uk album chart - no. 75 (8th november 1997)

mogwai's debut full-length, recorded at mcm studios, hamilton, scotland during the summer months of 1997. recorded by paul savage, except 'with portfolio' which was recorded by andy miller and mixed by paul savage.

'r u still in 2 it?', the closest thing to a mogwai love song, features vocals by aidan from arab strap. the phone conversation running through 'tracy', detailing a studio disagreement between stuart and dominic, was apparently an elaborate practical joke. the album was recorded during brendan o'hare's brief tenure in the band, and the spoken word running through 'katrien' is brendan "talking shite about yetis or something like that, don't ask me why" (martin bulloch)

the rest of the songs are instrumentals, with 'mogwai fear satan' bringing the album to an epic 16 minutes long conclusion. don't turn your stereo up during the quiet bits of 'like herod'.

"yes! i am a long way from home": exclamation from long time mogwai friend lee cohen on brighton pier summer 1997. he is from chicago.
'katrien': name of the girl working at a festival who asked us to fill in the prs form that the then unnamed song was being performed at (pukkelpop?)" - stuart, july 2008

a train journey from hamilton to glasgow can be heard at the end of 'radar maker'.

writing credits (from chrysalis music publishing):
like herod - aitchison/braithwaite/cummings/bulloch
mogwai fear satan - aitchison/braithwaite/bulloch
tracy - aitchison/braithwaite/cummings

sleeve art by adam piggot.

remastered and expanded version issued 26th may 2008. full details on this edition can be found here:
mogwaiyoungteam_remaster.php

catalogue numbers

uk cd: chemikal underground [CHEM018CD]
uk double vinyl: chemikal underground [CHEM018]
us cd: jetset [TWA07CD]
us double vinyl: jetset [TWA07]
australia/nz cd: spunk [URA013]
brazilian cd: trama [T004/824-2]
japan cd: toys factory [TFCK-87226]

there's also a japanese cd, issued in 1999, which adds the '4 satin' ep as bonus tracks (superheroes of bmx, now you're taken, stereo dee)

review scans

nme	melody maker

q magazine review

the lo-fi uk stomping ground, just west of the anarcho-industrialists, just to the right of the land of beatnik guitar revolutions, is an uneven wicket. there are tribes of krautrock minimalists, invading psychedelics and mogwai, a slow-paced, guitar-toting scottish collective who include former teenage fanclub drummer brendan o'hare. amid a fermenting brew of spacy piano, ill-amplified hi-hats and tinny snare drums, mogwai's guitar grunge builds to mighty crescendos. in between, there are filmic conversations and documentary soundscapes, and at one point they even attempt to sing but, luckily howls of guitar and bass rumbles mask their uneasiness. like glenn branca's composed guitar overtures, sonic youth pogo-ing with primal teenage fanclub, my bloody valentine et al, mogwai's unkempt noise is every inch the expressive barrage that gyrates dysfunctionally, climaxing with the sonic phasing of the chipper 'mogwai fear satan'. weird. 3/5 [dave henderson]

review, by heather b. hamilton

a novice asked mogwai the old a fearful monster where to find enlightenment.

mogwai replied, "enlightenment is to be found in the well beyond the river katrien, on the east border of the village."

the novice was joyous, for he considered himself blessed by mogwai's favor. he set off for the well, and soon found it beyond the river katrien. there he drank handfuls of water for one whole day, but felt no more enlightened than before.

disappointed, he lay down by the well for the night. when he awoke to the eastern sun the next morning, he filled himself again with the magical water. he continued for the entire day. the sun had nearly fallen behind the opposite edge of the village, and he felt no wiser. so he arose and returned to mogwai.

"you told me enlightenment could be found in the well on the east border of the village, yet i found nothing," said the novice.

"yes," said mogwai, "that is where enlightenment is to be found. but the process is difficult."

"master mogwai," pleaded the novice, "what is the process?"

mogwai spoke, "it begins deep inside the well. you must drink one handful of water whenever you thirst. for each handful of water you take from the well, you must replace it with another handful from the river katrien. only when you have drunk the well dry will you have found true enlightenment."

review, by geoff bryant

who cares if the critics say rock is dying, an amazing amount of new inventive “rock” came out in the past year- sonic youth’s 4 part opus, radiohead’s masterpiece, and a new canvas from scotland's mogwai. "young team" is mogwai’s first proper lp, following a collection of thier earlier singles entitled "ten rapid". while i’ve yet to see them live, mogwai’s music prepares us for amazement. mainly instrumental (except for the stray anwsering machine message), young team is made for introspection. feedback and dense melodies force tension through your speakers, almost mute passages built into tumultuous crescendos. the noise is broken by ‘radar maker’ and ‘with portfolio’, two piano suites coupled with droning guitars and feedback. despite all of the various pieces this is still a straight forward ‘rock’ record. your head begins to bob along with the rhythm section, hands fight from playing air-guitar, feet tapping along trying to catch up with the time signature... recommend for sonic youths, radioheads, and anyone that wants to go swimming in the bardo pond.

original photograph

the original photograph used for the 'mogwai young team' sleeve was taken by brendan o'hare during teenage fanclub's first japanese tour.

tablature

track	filename	by
summer	summer_p.tab	Dario Pellarin