Ray Aggs is a musician based in Glasgow. Primarily known for their distinctive guitar work, influenced by both West African

highlife Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (British colony), history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions ...

and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

, 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. Aggs is also a member of

Shopping Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A Retail#Shopper profiles, typology of shopper types ha ...

, formed with Andrew Milk and Billy Easter, since 2012. Other bands have included The Madrigals, Covergirl, Golden Grrrls, and

Sacred Paws Sacred Paws is a Scottish rock band, comprising Ray Aggs (guitar, bass, vocals) and Eilidh Rodgers (drums, vocals), who met as members of the band Golden Grrrls. Their debut album ''Strike a Match'' won the 2017 Scottish Album of the Year Award ...

, who released their debut EP in 2015. In June 2017,

debut album ''Strike A Match'', released the previous January, was awarded ''Scottish Album of the Year''. They have written several zines, including ''I Trust My Guitar'' and ''DIY Guitar for beginners.'' Aggs has often been featured in the ''Shotgun Seamstress'' zine, a book of when re-released had Aggs involved in a discussion panel of Black zinesters at

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (MLKML) is the central facility of the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL). Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the 400,000 square foot (37,000 m2) steel, brick, and glass structure, and it is a ra ...

in Washington D.C. in 2022. 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. Between 2011-2015 they worked at Power Lunches in Dalston, East London, active in the scene cultivated at the venue. They were a contributor to performance of the

Pauline Oliveros Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center ...

score ''To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe, In Recognition of their Desperation'' in a performance in the Turbine Hall,

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

, 2012. As well as on a second occasion in a film-based performance with other musicians

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuz ...

Catriona Shaw Miss le bomb is the pseudonym of artist and musician Catriona Shaw (born in Edinburgh, Scotland). After finishing her studies at Edinburgh College of Art in 1997 she moved to Munich, Germany to continue her studies at the Munich Academy of Fine ...

Verity Susman Verity Susman is an English songwriter, composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. She is best known as a founding member and the frontwoman of the English indie rock band Electrelane. Music career Following classical piano, clarinet and sax ...

Ginger Brooks Takahashi Ginger Brooks Takahashi (born July 26, 1977) is an American artist based in Brooklyn, New York, and North Braddock, Pennsylvania. A self-identified “punk,” Takahashi grew up in Oregon. She co-founded the feminist genderqueer collective and jou ...

, and William Wheeler in a film of the same name by artists

Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz (born 1972 in Lausanne and 1963 in Berlin) are a Berlin-based artist duo who have worked together since 2006. They produce film installations that revisit recent and past material (a score, a piece of music, a film, a ...

and shown at

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, New York, in a special event with the artists, Oliveros and

Gregg Bordowitz Gregg Bordowitz (born August 14, 1964) is a writer, artist, and activist currently working as a professor in the Video, New Media, and Animation department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Biography Gregg Bordowitz was born August 1 ...

in May 2014. On 14 April 2018 Aggs performed at the

Barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...

as part of a 12 guitarist group assembled by

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...

; along with Deborah Goodge, Susan Stenger,

Jonah Falco Fucked Up is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band consists of Damian Abraham (vocals), Mike Haliechuk (guitar, vocals), Josh Zucker (guitar), Sandy Miranda (bass), and Jonah Falco (drums, vocals). From 2 ...

, Joseph Coward, and more. In 2022 Aggs was in

Nikita Gale Nikita Gale (born 1983, Alaska) is an American visual artist. Education Gale received a BA in Anthropology from Yale University. The artist received a Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) in New Genres from the University of California, Los Ange ...

Frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

installation 63/62 alongside other musicians Alpha Maid and Joviale. In 2020 Aggs started releasing and performing solo music, now under the name R. Aggs. Their first solo EP, recorded the year before, as part of the second series of

Lost Map Records Lost Map is a British independent record label set up in 2013 by Johnny Lynch. The label was established following the dissolution of Fence Records Limited in August 2013. History After 10 years of working for and subsequently managing Fence R ...

' 'Visitations' subscription service. Each release in the series is recorded by the artist whilst staying in a bothy on the isle of

Eigg Eigg (; gd, Eige; sco, Eigg) is one of the Small Isles in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the Isle of Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With an a ...

, where the label is based, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. Aggs also composed the song Another Road for the 2021

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

film

Hilda and the Mountain King ''Hilda and the Mountain King'' (marketed as ''Hilda: The Mountain King'') is a 2021 2D-animated adventure fantasy film directed by Andy Coyle and based on the sixth edition of the ''Hilda'' graphic novel series by Luke Pearson of the same nam ...

alongside

Vice Cooler Vice Cooler is an American musician, music video director, and photographer. He has been recognized by people like High Places and Henry Rollins as an "inspiration". Peaches has crowned him as the world's greatest performer. Band history Coole ...

Discography

Solo

* ''Visitations 0202'' -

, 12” EP, CD, MP3 (2020) * ''//TAPE 1//'' - Self release, Cassette, MP3 (2020) * ''Another Road'' - Soundtrack,

Hilda and The Mountain King ''Hilda and the Mountain King'' (marketed as ''Hilda: The Mountain King'') is a 2021 2D-animated adventure fantasy film directed by Andy Coyle and based on the sixth edition of the ''Hilda'' graphic novel series by Luke Pearson of the same nam ...

, MP3 (2021)

Golden Grrrls

* ''Golden Grrrls'' –

Slumberland Records Slumberland Records is an American independent record label, formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C. and based in Oakland, California. The label has released recordings by Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, Evans The Death, St. Christopher ...

/ Night School, 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2013)

Sacred Paws

* ''Strike a Match'' – Rock Action, 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2017) * ''Run Around the Sun'' – Rock Action (UK/EU) /

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

(US), 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2019)

Shopping

* ''Consumer Complaints'' - Mïlk Records/

FatCat Records FatCat Records is an English independent record label based in Brighton. The label's output reaches into many styles including experimental rock, electronica, psychedelic folk, contemporary classical, noise and post-punk. Notable artists that ...

, 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2013) * '' Why Choose'' - FatCat Records, 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2015) * ''

The Official Body ''The Official Body'' is the third studio album by British post-punk band Shopping. It was released on 19 January 2018 through FatCat Records. Critical reception ''The Official Body'' was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, w ...

'' - FatCat Records, 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2018) * '' All or Nothing'' - FatCat Records, 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2020)

Trash Kit

* ''Trash Kit'' -

Upset The Rhythm Upset The Rhythm is an independent record label based in London with a varied roster of leftfield artists and bands; they also operate as a diverse DIY live music promoter. Huw Stephens featured Upset The Rhythm as "purveyors of interesting indi ...

, 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2010) * ''Confidence'' - Upset The Rhythm, 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2014) * ''Horizon'' - Upset The Rhythm, 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aggs, Rachel Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom Living people English punk rock guitarists English punk rock singers Highlife musicians English violinists Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century violinists