09.11.2026 THEATER DES WESTENS, BERLIN
MOGWAI
Thirty years can feel like an eternity in pop history. For the Scottish band Mogwai, however, they seem more like a continuous movement: a steady swelling, receding, and rising again of sound. Since the mid-1990s, the musicians from Glasgow have been crafting monumental instrumental pieces that feel more like landscapes than songs. Vast, darkly shimmering soundscapes where guitars suddenly surge into storms before just as abruptly falling back into silence.
It all began in 1996 with the single “Tuner”, released on the band’s own label, Rock Action Records. What initially started as a pragmatic DIY solution—simply releasing their own music—gradually evolved into a cornerstone of the independent British scene. More than 150 releases have appeared on Rock Action since then, and bands such as Arab Strap and The Twilight Sad have found a home there. To mark the label’s thirtieth anniversary, the band has now released a new video for “Tuner”, assembled from previously unseen archive footage spanning three decades of band history. It shows young musicians in smoke-filled clubs, tour buses on endless roads, and ultimately a band that has become one of the defining voices of post-rock—even if Mogwai themselves have always felt somewhat uneasy with that genre label.
Eleven studio albums later, their sound remains unmistakable: brutal walls of guitar, fragile electronics, and moments of almost painful beauty in between. With the album “As The Love Continues”, the band also reached new commercial heights: number one in the UK charts and a nomination for the Mercury Prize. Their most recent work, “The Bad Fire”, builds on this success while sounding rawer and more immediate. Producer John Congleton has given the familiar Mogwai universe a sharper edge—synthesizers flash like neon lights, guitars scrape and shimmer, while the songs continue to unfold with the patient dramaturgy that has become the band’s hallmark.
But to truly understand Mogwai, you have to experience them live. Their concerts resemble physically tangible rituals of sound: for minutes on end, layers of guitar build upon each other until the room begins to vibrate. Then suddenly a moment of calm, as if someone dimmed the lights, before the next wave rolls in. Few bands command this dynamic with such mastery.
After a festival summer across the globe, Mogwai will embark on another European tour in November 2026. Germany is also on the schedule: on November 6 the band will perform at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, followed three days later by a show at Theater des Westens in Berlin. Two evenings that will likely demonstrate why this music has captivated audiences for three decades.
The shows are presented by Rolling Stone.
