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“What the f*ck is up, Waterstones?!” Wallowing just did a show in a bookshop

Brighton alien-sludge-beekeepers Wallowing managed to shake books off the shelves at the show in Bristol…

“What the f*ck is up, Waterstones?!” Wallowing just did a show in a bookshop
Words:
Nick Ruskell
Photos:
Sarah Farooque, Dyl Jones

Here's a turn up for the books: Brit sludgers Wallowing recently turned up to play a show in a branch of Waterstones, to celebrate the release of their excellent new album, Earth Reaper. As you can see from the pics they beamed us, it was predictably chaotic.

This was actually the second time that the Brighton-based heavyists/alien beekepers have hit the Bristol store. Partly, it was as a tie-in to the band's work with comic book artist Luke Oram. Aptly, they've titled the events 'Book Mosh'.

"The first time we did Book Mosh there was this nervous energy in the room where people didn't know what was and wasn't allowed," they explain. "Being slap-bang in the middle of walls of books, everyone – ourselves included – was aware that some serious damage could be done to their stock. Almost instantly, books were vibrating off the shelves and everyone in unison peered over to the store manager, who cheerily gestured that they weren't fussed from behind their glass of champagne."

"Round Two was like Round One but on steroids, with twice the attendance and twice the rowdiness," they continue. "We never thought we would witness a full-blown pit in Waterstones ever, let alone twice in the space of a year! We are very thankful."

Asked why Book Mosh in the first place, they're pragmatic, saying, "It would be silly to turn down such a ridiculous offer." But it also just seemed like exactly their bag.

"We've always had a love for playing obscure locations," they say. "From our humble beginnings putting on house shows in our crusty Brighton kitchen, to illuminating the Cumbrian forests with our lasers and smoke machines, playing a space as random as a book shop seemed like a very Wallowing move. Given our work with Luke Oram on our on-going comic book collaborations, it made even more sense. It was awesome to spotlight his art and the comics at the most recent Waterstones mosh."

Earth Reaper is out now via Church Road. Catch Wallowing live at ArcTanGent August 16 – 19

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