Mogwai Fear Satan
Encyclopedia
"Mogwai Fear Satan" is a song by Scottish
post-rock
group Mogwai
, which ends their 1997 debut studio album
, Mogwai Young Team
.
’s fear of the Devil
, due to his Catholic
upbringing, which continues to this day as Aitchison is the only religious member of Mogwai.
consisting of three chord
s by Stuart Braithwaite
and John Cummings
, which is soon joined by bass played by Dominic Aitchison
and a frantic drumbeat played by Martin Bulloch
, which fades gradually in. The same guitar riff is repeated throughout the song, at times frighteningly distorted
. During the quiet parts of the song, in the build up to the explosion of sonic noise and feedback
which Mogwai are known for, there is a quiet, haunting flute
melody played by Shona Brown over tribal-sounding drums. The song slowly fades out into feedback and noise.
. The second disc of Kicking a Dead Pig, entitled Fear Satan Remixes, includes the Surgeon Remix
, the Mogwai Remix, the μ-Ziq Remix
, and the My Bloody Valentine Remix.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
group Mogwai
Mogwai
The word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".-Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture:...
, which ends their 1997 debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Mogwai Young Team
Mogwai Young Team
Mogwai Young Team is the debut studio album by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai.-Overview:Mogwai Young Team was recorded in Summer 1997 at MCM Studios in Hamilton, Scotland, and was produced by Paul Savage and Andy Miller...
.
Overview
"Mogwai Fear Satan" is a sixteen minute long instrumental, using basic rock instrumentation; guitars, bass, and drums, along with flute. The origin of the song title stems from bassist Dominic AitchisonDominic Aitchison
Dominic Aitchison is a Scottish bassist. He is best known as the bassist and founding member of post-rock band Mogwai. Aside from Mogwai, he also plays bass guitar in Crippled Black Phoenix and Stage Blood....
’s fear of the Devil
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, due to his Catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
upbringing, which continues to this day as Aitchison is the only religious member of Mogwai.
Musical composition
"Mogwai Fear Satan" begins with a guitar melody riffRIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
consisting of three chord
Guitar chord
In music, a guitar chord is a chord, or collection of tones usually sounded together at once, played on a guitar. It can be composed of notes played on adjacent or separate strings or all the strings together...
s by Stuart Braithwaite
Stuart Braithwaite
Stuart Leslie Braithwaite is a Scottish guitarist, bassist, drummer, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of post rock band Mogwai, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums.-Early life :...
and John Cummings
John Cummings (musician)
John Cummings is a Scottish musician and record producer, best known for being a member of Glaswegian band Mogwai, mostly playing guitar, as well as programming, keyboards and vocals.-Mogwai:...
, which is soon joined by bass played by Dominic Aitchison
Dominic Aitchison
Dominic Aitchison is a Scottish bassist. He is best known as the bassist and founding member of post-rock band Mogwai. Aside from Mogwai, he also plays bass guitar in Crippled Black Phoenix and Stage Blood....
and a frantic drumbeat played by Martin Bulloch
Martin Bulloch
Martin Bulloch is a Scottish musician, best known for being a member of Mogwai.-Early life:Bulloch was born in Bellshill, South Lanarkshire. He was once a cook at a Chinese Restaurant in Glasgow.-Mogwai:...
, which fades gradually in. The same guitar riff is repeated throughout the song, at times frighteningly distorted
Distortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
. During the quiet parts of the song, in the build up to the explosion of sonic noise and feedback
Feedback
Feedback describes the situation when output from an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or occurrences of the same Feedback describes the situation when output from (or information about the result of) an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or...
which Mogwai are known for, there is a quiet, haunting flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
melody played by Shona Brown over tribal-sounding drums. The song slowly fades out into feedback and noise.
Media usage
- In 2002, a short excerpt of "Mogwai Fear Satan" was featured in "Eddie Kidd Rides AgainRE:BrandRE:Brand was a British documentary and comedy television program that aimed to take a challenging look at cultural taboos.It was conceived, written and hosted by Russell Brand, with the help of his comic partner for many projects, Matt Morgan. The series was shown on the now defunct digital...
", an episode of the documentaryDocumentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
television programTelevision programA television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, RE:BrandRE:BrandRE:Brand was a British documentary and comedy television program that aimed to take a challenging look at cultural taboos.It was conceived, written and hosted by Russell Brand, with the help of his comic partner for many projects, Matt Morgan. The series was shown on the now defunct digital...
, hosted by English comedian and actor, Russell BrandRussell BrandRussell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
. - It was also featured on soundtrack for WRC4, The Official Game of the FIA World Rally ChampionshipWorld Rally ChampionshipThe World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
on PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. - Manic Street PreachersManic Street PreachersManic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
used the song as the intro music for their 2005 Past Present Future tour of the UK. - Repeatedly referred to in Christopher BrookmyreChristopher BrookmyreChristopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author...
's book PandaemoniumPandaemonium (novel)Pandaemonium is Christopher Brookmyre's thirteenth novel. It was published in the United Kingdom on the 13th August, 2009.- Blurb :The senior pupils of St Peter's High School are on retreat to a secluded outdoor activity centre, coming to terms with the murder of a fellow pupil through the means...
where a 28 minute remix has been created by some of the schoolchildren and played at a school dance. - Part of the song was used in the 2007 documentary The 11th HourThe 11th Hour (film)The 11th Hour is a 2007 documentary film, created, produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, on the state of the natural environment. It was directed by Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners and financed by Adam Lewis and Pierre André Senizergues, and distributed by Warner Independent...
.
Remixes
There are five official remixes of "Mogwai Fear Satan". The Mogwai Remix (LP Version) can be found on the remix album, Kicking a Dead PigKicking a Dead Pig
Kicking a Dead Pig is a remix album from Scottish band Mogwai consisting of remixes of previously released tracks by various artists, including Alec Empire, My Bloody Valentine, and Max Tundra....
. The second disc of Kicking a Dead Pig, entitled Fear Satan Remixes, includes the Surgeon Remix
Surgeon (musician)
Surgeon is the pseudonym of Anthony Child, an English electronic musician and DJ. Child releases music on his own labels Counterbalance and Dynamic Tension. Established imprints, such as Tresor, Soma, and Harthouse, have also released Surgeon's original material and remixes...
, the Mogwai Remix, the μ-Ziq Remix
Mike Paradinas
Michael Paradinas , who works primarily under the name μ-Ziq in addition to a large number of aliases, is a British musician in the field of electronic music.-History:...
, and the My Bloody Valentine Remix.
Personnel
- Stuart Braithwaite – guitar
- Dominic Aitchison – bass guitar
- John Cummings – guitar
- Martin Bulloch – drums
- Shona Brown – flute
- Paul Savage – producer, mixer
External links
- "Mogwai Fear Satan" on Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
- "Mogwai Fear Satan" GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
TablatureTablatureTablature is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches....