Ray Aggs Explained

Ray Aggs
Genre:Post-punk, indie pop
Occupation:Musician
Years Active:2009–present
Label:FatCat Records, Upset The Rhythm, Slumberland Records, Rock Action Records, Merge Records, Mïlk Records

Ray Aggs is a musician based in Glasgow.[1] [2] Primarily known for their distinctive guitar work, influenced by both West African highlife and post-punk, they also sing and play the violin.

Career

They have been playing with the band Trash Kit since 2009, formed with Rachel Horwood and Ros Murray (later replaced by Gill Partington), releasing 3 albums on the Upset! The Rhythm Indie-label, a self-titled record in 2010, Confidence, in 2014 and Horizon in 2019.[3] [4] [5]

Aggs is also a member of Shopping, formed with Andrew Milk and Billy Easter, since 2012. Other bands have included The Madrigals, Covergirl, Golden Grrrls, and Sacred Paws, who released their debut EP in 2015.[6]

In June 2017, Sacred Paws debut album Strike A Match, released the previous January, was awarded Scottish Album of the Year.[7]

They have written several zines, including I Trust My Guitar and DIY Guitar for beginners.[8] [9] Aggs has often been featured in the Shotgun Seamstress zine,[10] a book of when re-released had Aggs involved in a discussion panel of Black zinesters at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington D.C. in 2022.[11]

Following the theme of their zines, Aggs has taught guitar in workshops, one called Decolonising The Guitar and as part of the workshop series leading up to First Timers festival at DIY Space For London.[12]

Between 2011-2015 they worked at Power Lunches in Dalston, East London, active in the scene cultivated at the venue.[13]

They were a contributor to performance of the Pauline Oliveros score To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe, In Recognition of their Desperation in a performance in the Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, 2012.[14] As well as on a second occasion in a film-based performance with other musicians Peaches, Catriona Shaw, Verity Susman, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, and William Wheeler in a film of the same name by artists Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz and shown at Museum of Modern Art, New York, in a special event with the artists, Oliveros and Gregg Bordowitz in May 2014.[15]

On 14 April 2018 Aggs performed at the Barbican as part of a 12 guitarist group assembled by Thurston Moore; along with Deborah Goodge, Susan Stenger, Jonah Falco, Joseph Coward, and more.[16] In 2022 Aggs was in Nikita Gale's Frieze installation 63/62 alongside other musicians Alpha Maid and Joviale.[17]

In 2020 Aggs started releasing and performing solo music, now under the name R. Aggs.[18] [19] Their first solo EP, recorded the year before, as part of the second series of Lost Map Records' 'Visitations' subscription service. Each release in the series is recorded by the artist whilst staying in a bothy on the isle of Eigg, where the label is based, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. Aggs also composed the song Another Road for the 2021 Netflix film Hilda and the Mountain King alongside Vice Cooler.

Discography

Solo

Golden Grrrls

Sacred Paws

Shopping

Trash Kit

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ray Aggs' Instagram profile . 11 June 2023 . Instagram.
  2. Web site: V I S I T ▲ T I O N S Rachel Aggs . 2023-06-11 . Lost Map Records . en-GB.
  3. Web site: UPSET THE RHYTHM Artists Trash Kit . 2023-06-11 . upsettherhythm.co.uk.
  4. Web site: Auto Italia — Yes Way! . Auto Italia . 2014-07-26.
  5. Web site: The Quietus | Reviews | Trash Kit . thequietus.com . 2014-07-26.
  6. Web site: Premiere: Sacred Paws - 'Six Songs' EP. 9 March 2015 . 31 July 2018.
  7. News: Sacred Paws win album of the year. BBC News. 29 June 2017. 31 July 2018.
  8. Web site: I TRUST MY GUITAR . r4ggs.tumblr.com . 2014-07-26.
  9. Web site: Schemmer . Cynthia . 2019-11-06 . Guest Editor Rachel Aggs on Decolonizing the Guitar, Gauche, and More . 2023-06-11 . She Shreds Media . en.
  10. Web site: 2021-12-21 . Shotgun Seamstress . 2023-06-11 . Soft Skull Press . en.
  11. Web site: Shotgun Seamstress Book Launch . 2023-06-11 . DC Public Library Event . en.
  12. Web site: On the sound of community . 2023-06-11 . thecreativeindependent.com.
  13. Web site: Power Lunches Ltd. . powerlunchesltd.co.uk . 2014-07-26.
  14. Web site: Artist talk and performance: Pauline Oliveros | Tate . tate.org.uk . 2014-07-26.
  15. Web site: MoMA | An Evening with Pauline Boudry/Renate Lorenz with Gregg Bordowitz and Pauline Oliveros . moma.org . 2014-07-26.
  16. Web site: Thurston Moore: GALAXIES 12x12 Music for Twelve 12-String guitars. The Barbican.
  17. Web site: Dozier . Ayanna . 2022-10-12 . Inside Nikita Gale’s Frieze London Installation That Honors Black Women Musicians . 2023-06-11 . Artsy . en.
  18. Web site: 2023-06-22 . R.AGGS (UK) Full Tour Schedule 2023 & 2024, Tour Dates & Concerts – Songkick . 2023-06-11 . www.songkick.com . en.
  19. Web site: //TAPE 1//, by R.AGGS . 2023-06-11 . R.AGGS . en.
  20. Web site: Coastal Explorations: Visitations 0202 By Rachel Aggs. The Quietus. Stephanie. Phillips. 6 August 2020. 6 August 2020.
  21. Web site: Hilda and the Mountain King End Credits. YouTube.
  22. Web site: Sendra. Tim. Strike a Match review. AllMusic. 3 January 2018. 2017.
  23. Web site: Sacred Paws share new track 'The Conversation', announce album. DIY. 20 March 2019. 20 March 2019.
  24. Web site: SHOPPING - 'CONSUMER COMPLAINTS' LP. Milkrecords.bigcartel.com. 2018-01-21.
  25. Web site: Why Choose, by Shopping. FatCat Records. 1 February 2018.
  26. Web site: The Official Body, by Shopping. Shopping. 2018-01-21.
  27. News: Album Review: Shopping - The Official Body. Drowned In Sound. 2018-01-21. en.
  28. Web site: Shopping Announce New Album All or Nothing, Share New Song: Listen. Minsker. Evan. 5 December 2019. Pitchfork. 11 December 2019.
  29. Web site: Trash Kit Trash Kit Label: Upset The Rhythm. 17 May 2010. Dom. Gourlay. Drowned In Sound. 28 February 2018.
  30. Web site: Trash Kit: Trash Kit. 2 June 2010. Mike. Powell. Pitchfork. 28 February 2018.
  31. Web site: Trash Kit: Confidence. 2 December 2014. Paul. Thompson. Pitchfork. 27 February 2018.
  32. Web site: Trash Kit - Confidence. Thomas. Ingham. The Line of Best Fit. 27 February 2018.
  33. Web site: Trash Kit Confidence Label: Upset The Rhythm. 26 November 2014. Tom. Fenwick. Drowned In Sound. 27 February 2018.
  34. Web site: Trash Kit announce first album in five years with lead single "Horizon". 16 May 2019. Cerys. Kenneally. Line of Best Fit. 20 June 2019.

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