Mogwai typically compose lengthy guitar-based instrumental pieces that feature dynamic contrast, melodic bass guitar lines, and heavy use of distortion and effects.

[2] Stuart Braithwaite and Dominic Aitchison met in April 1991, and four years later formed Mogwai with old schoolfriend Martin Bulloch.

[5] The band debuted in February 1996 with the "Tuner"/"Lower" single and by the end of the year they received 'single of the week' from NME for "Summer", a feat repeated early in 1997 with "New Paths to Helicon".

[3] After playing a few shows the band expanded with the introduction of John Cummings on guitar, and then Teenage Fanclub drummer Brendan O'Hare joined while they recorded their debut album Mogwai Young Team.

[6] O'Hare was sacked after the release of the album (reportedly after upsetting the rest of the band by talking all through a performance by Arab Strap).

Fellow Scottish musician Luke Sutherland has contributed violin (and more recently vocals and guitar) to Mogwai's records and live performances.

Shortly afterwards the band released "My Father My King", a cacophonous 20-minute song which closed their Rock Action-period shows, and was billed as a companion piece to the album.

Some praised the band's scope, grandeur, and willingness to explore beyond the bounds of the quiet-loud-louder dynamic it had mastered; others lamented a lack of the same, alternately calling Happy Songs too soft, too small, or too stiff."

[4] In September 2010, Mogwai left longtime North American distributor Matador Records, and signed with Sub Pop.

Rave Tapes was produced by Mogwai and Paul Savage, and the song "Remurdered" was uploaded to the Rock Action and Sub Pop SoundCloud pages at the time of the announcement.

[27][28] In June 2015 Mogwai played a series of high-profile shows in the UK and Ireland, climaxing with two nights at the Camden Roundhouse, to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary.

[29] At the same time, in association with ATP, they curated a series of shows at the London venue featuring acts that have "challenged, intrigued and inspired" them, including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Public Enemy, and Godspeed You!

[35] The band have announced a worldwide tour to coincide with the release of the new album, starting with dates in Europe in October before visiting North America in November, and finally playing in their home city of Glasgow in December.

Three songs, "God Gets You Back", "Lion Rumpus" and "Fanzine Made of Flesh", were shared in the lead up to the album's release.

[49] In 2012, the band provided the soundtrack for the Canal+ French TV series Les Revenants (broadcast as The Returned in the UK).

[50] The track "Kids Will Be Skeletons" was featured as part of the soundtrack of the story based video game Life Is Strange.

[54][55] The band carried out an extensive live tour of Europe and Japan performing the soundtrack against a backdrop of the screening of the film, beginning in Austria on 1 May 2016.

In 2016 Braithwaite took part in a documentary about Glasgow music, and Chemikal Underground Records, called Lost in France.

The film was directed by Niall McCann and brought Braithwaite (along with members of The Delgados, Franz Ferdinand and others) to Mauron, Brittany, to recreate a gig they played just after Mogwai had formed.

It premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival to positive reviews and was called "Funny, vital and sobering" by Scotland's arts magazine The Skinny.

[61] Early on in Mogwai's history, their music drew on Sonic Youth, Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine, and the God Machine.

Debut album Mogwai Young Team was described as "stunningly dynamic...[shifting] seamlessly from tranquil, bleakly beautiful soundscapes to brain scrambling white noise and sledgehammer riffing".

[6] Barry Burns once stated in an interview that he and the rest of the band do not like the categorisation of post-rock because he believes it over-analyses everything.