Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, is a band that prides itself in not fitting in the traditional doom figure that’s been presented in the last few years. These lads hail  all the way from Newcastle and have been in the forefront of the new age of underground music. Don’t be fooled by their over-repetitive annoying name. Their sound does not disappoint! With an immersive delivery, an astonishing reserve of energy and a refreshing take on a style that’s been a bit over-saturated in the last chunk of the decade, there really is no reason to ignore these lads. Their first festival shows in Portugal were widely acclaimed as one of the most memorable in their respective bills. It’s 2018 and we’ve great news regarding Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. New full-length album and a couple of venue shows in Lisbon, Porto and Bragança. So, if you saw them at Reverence Festival in 2016 or at Milhões de Festa last year, than you know how much poetic justice should be done with these guys in a couple of small venues.

Just to make sure none of our readers are sleeping on this, we and the great people at Galeria Zé dos Bóis, which will be hosting their Lisbon show, invited the band for a quick chat about their name, the Newcastle scene, the tools that crafted their sound and the band’s relationship with sunny Portugal. Read down below!

 

The whole story behind the band’s name seems laughable. Tell us about it. Would you ever consider changing it? To something even more annoying of course.

Pigs - The name for the band name was dreamt up by Matt and I after a gruelling time in the recording studio with an old band of ours in 2011. At the time we used to make up band names quite often for a laugh, we did have a vague concept for this band but we swiftly forgot about it and moved on, as was the case with many other band names we’d jokingly make up. But then Adam caught wind of the name, which he loved and swiftly set about making the band happen. Essentially, Matt and I were asked to join a band we’d formed. We really didn't think it would come this far! We have briefly tinkered with the idea of changing the name, but we can't possibly do that now. We've made our bed...

 

 

Do you ever think about how you see yourselves as artists? In the sense that you might take yourselves too seriously or not seriously enough?

P - Every member of the band has fully devoted themselves to music from a very early age. We're all very passionate about playing music and particularly doing so with this band. We take what we do very seriously. But we manage to have a lot of fun with it too and there are huge elements of our performances that are tongue in cheek and fun. I think we have a good balance. I think if you take yourself too seriously, all fun can be squeezed out of the whole process. I started playing music because I thought it was fun, that's still the case nearly 20 years on.

 


One can say Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs were born in the underbelly of the Geordie scene. Do you intend to wave that flag proudly?

P - The band was born in Newcastle, but there's only actually one Geordie in the band. The rest of us are adopted Geordies! We do all have a close relationship with the city and are very proud to live and play here. So yes, we're waving the flag! This explains a recent band photo of us all wearing Newcastle United shirts... It holds a very special place in our hearts. We’ve all been heavily involved in a wide range scenes in Newcastle for well over 10 years, it really has a unique family feel to it. We couldn't be anywhere else.

 


Your sound is completely infused in heavy, thick and bowl moving doom, but you’re live presence samples such a strong punk attitude, mostly because one doesn’t catch many doom collectives emanating such an energetic atmosphere in live shows. Do you think one thing should be synonymous to another?

P - We're all huge fans of Black Sabbath, but also the likes of The Stooges and Motorhead amongst many others. I think those influences have specifically shone through and melded together into what Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs is today. We've all played in Doom and Punk bands together separately to Pigsx7, I think this has also influenced where our sound is today. It's something we'd worked on and honed for years before the band was even an idea. One thing that we try to portray on stage is a light-hearted approach to such aggressive music. We want to give a sense of joy and optimism too with our performances, something you don't often associate with this kind of music. Weather or not these two differing genres should be synonymous with each other? It works for us! We're just laying it down.

 


So the new single “Cake Of Light” is sounding earthshaking good. The song is pretty short though, will there be more short songs on this release than on the previous ones?

P - Aside from 'Sweet Relief', a track from our last album, every track we'd written has been over 15 minutes long. The tracks lengths on our upcoming 'King of Cowards' album are generally shorter. Writing long songs wasn't really a conscious decision of ours, they just ended up that way, we just kept on adding new sections! Then before knew knew it, we'd have an 18 minute long song on our hands... But writing shorter songs is something that has always interested us, so it's nice to finally showcase that side of our game, plus it means we can have a sip of beer quicker when we're playing the songs live (laughs)

 


This will be your third time in Portugal! You’ve only played here through festival runs but when it comes down to shows, what do you prefer? Festivals or venue gigs and why?

P - Portugal has always stood out for me as a great place to play. We're always so well looked after and we come away feeling thoroughly appreciated. I've played in Portugal many times with other bands too and it's always been fantastic. Playing at Reverence Valada and Milhoes De Festa particularly stand out, it was an absolute honour to be asked to play. Playing festivals and club shows are totally different experiences for me really, it’s very difficult to pick a favourite, but I think I'd have to go with club shows. Mainly because you get a lot more time to set up and soundcheck, with festivals it can be a total mad rush getting set up and ready, which doesn't often fill me with confidence that our sound is going to be as good as it can be! They are great experiences though.

 


What new music are you listening these days that you can recommend?

P - In the last few months there have been a few artists that have tickled my fancy, particularly Bad Aura. We were supposed to play with them in Glasgow last winter, but unfortunately the snow wouldn’t let us. They sound like a mash up for Drunk in Hell, Foot Hair and Tile. All of which you should check out too.

Abul Mugard has also stood out for me too in recent times. I was initially drawn in by his intriguing back story as a retired metal factory worker from Belgrade making ambient drones with home made modular synths and vintage organs, that all turned out to be untrue… BUT, his music is amazing regardless, go and have a listen!

Chaka Khans new single "Like Sugar" is an absolute banger too.

 


As a waving goodbye and a sign of appreciation, here’s a chance for you to tell someone to fuck off!

P - Mike Ashley [owner of the football club Newcastle United]. Seriously man, FUCK. OFF. What the fuck are you doing???

 



Next Portuguese dates:
11/09 - Galeria Zé dos Bois, Lisboa
12/09 - Maus Hábitos, Porto
13/09 - Vitória Pub, Bragança