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Feb 19, 2020 By Rachel Aggs, Billy Easter, and Andrew Milk Photography by Rachel Aggs, Billy Easter, and Andrew Milk (Self-Portrait Drawings) Self-Portrait

For our recurring Self-Portrait feature we ask a musician to take a self-portrait photo (or paint/draw a self-portrait) and write a list of personal things about themselves, things that their fans might not already know about them. This Self-Portrait is by Rachel Aggs, Billy Easter, and Andrew Milk of the British post-punk trio Shopping and they each drew their own self-portraits.

Shopping just released their new album, All Or Nothing, on FatCat. All Or Nothing finds the band spread across the globe, with guitarist/vocalist Rachel Aggs and drummer Andrew Milk based in Glasgow and bassist Billy Easter based in Los Angeles. The band all met up in London for a fast-paced 10-day session to record the album with U.S.-based producer Davey Warsop. Nick Sylvester then mixed All Or Nothing in Los Angeles, using as inspiration a mixtape the band made him featuring Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem, and Bronski Beat.

“We found ourselves singing about being true to yourself, in an often binary and belligerent digital age, and reclaiming agency when it feels like our personal freedom and privacy is constantly eroding,” the band collectively said about All Or Nothing in a press release announcing the album.

Read on as all three members of Shopping give little details about their lives, including some depraved dungeons, scary animals, and fake allergies.

Billy Easter:

1. I had a brief stint working for a dominatrix back in 2004. I had the job of greeting the clients and making a cup of tea for them while they waited for their appointment in the dungeon. It was quite mundane to be honest. My employment came to an abrupt end when a neighbor in the same building complained to the council about the “depraved” goings on and we were thrown out.

2. I am blind in one eye, not a lot of people know that.

3. When I was a kid and I didn’t want my dad to go out to the pub to meet his friend I used to sing “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood to him. I obviously had no idea what the song was about. He must have thought it was hilarious but didn’t let on.

Rachel Aggs:

1. Probably not many people know that I play in a folk band with my parents, although I’m not really sure if it counts as a band. We don’t really play gigs as such but we play in the living room when I visit them. I’ve played music with my family since I can remember.

2. I’m very afraid of pelicans. They just freak me out. I have nightmares about them. If I was in a kind of hell where I had to face my greatest fear it would probably be something involving a massive bird that is also part human.

Andrew Milk:

1. It’s my worst kept secret (cos I’ll happily tell anyone) but I am the drag queen Ruby Waters. She is a DJ and karaoke host extraordinaire! Instagram: @rubyh2o.

2. My mum always told me she was deathly allergic to cats, but as I got older I discovered she just doesn’t like them.

www.shoppingfc.bandcamp.com

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