catalogue numbers

uk cd: chemikal underground [chem036cd]
uk 12": chemikal underground [chem036]
us cd: matador [ole412-2]

released in the u.s. on 25th october 1999. the us release is titled 'ep+2' and contains two bonus tracks - 'rollerball' and 'small children in the background' from the 'no education=no future (fuck the curfew)' ep.

reissued in the uk on 17th september 2001, as part of 'ep+6'

sleeve notes

'stanley kubrick' features vocals from lee cohen.
'burn girl prom queen' features the cowdenbeath brass band.

'stanley kubrick' recorded at substation, cowdenbeath with assistance from kevin lynch. additional recording and mixing at cava, glasgow.
all other tracks recorded at cava, glasgow with assistance from tony doogan and willie deans.
produced by michael brennan jr.

cover design by adam piggot. photography by neale smith (a movie still entitled "watertower" of a water tower in east kilbride, south lanarkshire, scotland).

"mogwai wear kappa and adidas clothing. representatives of nike, umbro and puma may contact them at the p.o. box address"

"burn girl prom queen: this was a headline in the weekly world news (formerly national enquirer). we got a lot of song names from that publication." - stuart, july 2008

"rage:man" is michael brennan's nickname.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EP_(Mogwai_EP)

stuart's comments on the ep, as published on the mogwai website

we did these 4 songs over a week this summer.

stanley kubrick started as an idea of john's that we started while doing the remix for warp up in cowdenbeath. we decided that since we'd done a pretty decent one, we wrote 3 more so as to make it an e.p.

the musical themes range from war-crime outrage to drunken apathy. the ideal place to hear our new music is in the bath or while reversing a car round an evil corner.

the name of the song stanley kubrick was chosen so that we wouldn't have to explain it.

christmas song was named in an attempt to confuse people between this song and the similarly titled christmas steps. the confusion on this matter is multiplied by the fact that both songs sound the exact same!!!!!!

the musical motif that immediately signifies the 3rd track, burn girl prom queen came to dominic in a sexual vision! he interpreted the many thrusting motions of a mythical robotic chimp lady that was licking his favorite trousers as musical notation thus giving birth to the serene beauty that is the track that the fans have already dubbed "boring hippy mince".

the last track - rage:man - is named after one of fife's prominent road rage exponents.

for legal reasons we cannot discuss the musical content of this track as we are due in court to fight for our ownership of the track which according to most (gay) hermits is their national anthem.

i apologise for the lack of reverence which i have for anything.

stuart leslie braithwaite hnd

matador sales notes

this ep, which now, in the us only, includes two tracks from the uk only "no education = no future: fuck the curfew" ep, was born just a month ago after a feverish fit of creativity. mogwai regularly go into the studio for a day or two to flex their creative muscle and allow a few ideas to stretch out. usually, a song or two come out of it. this time though, they walked away with four stellar new compositions; they felt so proud of them, they had to put them out asap. we were happy to oblige, cause we're good like that.

review, from kerrang, ??/10/1999

reviewed by pete and hug from groop dogdrill

joint single of the week - kkkkk

four gorgeous new songs from the scottish post-rockers. all the tracks on the enigmatically-titled 'ep' unfold mesmerically, with shimmering guitars melting slowly over gently tinkled piano and lazily bowed strings.
hug: "this is excellent, more like the first album than 'come on die young', and i prefer that. it's not radically different to hundreds of bands who were around in the early '90s, but it pisses all over everything we've heard so far apart from the foos. mogwai are taking the piss out of everybody in the music industry - which is cool, but they should have a new t-shirt which says: 'mogwai: are slint'."
pete: "that's sweet, that's how ballads should be. death to false metal - mogwai rule."

thanks to lianne for forwarding this.

review, from select, october 1999

mogwai may been keen on directing a firm 'fick ye' towards blur, but their music seems to be turning into an increasingly pretty, aggression free thing. this succinctly titled opus is their first release to lack any loud bits whatsoever, and very it is too - with the delicate ambience of first track 'stanley kubrick' sounding more like michael nyman than my bloody valentine. even better is 'rage: man', an intricate homage to their idols slint that's all the more effective for never fully igniting.

comments by chino moreno [deftones], revolver magazine, june 2011

Deftones Frontman Chino Moreno Recommends Five Non-Metal Albums for Metalheads

Mogwai
EP+2 EP
(Matador, 1999)

I went to see Mogwai at the Fillmore, and that was both the loudest and quietest concert I’ve ever been to. They’ll start from a teeny little melody, and then build this wall of delayed-out guitars—by the end of the song, the shit’s caving your chest in! I love that extreme, combination of violent guitar shit and beautiful shit.