When the Scotsman Stuart Braithwaite founded his band Mogwai, he was still a teenager. Exactly 25 years ago, the group recorded their first single. A lot of water has flowed down the Clyde since then. Their tenth studio album, As The Love Continues, is far more than an anniversary work.
One of the great things about Glasgow band Mogwai is that they are one of the few institutions in rock music from which no album, regardless of period, sounds stale or dated. For "As The Love Continues", the latest work of the four Scots, the formula "Everything the same and yet everything new" therefore applies once again. In the interview, guitarist and singer Stuart Braithwaite talks about the special production conditions in Corona times and possible future collaborations
eclipsed: You're affected by Brexit as a Scot, and in lockdown too. What does that mean for you as a travelling musician?
Stuart Braithwaite: If only I was a travelling musician again ... The situation really sucks. On the other hand, I have to admit that younger musicians and bands are certainly more affected by the lockdown than I am. For me, it's significantly more paperwork in the first place. However, it's also terrible for us to have a wonderful new album in our luggage and not be able to go on tour with it. At least we are in the same boat as everyone else. When there are regular concerts again someday, I hope that people will really appreciate it. I myself was sometimes too tired to go to any concerts in the past and put up with missing out on a lot. I'm sure that won't happen to me anymore.
eclipsed: But at least you have a new album under your belt. For me "As The Love Continues" sounds like a "Best of 25 years Mogwai". It includes all the stations you have gone through and everything that Mogwai can be. It's like a play about yourselves.
Braithwaite: I would agree with that. We definitely didn't plan it that way. It just kind of happened. But of course all the different things we've been through musically over the years are part of our DNA
eclipsed: On most of your albums you occupy a certain terrain. This time you go in all directions at once. How did that come about?
Braithwaite: I really have no idea. Three of us write music. We probably just all composed very different songs. Barry Burns usually writes on synthesizer, but this time at least one of his songs was on guitar. I write my songs on guitar, but this time some of them sound much more structured than usual. In the end, our different takes on the new album came together happily.
