The movie, directed by Antony Criminal, will premiere at South by Southwest in March
The primary trailer for If the Stars Had a Sound, the forthcoming documentary concerning the Scottish band Mogwai, is cloaked in a sense someplace in between serenity and unease. The documentary — which is able to premiere at South by Southwest in March — initially started as a brief movie about leaving Scotland however, over time, morphed into an examination of how Mogwai displays the identical dichotomy between gentle and darkish as their house nation does.
“Scottland is a rustic of binaries. You see them all over the place. You go to Glasgow, it’s Celtics or Rangers. West Finish or East Finish. After which there’s Glasgow or Edinburgh,” the preview’s voiceover says, setting the scene whereas evaluating the nation to Jekyll and Hyde or Cain and Abel. “Then you definately’ve received the Scots who’re very reticent and quiet and shy. And also you’ve received the Scots, once you get a drink in them, which are simply wild revelers.”
He continues: “And all these items are contained within the tradition that comes out of that nation. You see it within the artwork, and also you see it within the storytelling, and also you see it within the music. I believe Mogwai are the very best instance of that — that twin nature. Waring sides of human nature. The sunshine and the darkish are at all times there, clashing and bouncing off one another in Mogwai’s music.”
The band celebrated their twenty fifth anniversary in 2020, which can also be when the documentary started to take form as Mogwai recorded their newest studio album whereas in lockdown in the course of the pandemic. Filmed and directed by longtime collaborator Antony Criminal, If the Stars Had a Sound chronicles the rise of Mogwai from their early beginnings to their institution as a post-rock cult staple.
“We’re extremely excited for individuals to see Antony’s movie If the Stars Had a Sound,” Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite shared in an announcement. “It initially began as a brief movie round leaving Scotland to file in upstate New York in early 2020 however when the pandemic occurred that every one modified. Each ourselves and Antony persevered with the file and the movie all through the pandemic with the movie rising all through. Antony’s movie tells the story of how all of us got here out the opposite aspect. I believe he’s made one thing really particular.”
The documentary options archival footage captured during the last two and a half a long time of the band, together with in the course of the recording course of for Because the Love Continues, which arrived in 2021. A synopsis for the movie reads: “Over 25 years and 10 studio albums—utilizing brute sonic pressure combined with subtlety and style—Mogwai have outlined their very own musical style and constructed a loyal following by staying true to their sound and true to their roots.”
