We chat to Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai

After 2025 marked 30 years since their formation, Scottish post-rock pioneers Mogwai have become ingrained into the canon of modern British music with 11 studio albums, nine live albums, and having performed the scores of multiple films and TV series. Coming after the likes of Primal Scream, Jesus and Mary Chain and Teenage Fanclub, they were a new breed of Scottish band that subverted the mainstream culture of hedonism, epitomised by Britpop, and carved out a musical path that was raw, honest; never shying away from music’s challenging aspects. The Glaswegian outfit were the first ones to give post-rock a whirl on British shores, whilst bands such as Slint, Godspeed! and Tortoise showcased the genre from the other side of the Atlantic. 

The genre, known for its extreme technical proficiencies and lengthy compositions, isn’t for everyone. But following up on their previous LP, As The Love Continues… which saw them go to number one in the album charts and receive a Mercury prize nomination, Mogwai are back with The Bad Fire... and back on tour for the first time since 2023. This upturn in popularity just might be the key to unlock post-rock as a genre not to be scared of, not something reserved for “musos” in their ivory tower of smugness. 

After some nerve-wrecking technical difficulties, eventually, we managed to grab a quick chat with Stuart Braithwaite...

First of all, congratulations on the latest record, another well received one at that. How did it all come about, and what happened between As The Love Continues…?

Yeah, it was a pretty turbulent time, to be honest. Of course, during the pandemic, we had no live music, or we couldn’t play any live music, so it was difficult that we couldn’t tour the last record when it came out. And then, Barry [Burns - the band’s keyboard player]'s daughter got seriously ill, so there was a lot going on. It was all very difficult. It wasn’t until we got back into the studio and started recording the songs that it all went great from there, but everything leading up to that was pretty horrendous.

Yeah. I can imagine. From what I remember from that time when As the Love Continues… was released in early 2021, it was a saviour for me in some ways. It was the thick of lockdown and it was during that horrible winter when we were all put into tiers. I really enjoyed it and it helped me through a lot of things at that time. Were you surprised at the effect that it had on people during that time?

Thank you so much. Yeah we were as there were a lot of things happening to us that had never really happened before so it was all pretty weird, to be honest. It was all good fun though, really nice to have that level of appreciation.

Well that’s really good, because I know you guys have had a very core fan base over the time you’ve been together, so it must have been a shock to see you attract a different audience; certainly a more popular one at that. What do you think? 

Yeah, I think so. I think that if there’s one thing people like about our band, is that we play varied pieces of music that people seem to be more open to. And I think people feel like we are one of the only bands that are like that and they are open to seeing, which is always nice.

That's interesting, especially as, generally speaking, people see post-rock as a genre associated with American bands, and I suppose, even though you’re well established, you will always gain new fans who are curious about the genre.

Yeah, definitely, I mean, when we started, we were influenced by a lot of American bands and some British ones, too. There was a really good scene at that point with bands like Sonic Youth, Tortoise, Slint and Labradford, who were both massive influences on us starting out. It definitely shaped us up well in the early days. It was more of an American influence for sure.

Absolutely! Coming back to the record, I know you worked with producer John Congleton on The Bad Fire. Was this your first time working with John and What was it like to work with him?

Yes, this was our first time working with John. I first met him in LA as he had worked with Franz Ferdinand, who we are incredibly close with as he worked on their project with Sparks (FFS). Paul, the drummer of Franz, really recommended him to us after that, so it was a no brainer. I know he worked with Angel Olsen before and I’m a massive fan of hers, so it just seemed like a perfect fit to work with John. He has a very diverse resume that’s for sure.

I’m a massive fan of the production on the record. The Bad Fire and As the Love Continues… have been the best things you’ve done for some time certainly in terms of content, production and the storytelling of both albums.

Thanks. It means a lot. It’s (as we say) something we’re not used to, but it is always quite welcome to see. I think we were all just a bit surprised by the high profile attention the album got, and to see this one well received as well is just as nice to hear from people.

