No sound of silence with Mogwai
Post-rock is a genre best served loud, and no one knows that better than Glaswegian pioneers Mogwai.
The Scots know how important sound is to their music and are set to bring their own sound engineer to test the limits of Perth Festival outdoor venue the Festival Gardens across two dates in next month.
"Don't worry about the volume, it's insane," laughs guitarist and keyboard player Barry Burns from his home in Berlin. "Our sound engineer Kenny (MacLeod) has been working closely with us and when you look at the equipment he has out front, it's ridiculous.
"He's got maybe two or three monitors of plug-ins and stuff he spends a lot of time on. There's only so much we can do from the stage and then he's in control. But it's really quite thorough, I'll say that."
It is heartening reassurance given the inevitable questions surrounding heavier exponents playing outdoor venues - seminal Canadian exponents Godspeed You! Black Emperor were terrific in the same venue a couple of years ago but it was universally
agreed that they could have been louder.
Mogwai have a fearsome live reputation and, as on record, their sound has evolved in recent years to incorporate more synthesisers and electronic elements.
In addition to the band's five members, touring musician Luke Sutherland, who Burns describes as "almost the sixth member of the band", will contribute violin, guitar, drums and vocals.
"The sound of the band has got even bigger," Burns says. "We've got old keyboards like the Juno and Dominic (Aitchison) our bass player has started to play synthesiser live instead of bass sometimes, so it's pretty much changed the sound of the band."
The tour comes on the back of new EP Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1. It features three new tracks Burns says didn't fit sonically on their 2014 album Rave Tapes, as well as remixes from artists including Bristol's Blanck Mass, aka Ben Power of F… Buttons, who Burns describes as "amazing" and German ambient composer Nils Frahm.
Burns says the EP's title is about not exercising enough on tour. "I've got a funny feeling it's something to do with drinking versus getting up in the morning to go to the gym."
Rave Tapes, meanwhile, earned Mogwai the title of bestselling vinyl album in the UK during 2014 but in typically dry fashion, Burns isn't letting it go to his head.
"None of usis driving Ferraris yet," he laughs. "Vinyl sales are still very low.
"No it's nice, I was really surprised. It was nice to see people still buying that format. I've started to buy a lot more vinyl recently as well, the fact that they give you download codes for the mp3 version, it's just much nicer to have."
