Wordless and Wonderful – Mogwai Gig
Cat Martin
On the 22nd of September, Mogwai played at His Majesty’s Theatre – much to my bewilderment, as imagining them playing in an old theatre was an odd thought to say the least. In an unexpected twist, they made the venue work for them by using every light effect to their full advantage. Before the opening act (Edinburgh’s own Blanck Mass) the bar was packed with people much older than myself, I might even say I was one of the youngest people there at all. I wasn’t aware of how little I could relate to Mogwai’s typical demographic until that moment. Especially when an older man (whose name I cannot recall) decided to tell me that he’d taken half a tab of acid before the show, as if there was no other way to listen.
When the pulsating bass of Blanck Mass’ first piece began to vibrate through the floor and the soles of my shoes, I realised that the acid man may have had a point. The music that Blanck Mass mixes is deeply abstract, with electronic roots but a uniquely neurotic aftertaste. As I explained to my family when I went home, Blanck Mass’ tracks are like the science fiction of electronic music. The person behind the project, Benjamin John Power, is heavily influenced by post-rock and drone music. He also has a deep appreciation for scientific research and advancements which gives his pieces their perspective.
I’ve always thought that great music should invoke the feelings, thoughts or experiences that the artist had when writing. Often this is made easier for the writer by using lyrical tricks – or at least vocal components of some kind. My favourite aspect of Mogwai’s music, however, is just how skilled they are at conveying intense emotion to their audience (rarely with any vocal elements.) Their atmospheric brand of post-rock could easily have been dull, but the sheer depth and complexity of the instrumentals totally negate that as a possibility. The slow-building, distortion-heavy guitars add a certain weight to each track so that each one feels monumental.
Walking out from the theatre after Mogwai’s 20-minute encore, the outside air felt so quiet and uneventful in comparison. During the show, the light effects were used to scan over the audience and in their sudden absence it’d made the whole show seem like a fever dream. For my first time seeing Mogwai live, it’ll be an experience I’ll never forget.
