bulloch Barry Burns
Past members	Brendan O'Hare John Cummings

Mogwai (/ˈmɒɡwaɪ/) are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). The band typically compose lengthy guitar-based instrumental pieces that feature dynamic contrast, melodic bass guitar lines, and heavy use of distortion and effects. The band were for several years signed to Glasgow label Chemikal Underground, and have been distributed by different labels such as Matador in the US and Play It Again Sam in the UK, but now use their own label Rock Action Records in the UK, and Sub Pop in North America. The band were frequently championed by John Peel from their early days, and recorded seven Peel Sessions between 1996 and 2004. Peel also recorded a brief introduction for the compilation Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996–2003.

Stuart Braithwaite and Dominic Aitchison met in April 1991, and four years later formed Mogwai with old schoolfriend Martin Bulloch. The band are named after the creatures from the film Gremlins, although guitarist Stuart Braithwaite comments that "it has no significant meaning and we always intended on getting a better one, but like a lot of other things we never got round to it." 'Mogwai' means "evil spirit" or "devil" in Cantonese (Chinese: 魔鬼; pinyin: móguǐ; Jyutping: mo¹gwai²; IPA: mɔ˧˥ kueɪ˨˩˦). The band debuted in February 1996 with the "Tuner"/"Lower" single and by the end of the year they received 'single of the week' from NME for "Summer", a feat repeated early in 1997 with "New Paths to Helicon". After playing a few shows the band expanded with the introduction of John Cummings on guitar, and Teenage Fanclub drummer Brendan O'Hare joined whilst they recorded their début album Mogwai Young Team.