You recently did some DJing at the Heavenly Social in London. How did that all go and what sort of tunes did you play?
It went abysmally. I played Kid 606 and PIL then was thrown off for not being "housey" enough. I was too drunk anyways and I made them pay me.

You've also been playing some solo shows, most recently with David Pajo. How did that come about and are we likely to see a solo album from yourself in the future?
I've just been doing these things for fun. Davis and me were going to do a show together in Louisville last summer but couldn't get a show! I don't think I'd do a record by myself unless I had loads of songs that weren't wanted or wouldn't fit on a band record, so I doubt it.

What other records do Mogwai have planned for this year? Have you got a lot of songs that didn't make it on to the album?
Yeah we did over 20 songs, I suppose some of them will get released or re-done sometime this year.

Was the writing and recording of Rock Action more difficult than, or different to, previous work? I notice that Barry is credited with contributing to an increasing extent.
In a lot of ways it was easier because we did some preparation for a change. Having another pair of hands is always nice too.

Did you deliberately set out to include interesting collaborations on this record? Who else would you like to collaborate with?
The collaborations came about whilst the record was already underway. In the future we want Cash and Bowie!!!!!

Are you conscious of the fact that Mogwai could easily end up only playing large venues such as the Barrowlands. Are we going to see more gigs like the Bute thing as a way of making this more interesting for the fans and the band? or would you consider something such as a residency at a smaller venue like Godspeed have done?
The Bute thing isn't actually that wee (1000 I think). The problem with doing residencies is that we have a lot of places to play and if we did 5 nights in a wee place as opposed to 1 big place we'd still be touring this record in 3 years. We don't have Godspeed's sado-masochistic edge.

What plans do you have for the Rock Action label? How much involvement do Mogwai have in it?
We only really choose the bands now anyways but I'm sure loads of good stuff will materialise this year. The James Orr album should be tremendous.

What music have you been listening to lately? Films? Books?
Cex, Forever Changes reissue, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, The new Strap album, The new Bardo Pond album and reading "I'd rather be the devil", a book about Skip James. I haven't seen any good films of late.

How do you feel about the whole of Rock Action being available on Napster?
Unsurprised. I'm not raging but were we a band who couldn't afford strings, rehearsals etc I would be livid. Those are the kind of bands who will suffer from their music being given away without their permission for free.

The official website is starting to come together now after promising major things. How happy are you with it and what plans do you have for the future? Do you see fansites like bright light as competition or partners?
It's looking good. Loads of good footage and rare music should be going up soon. I like Brightlight.

What do you think of this year's line-up for All Tomorrow's Parties?
Good. I'm looking forward to Television and Mike Ladd.

From what I hear you were a major help with bringing Trail of Dead over to the UK. Has it been fun watching them get so popular?
I'm proud of my boys. They've had a tremendous year. I've enjoyed watching them play more than I've enjoyed watching them trash Martin's kit.

Anything else you want to add?
I can't think now. I have to go and rehearse.

Interview by Marceline Smith and Rob Strong
Photo by Marceline Smith