Overview
"Helicon 1" is a regular part of Mogwai set lists. A live version of the song (recorded by Steve Lamacq from a BBC Radio Session at Maida Vale in March 1999) can be found on Mogwai's 2005 live compilation album, Government Commissions:BBC Sessions 1996-2003 ,as well as UK music magazine Select's 2000 compilation CD,The Deep End. Another live version of "Helicon 1" (recorded at Rothesay Pavilion,Isle of Bute on 14 April 2001) can be found as B-sides on the Australian,New Zealand and Japanese releases of the "My Father My King" single,as well as the 2001 UK/European Tour EP. When the song is played live,Stuart Braithwaite and Dominic Aitchison switch instruments,Aitchison playing guitar,and Braithwaite on bass,usually sitting down. Braithwaite has commented on this:
I'm a lot shorter than Dominic so I can't stand up playing the bass or [it]'d be down on my knees. [5]
Musical composition
The song begins with almost inaudible guitar, heavily delayed and reverberated, playing a descending three note melody. At (0:25), a bass riff (based around the chords of D major and B minor) enters. At (1:00), slightly distorted, heavily delayed and reverberated guitars begin playing along to the bass riff, swooping in and out. At (1:34), a relaxed, slow drum beat begins. At (2:50), all of the instruments pause for a brief second, then explode into loud guitar-driven noise, backed by a steady, heavy drumbeat (to which every snare drum beat is accompanied by a tambourine clash). At (4:28), the distorted guitars and drums end, leaving the soft bass riff to close the song, aided by the guitar melody heard at the start of song, all of which gradually fade out.
Live versions of the song are performed at a substantially slower tempo.
Mogwai are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite, Barry Burns, Dominic Aitchison, and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwai typically compose lengthy guitar-based instrumental pieces that feature dynamic contrast, melodic bass guitar lines, and heavy use of distortion and effects.
Mogwai Young Team is the debut studio album by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. Produced by Paul Savage and Andy Miller, the album was released on 21 October 1997 through the Chemikal Underground record label.
Ten Rapid is a compilation album by Scottish post-rock group Mogwai, released in various countries in 1997.
EP+6 is a compilation album by Scottish post-rock group Mogwai, released in Japan in 2000 through Toy's Factory, and later in the UK in 2001 through Chemikal Underground.
"Tracy" is a song on the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai's 1997 debut album, Mogwai Young Team. The song was written by the band's guitarists Stuart Braithwaite and John Cummings and bassist Dominic Aitchison prior to the 1997 Mogwai Young Team recording sessions.
"Mogwai Fear Satan" is an instrumental by Scottish post-rock group Mogwai. It appears as the closing track for their 1997 debut studio album, Mogwai Young Team.
"Like Herod" is a song by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai from their 1997 debut studio album, Mogwai Young Team, written by Stuart Braithwaite, Dominic Aitchison, John Cummings and Martin Bulloch. As well as being a fan-favourite, the song is a live staple, and an extreme display of Mogwai's quiet/loud dynamic contrast method. An 18-minute-long version of "Like Herod" appears on Mogwai's live compilation album, Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003. The song was originally titled "Slint", referring to the influential American post-rock band Slint. Stuart Braithwaite has said that "Like Herod" is his favourite song from Mogwai Young Team.
"My Father My King" is a song by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, which was released as a single in October 2001. Over 20 minutes long, and billed as a companion piece to the album Rock Action, a sticker on the cover of the single describes it as "two parts serenity and one part death metal". The song is regularly used to end Mogwai concerts – most recently, in 2015, it was the finale of all six of the band's 20th anniversary shows – and was often extended in length.
"Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home" is the opening track on the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai's 1997 debut album, Mogwai Young Team. It was primarily composed by the band's bassist, Dominic Aitchison, prior to the 1997 Mogwai Young Team recording sessions.
"Summer" is a piece of music by Mogwai released as a double A-side with "Ithica 27ø9" on 4 November 1996 and eventually included on Ten Rapid . A version of "Summer" called "Summer " is included on Mogwai's debut album, Young Team.
"Superheroes of BMX" is 1997 a song by the Scottish post-rock group Mogwai, released on their 4 Satin EP and on the 2000 compilation album EP+6.
"New Paths to Helicon, Pt. 2" is a song by Scottish band Mogwai. It was first released as a double A-side with "New Paths to Helicon, Pt. 1", on 7" limited to 3000 copies. It was later included on the 1997 compilation album, Ten Rapid . The single reached #2 in English radio presenter John Peel's 1997 Festive Fifty Chart.
4 Satin is an EP by Scottish post-rock group Mogwai, released in 1997 in the UK and the US through Chemikal Underground and Jetset respectively.
No Education = No Future is an EP by Scottish post-rock group Mogwai, released in the UK through Chemikal Underground in 1998.
"Now You're Taken" is a song by Scottish post-rock group Mogwai, which originally appeared on the 4 Satin EP in 1997, then later on the compilation album EP+6 in 2000.
"Xmas Steps" or "Christmas Steps" is a song by Scottish post-rock group Mogwai. The original version of the song is the lead track from the 1998 EP No Education = No Future , and a slightly different version appears on the 1999 album Come On Die Young.
UK/European Tour EP is an EP by the Scottish group Mogwai, released in 2001.
The Hawk Is Howling is the sixth studio album by the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, released on 22 September 2008, by Wall of Sound, Play It Again Sam and Matador in the UK, Europe, and the US, respectively. It was released in Australia by Spunk Records on 27 September 2008.
Special Moves is a live album by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, released on 23 August 2010 through Rock Action Records. Some of the formats in which the album was sold included a live performance documentary entitled Burning, recorded at the same live shows.
Kin is an original soundtrack album by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, released on 31 August 2018 on Rock Action Records in the UK and Europe, and Temporary Residence Limited in the United States. Two tracks "Donuts" and "We're Not Done " were released ahead of the album.
