We got us some prime cuts with Raymond Watts, the Lord of Lard; the Prince of Porcine; the Orator of Oink(?!?,) about current events and new album The Merciless Light.
Hi Raymond, how are you doing?
It could always be worse is the most upbeat angle I can put on it. At least the scars that remain remind me of what is real.
Was the lockdown kind to you?
Was the lockdown kind to anyone? Between the dystopian terror, acute boredom and growing socio-psychosis, I managed to write and record the Pain is God and then The Merciless Light albums (plus the Baptise Bless & Bleed EP, and get some remix albums out) so I am lucky I had those horses to ride through that mini apocalypse. But, rather like the previous answer all I can say is it could have been worse.
PIG missed two tours of the US. Which was a real shame, and of course it hurt, and when you factor in the self inflicted vandalistic wound of Brexit– it has been a tough time but we are still here and cooking up the kick ass.
“I am not […] dragging myself through the nine circles of hell to find some experience I can write about.”
How was the production of new album The Merciless Light different from previous albums?
The production was not very different from previous albums. A lot of that happens in my head prior to getting in the studio. The studio is a place where I literally manifest the ideas into reality, and although I know my way around and know roughly what I want it is also really important for me to be able to try things out, muck about, experiment and make a complete mess things.
Of course, with my collaborators: Steve White, En Esch and Michelle Martinez, we work remotely on their parts and we will have a brief chat about what the song is saying but mainly I just get out of the way and let them get on with it. It is different with Jim Davies, as we are able to sit eyeball to eyeball in the studio and make a filthy noise together. Which was both rare and refreshing.
“… cooking up the kick ass.”
Jim Davies (Pitchshifter/The Prodigy) is a new addition to the usual pork chops. What is the story?
Jim did a remix on the Pain Killer album for me and I really liked what he did. So we met and talked about doing something. I had the idea for the song Glitz Kreig. I outlined the lyrical idea and sang a bit of the chorus to him and he just went off and wrote the music. Boom! That was it. From there he went on and put his paws on quite a few songs which enriched the whole process.
In what ways have you (and the trough) developed and progressed as a musician(s) and composer(s) on The Merciless Light?
Well I do not know about the word Developed. I think of it in almost the opposite way– I play a lot more with lyrical and musical ideas and I have unlearned a lot of things that were both the catalyst and the collapse of my previous work on PIG. I have gone to a place where I am not staggering under the yoke of where can I go with this now and dragging myself through the nine circles of hell to find some experience I can write about.
What tracks on the album are destined to kill the floor?
Speak of Sin is the one.