We’ll come back to the album towards the end. Of course, you’ll be playing at Rock City on 15th February. Do you have any fond memories of playing Nottingham in the early days?

Nottingham… It’s funny as we haven’t played here a lot of times. I’m just trying to think back… I think we first played here in about '96, we were upstairs at The Angel. I remember it being upstairs and there being some sort of altar. I know we haven’t been back many times since, but I think that was about the first time we played here.

I was thinking back to our last tour when we played here. We enjoyed it, and I remember listening to Martin O’Neil’s audiobook he was talking about Nottingham Forest winning the European Cup; it was an interesting way to kill time. We used to play in other small places such as the Marcus Garvey Ballroom.

Other than your tour back in 2023, had you not done a UK tour since 2004? That was the last time I checked...

Wow! Is it that long ago? We haven’t been in the UK for a while, but we did only a few shows in London, Manchester and Glasgow, sort of mini-tours. We hadn’t really been down to other places as much before. There was no particular reason really, we just fancied doing a few dates here and there.

Obviously, I know you’ve worked on many film scores over the years. Is there any difference in how you would approach recording a Mogwai studio album as opposed to a score?

I mean, it’s more a collaboration with film scores, so we really are working in step with the director on them and seeing what they want us to do in accordance with their work and any particular scene. It is pretty different as we want to try and capture the mood of a particular project, but at the same you also get a lot of feedback and instruction, which is certainly different from recording your own album. Essentially, the mechanics are all the same.

You also did a recent score for the BBC mini-series The Bombing of Pan Am 103, about Lockerbie. That surely must have been difficult for you and the band to tackle an event on such a magnitude?

100 percent. It felt quite painful at times doing that project as it was obviously a subject still ingrained in the recent memory of Scotland almost 40 years on. We consulted the families beforehand and both they and the band were very happy with how it turned out. We also got a lot of feedback from the residents, some of whom were living there at the time of the crash. They also really enjoyed the score and felt it captured the mood really well and said it was done in a very respectful way, which was very good.

Going back to the record a second, I am a particular fan as it shows another side to you from your post-rock roots. I think there are more indie and electronic elements to this one would you agree?

Yeah, we did go with more of an electronic vibe with some of the tracks on this one. For example, the opener: God Gets You Back is about six-and-a-half minutes, but it has a long synth sequence at the start which is about two minutes so there is variation in some aspects. It’s got something a bit 90s rave about, to be honest (laughs). It’s actually one of my favourite ones.

Some of the tracks have very intriguing titles. I am particularly curious as some of them seem quite disturbing, not as a negative critique, but they evoke quite apocalyptic images, especially “If You Think this world’s bad…”. Was there any reason behind that? 

No, not really. It just sort of built it up, that song. It sounds like the kind of song we would probably have done in the 90s’. It was definitely reflective of the mood we were in during recording. It’s a lot of fun to play though as I think people can gain any sort of meaning from it. It seems to really speak to people.

It seems very cinematic, which is good given your film background and continues on more of a cathartic theme.

Yeah. I feel like it was similar to As the Love Continues… as in we were in the middle of a personal crisis with family and there was much more of a difficult journey ahead for all of us, so we wanted to make it a record that released a lot of emotion from these terribly personal circumstances.

Finally then, 2025 was your 30th anniversary as a band. What would you say has been the most important thing you’ve learned in those 30 years? 

Oh, I don’t know to be honest. The fact is that we still get on really well with each other, not many bands, especially of the era that we began in, tend to now get on and they have either had people leave or split up. We are a very tight group and we still enjoy what we are doing. I know some of the bands who are together, they all seem so bloody miserable, and I’m like why are you still doing this? I think the key to longevity is always having something to do and, at least, trying to get on with one another in the process.

Yeah I guess with all the albums and film scores, it does help by having different projects and being busy.Thank you for your time Stuart and I hope the tour goes swimmingly.

Thanks so much, man.

Mogwai perform at Rock City on 15th February 2026.

@mogwaiband