IN 1995 Stuart Braithwaite, Dominic Aitchison and Martin Bulloch decided to form a band. Soon after, they added John Cummings and Barry Burns to the line-up. The rest, as they say, is history.

Eight studio albums and countless soundtracks and side projects later, Mogwai are still firing on all cylinders. To celebrate their 20th anniversary milestone, we spoke to lead guitarist Stuart Braithwaite, who said that even after all these years they are still as hungry as ever.

So what is their secret? Over years the Mogwai have refused to stick to a formula, but the band said that it never felt like they were taking risks, experimentation is something that just comes naturally to them.

“We are just so involved when we are making records that we don’t really think about what we are making, we just try to do what we’re doing as best as we can,” Stuart said.

“I don’t remember ever having a conversation when we say should we do this or should we do that, we just kinda make it and see how it turns out. It doesn’t always end up great, I mean stuff gets binned, but that is just how we do things.”

“They’re quite a few of my records that I’m proud of looking back at now. I don’t think we have ever made a total stinker, maybe other people would disagree,” he added laughing.

The resulting tapes are among the highest regarded in Scottish music. Consistently at the forefront of the country’s music scene, without ever quite being in the mainstream, Mogwai have proved themselves to be an exception to the popular rule.

Starting out in 1995, Stuart said they never thought they would ever make it to this day, but as soon as their first record was put out they realised they were onto something special, or as he put it himself, “something more substantial than just mucking about”.

The band’s 20 years together have spanned over some of the most revolutionary for the music business. The music industry has changed since the release of Mogwai Young Team all those years ago in 1997, but has the music changes as well?

“I don’t think music itself has changed but I think the way people listen to music really has,” Stuart said. “The availability of music has changed and I guess it feels like a lot of the music world has become more corporate in recent years.

“The kind of music we make it pretty obviously is never going to be on the radio too much, so I think with the internet it’s become easier to let people hear our music and distribute it than when we first started.”

The band have already made plans for another record and show no signs of slowing down. The Glasgow boys are currently halfway through making the soundtrack for the second series of French TV show The Return.

They are also just about to start on the music for a Mark Cousins archive film about the atom, The Atomic, which will air on TV around the anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb.

Another sign that the band are far from past their best was their barnstorming performances at Glasgow Barrowland last weekend.

Stuart said that although gigs there are always pretty special, there was something extra about the anniversary shows.

“They went great, we all enjoyed it and there was no mass call for refunds so it must have gone alright!”

“We definitely got the feeling that people had travelled a long way to see us as well as all the folk from Glasgow. It felt like much more of an event than a regular Glasgow gig.”

Fitting with the idea than it was much more than just a normal gig, the band reached out and asked for fans to donate items for local foodbanks.

“I knew it had been done really successfully at a few Celtic games and at some other football grounds. It just seemed like a nice thing to do. I guess if people have money to go to a gig, then it’s a nice thing to help out people who don’t have that money spare.”

Fellow legendary Scots rockers The Vaselines supported Mogwai on the second of their Glasgow anniversary shows. They told us that they were “delighted” to be asked along to play, with singer and guitarist Frances McKee full of praise, saying that “they are really nice people, and their music is amazing”. And The Vaselines are not the only band who have been known to sing Mogwai’s praises.

Throughout our time interviewing artists for the paper, Mogwai is one name which constantly crops up as an influence to upcoming bands. Despite being incredibly modest about their achievements, Stuart acknowledged that they have inspired other artists.

Some of those bands that are emerging might just have piped Mogwai this year. Their most recent release, Rave Tapes, was nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award, but didn’t quite make the final shortlist. Despite this, Stuart was quick to sing the SAY award’s praises, saying that organisers are helping people hear the “great music” which is being made in Scotland right now.

As for his favourite gig, Stuart said their first ever Glastonbury performance in 1999 was very special, but last year’s Night for Scotland concert in Edinburgh was definitely up there with the very best. 

Band’s birthday celebration show gets enthusiastic response from Glasgow fans

MOGWAI celebrated their 20th birthday in typically humble fashion last Saturday, the first of two nights headlining Glasgow’s Barrowland.

Refusing to blow the budget on unnecessary theatrics, the Scottish five-piece’s most resounding statement was collecting donations for local foodbanks at the venue entrance.

Formed in Glasgow in 1995, Mogwai have defined and redefined the concept of instrumental rock music over the course of their various albums and film soundtracks. The band’s most recent effort, Rave Tapes, represented a new direction, incorporating overtly synthesised melodies and occasional vocals.

However, they were more typically muted on Saturday, even appointing comedian Limmy to manage their introductions through a voiceover by his adventure guide character Falconhoof.Small gestures like that reminded the crowd that Mogwai do in fact have a sense of humour.

Their performance as a whole was characteristically intense, as the five members reproduced a pummelling 90 minutes of material.

Older classics, such as Summer and Stanley Kubrick particularly ,emphasised the breadth of the band’s talents.

At times, it was difficult to work out who was doing what. Lead guitarist Stuart Braithwaite’s melodic lines were frequently complemented by rapid tremolo picking and an assortment of effects from multi-instrumentalists John Cummings and Barry Burns.

There were a few guest-spots too: long-term collaborator Luke Sutherland playing violin, Arab Strap Aidan Moffat singing on R U Still in 2 It and Shona Brown providing flute on the earth-shattering Mogwai Fear Satan.

The two piano-led tracks, I Know You Are but What Am I and I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead, were both ecstatically received and just as powerful as their heavier material.

However, they couldn’t resist picking the heaviest track of all for their encore. My Father, My King – an extended variation on a melody from a Jewish prayer called Avinu Malkeinu – was absolutely monstrous.

There were no overstated thankyous as white noise drowned out the applause, and Mogwai left the stage aware that they would do the same thing 24 hours later.

Mogwai album picks span decades of musical output