Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite: “We’re having a good year”

Tonight sees Mogwai headline the BBC Radio 6 Music stage on the first night of Latitude 2014. Before taking the stage told DIY about the band’s year so far.

“The reaction for the new album has been great,” he said. “Really great, in Britain especially. We’re having a good year. I think The Returned TV show [that Mogwai soundtracked] really helped us out a lot.

“It’s funny,” he continued, “because you don’t know if it’s going to turn out that well or if people are going to watch it. They just asked really nicely, it looked like a cool project. But you can do something you think is really cool and not make much impact.”

Speaking about tonight’s set, Braithwaite explained: “We’ve got a lot of lights, we don’t really move about too much, so the lights are really important. People who come and see us just want to hear the music. I think the music is the connecting factor, it’s a bit hippy-dippy but I think that’s it, that’s how it works.”

“I’m a notorious crowd watcher,” he went on to reveal “I always notice the little details, things people are doing. I turn to the rest of the band, ‘Did you see that?’ I’ve seen lots of weird stuff. Like strange dancing, people getting amorous sometimes.”

As for the band’s future plans, Braithwaite seems ready for a stint on the road. “We’re playing Belgium tomorrow,” he listed, “we’re doing a charity gig in London a week on Tuesday, Glasgow in August. Then we’re doing some other towns in October, like Liverpool, Rotherham, Aberdeen - the glamour tour!”

Interview: Sophie Diver.