If you’ve listened to any of Ray Aggs’ musical projects, you’ll know the guitar is a language that makes sense to them. From the discordant sounds of early Trash Kit to the clean grooves of minimalist dance punks Shopping, their intricate and inventive lead lines remain a golden thread.
Fretboard dexterity started early for Aggs. Learning to play the fiddle at five years old gave them confidence to follow on to mandolin – which they still perform in their parents’ bluegrass band.
The family musical connection led Aggs to their first guitar. “My dad bought me a PRS Student Edition (SE),” they say.
“It was cheap. I still wasn’t sure if electric would be my thing. Then a friend of my dad’s gave me the guitar I have now. I always tell people that when they’re learning: there’s a guitar not being played. I’ve never bought a guitar and I’m quite proud of that!”
They were similarly unconventional regarding technique. “I’ve always been more interested in playing melodies than learning chords.”
Structuring tunes created a greater alliance with the instrument. “If you can write on it, you have more ownership. It’s so empowering to be like, ‘I invented that chord. Nobody’s ever done it before!’
“It’s a good way of approaching the guitar: thinking about the physicality and shapes.”
Of course, Aggs isn’t the first guitarist to take that approach. Glenn Branca made a name for himself with his alt-tunings in the ’80s New York no-wave scene. Fitting, then, that their paths would cross, with Aggs performing in Branca’s Symphony No. 13 (Hallucination City) at the Roundhouse, London, in 2007, alongside another 100 electric guitars.
“I didn’t know what I was doing – but it was such a chaotic wall of noise that it didn’t matter!” they laugh. “Everybody showed up with gaffer tape stuck on their guitars, because they were so stressed about figuring out the fret notations!”
The power collaborations continued when Trash Kit supported Dutch band the Ex on tour. “It was like a festival every day in a different city, with four or five different acts. Thurston Moore was on one of them. That’s when he asked me to play in GALAXIES 12×12.”
The experimental 12-string guitar ensemble found Aggs appearing alongside My Bloody Valentine’s Debbie Googe and Fucked Up’s Jonah Falco. Once again, the self-taught guitarist was outside their comfort zone.
“It was very technically difficult. There were a lot of harmonics. But it was cool to see Thurston having his composer moment!”
Ever since, Aggs has placed importance on the notion of decolonising the guitar, whether that’s teaching others via their DIY Guitar for Beginners zine to claiming their own space. But as they rationalise, it’s all about everyone carving out their own space.
I’m never gonna fully feel like I belong in this electric guitar world unless I make it mine
“With the guitar, there are all these barriers to feeling confident. I’m never gonna fully feel like I belong in this electric guitar world unless I make it mine. I need to establish my way of doing it so there is no wrong.”
For Sacred Paws’ latest record, Jump Into Lifethat meant leaning back into those melodies again. “I wanted to write riffs and have a good time – but on this album we’ve tried to write big choruses.”
Those songs still boast Aggs’ signature clean Telecaster tones. “I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe which I always use. A lot of guitar music that I enjoy, ’60s South African pop or Nigerian Highlife, is clean tones.”
For Aggs, it’s less about technical ways to do things and more about embracing a DIY spirit and giving it a go. “Guitar is easy. Don’t be fooled. If you want to play like Van Halen, go for it.
“But if you want to start a band with your friends, you don’t need to know much. People think you have to be able to play an instrument well before you start to write music. It’s the other way around – writing can be a good motivator to learn.”
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