Exclusive Interview: SHOPPING all over the world
Updated: Sep 15, 2021
From across the pond, this band's up-tempo style is the only product you need to get
through these unprecedented times.
The group consists of three members, which are Rachel Aggs (guitar/vocals), Billy Easter (bass/vocals), and Andrew Milk (drums/vocals). Having been around since 2012, they've released four albums and built a fan base all across the globe. In 2018, the band claims to have had the biggest year to date. Touring around the world in support of their third release The Official Body, they've brought even more styles into the group's already impressive repertoire.
Part of what makes them a great band is that the sound changes up with each record, yet they deliver what the fans have come to expect and love by now. Being such an energetic presence on stage, there really aren't too many bands matching them at the moment.
They spent most of 2019 working on their latest record, All Or Nothing, which was released earlier this year; yet plans to go on a North American tour were quickly wiped out by the virus. Automatic would have been joining them on the journey and the tour was sure to be prosperous for them. Sadly, only 6 out of 27 shows booked were played. We are glad everyone is safe at home at the moment, but we can't wait for these incredible human beings to get back out there.
I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Shopping recently.
Here's what they had to say:
Q: Where is everyone in the band from?
A: (Rachel) I grew up in the countryside in the the south of England an hour outside of London, nearer to Brighton.
(Andrew) I am from Sunny Dunny aka Dunstable. It’s about an hour and 15 mins north of London.
(Billy) I grew up in a small town called Tring just outside of London, my dad lived in London so I spent part of my time there.
Q: How did you guys all meet?
A: (Rachel) I met Andrew through Myspace, he heard my first bands demos on there and then offered to put on our first gig at his house. I met Billy through her other band Wet Dog. We all used to hang out and play gigs together
(Billy) As above, I think Andrew was booking shows for my band Wet Dog and put us on with Trash Kit.
Q: Is it usually a joint collaboration when it comes to writing music?
A: (Rachel) Yeah we always write music in the room together, doing it any other way has never really worked out for us.
Q: I really love the artwork for all the albums, do you guys use the same artists for them or branch out to others for each album?
A: (Rachel) We make most the artwork ourselves. Sometimes we work with a guy called Dave
Thomas who does really great design work for bands on our label (FatCat Records). He also works for Rock Action records in Glasgow and designs most of the Mogwai records and merch. He's very prolific.
(Billy) I have worked on all the album
covers. The first one “Consumer Complaints” was cobbled together by Andrew and I using scanner in my flat in