Hear Mogwai’s Wintry, Slow-Building Instrumental ‘Ether’
Mogwai unleash a trademark post-rock crescendo with “Ether,” a slow-building instrumental from their upcoming LP, Atomic. The five-minute epic opens with a foundation of piano and glockenspiel, gradually adding moaning brass, heavy bass guitar and muted tom-toms until a colossal climax.
“Ether” is the opening track from Atomic, a soundtrack to Mark Cousins’ BBC Four documentary Storyville – Atomic: Living in Dread of Promise. The band released the pulsating electro-ambient soundscape “U-235” last month when announcing the LP, out April 1st via Temporary Residence. Listen to “Ether” below via Spotify.
“Mark’s film captures both the horror and beauty of the atomic age,” Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite said in a statement. “Ever since we went to Hiroshima this has been a subject very close to us. ‘Ether’ is the first song on the album and soundtracks the opening and most optimistic part of the film. We tried to mirror that with the music. The soundtrack is one of the most intense and fulfilling projects we’ve taken on as a band, and one that I’m extremely proud of.”
Braithwaite recently released a poignant statement about the late David Bowie.
“David Bowie meant everything to me,” he told Pitchfork. “With Starman’ he taught me as a child that music is a pathway to wonder. As I grew up my love for his music grew, too. Ziggy, Hunky Dory, and The Man Who Sold the World were a snapshot of life before I was born, full of romance, characters, and passion. The Berlin trilogy were art rock masterpieces whose scope, melody, and ambition have never been matched. And hit songs. Always pop perfection.”