Follwing the release in January of their brand new studio album “Rave Tapes” on their own Rock Action records, Glasgow post rockers Mogwai headline a showcase concert at Tempodrom in Berlin. With support coming from Forest Swords this is a truly exceptional double bill.
Mogwai are Dominic Aitchison (bass), Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Martin Bulloch (drums), Barry Burns (keyboard, computer, guitar) and John Cummings (guitar, computer). They formed in Glasgow in 1995 as a quartet, with Burns yet to come into the fold.
After a succession of well-received releases and having developed a reputation for their fearsome live shows, Mogwai signed to Glasgow independent Chemikal Underground, with whom they released their debut long-player Mogwai Young Team (1997) and its follow-up, Come On Die Young (1999), recorded in upstate New York with Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips) and the first Mogwai album to feature Burns. Rave Tapes is the eighth studio album by Mogwai and their second on Rock Action, the label they set up almost 18 years ago to issue their debut 7in single, Tuner/Lower. In between, the Scottish quintet have established themselves on the international stage through a prolific recorded output and a commitment to touring that few of their peers can match.
Mogwai | White Noise
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=YFald0pbrvo
Created in summer 2013 in the band’s Castle Of Doom studio in Glasgow, the record marks the latest phase in the group’s increasingly substantial canon – since the dawn of this decade, Mogwai have released four full-length records, one live album, two EPs and three singles. Factor in a pancontinental live schedule in support of one of those albums, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, plus myriad festival appearances and you get a sense of how much of themselves the members of Mogwai invest in their work.
Forest Swords | The Weight of Gold
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=MlK8jCJrsH4
The project of producer/graphic designer Matthew Barnes, Forest Swords fashions hip-hop-inspired beats with atmospheric samples and evocative guitar work into dreamlike tracks that evoke the windy coastal terrain of his home in England’s Wirral Peninsula. As a teen, Barnes made four-track recordings, drawing inspiration not just from hip-hop and electronic music, but also from punk and pop groups such as Sugababes. He began issuing music as Forest Swords in 2009, including the self-released EP Fjree Feather and the cassette singles Miarches and Glory Gongs. The following year saw the release of the Rattling Cage single and the Dagger Paths EP, which received widespread critical acclaim and appeared on several 2010 best-of lists. Though the time seemed ripe for a Forest Swords full-length, Barnes’ exacting standards and his tinnitus led him to work slowly on new music.
Mogwai & Forest Swords LIVE
Thursday, 06.02.2014 | 20:00 CET
Tempodrom | Möckernstr. 10 | 10963 Berlin/Kreuzberg
tempodrom.de | mogwai.co.uk | subpop.com
