Pig (musical project)

"P.I.G." redirects here. For other uses, seepig (disambiguation).

Raymond Watts(also known by his former stage names Nainz, Nainz Watts and Ray Scaballero) is an English musician, the founding and sole member of theindustrial musicprojectPIG,sometimes written as<PIG>.

PIG
PIG at Bowery Electric 2024
Background information
Born	(1961-09-01)1 September 1961
Origin	London,England
Genres	Industrial rock
Occupation	Musician
Years active	Artist: 1980–present Band: 1987–2003, 2005–2010, 2013–present
Labels	Armalyte Industries Metropolis Wax Trax! TVT Nothing Blue Noise Grand Cleopatra Invisible Alfa Concrete Contempo Invitation Victor Entertainment Rock I, Absentee
Website	pigindustries

Watts was an early member and periodic collaborator ofKMFDM,and has been a visible part of the industrial music scene since the early 1980s. He has toured with KMFDM,Nine Inch Nails,Schaft,Schwein,andEinstürzende Neubauten.

History

Recent activity (2010–present)

Watts, Dr. Shinto and John Gosling released a four-song EP titledMellan Rummenon 15 November 2010 onAmazon.

On 8 June 2012,Marc Healrevealed a demo version of "the first new PIG track in eight years" titled "Drugzilla (Rough As A Hog's Arse Mix)" viaCubanate's OfficialFacebookpage and providing their followers a link to his personalSoundCloudpage. The link was reposted by Watts a few hours later.A second demo titled "Shake" was released on 15 July 2012; again via Heal's Soundcloud page, this time also noting Dan Abela as engineer.In November 2014, Watts approved mixes for an upcoming joint-release EP.

In March 2015, another collaborative EP was announced withPrimitive RacetitledLong in the Toothwith a worldwide release date of 5 June 2015 throughMetropolis Records.Later that month in an interview, Watts revealed a new PIG album has been written and recorded. Former KMFDM bandmateEn Eschwill be providing final touches to the album.

On 15 June 2016, the official PIG Facebook page announced that the new PIG album titledThe Gospelwould be released on 9 September 2016 on Metropolis. Soon after. tour dates were announced The American Excess tour with opening bands En Esch & Peter Turns Pirate. The North American tour takes place in September and October 2016. A remix album,Swine & Punishment,was released in 2017.

In 2018, PIG released the albumRisen,supported by another North American tour. 2019 saw the release of a collection of cover songs on an LP titledCandy.The release ofCandywas followed in the fall of the same year by the Divine Descent North American Tour, supported by Cyanotic and A Primitive Evolution. The Divine Descent Tour concluded on 6 October 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A brief tour of the United Kingdom followed.

In 2020, PIG released a compilation album,Pain Is God,which featured some new tracks and included songs from prior tour EPs dating back to the previous year. The album was released digitally, and on CD and vinyl, including special edition packages with unique 3D features in the digipack or record sleeve.

Musical style

PIG tends to sound more orchestral than KMFDM, with darker, more complex, moreambientbeats. His album and song titles tend to be witty, rife withalliteration( "Prayer Praise & Profit" ) or are plays on the titles of popular works or phrases (The Swining/ "Symphony for the Devil" ). He also manages to work food, heroin or pork related terms into his albums. Like KMFDM, humor features prominently in PIG's lyrics, although they tend towards a darker/grittier tone than KMFDM's.

Collaboration with KMFDM

Because Raymond Watts is a central figure in both PIG and KMFDM, the two projects have seen much crossover. Watts has contributed his skills as a songwriter and vocalist to several KMFDM albums, including their first albumOpiumin 1984, and has a heavy presence on their 1995 albumNihil,which spawned the hit "Juke Joint Jezebel".A collaborative EP titledSin Sex & Salvationwas released in 1994 under the moniker "PIG vs. KMFDM". KMFDM has in turn assisted Watts with his PIG projects in production and personnel. Current KMFDM guitaristsSteve Whiteand Jules Hodgson (as well as former KMFDM guitaristGünter Schulz) and drummerAndy Selwayhave been involved with PIG. Watts has performed with KMFDM as part of the touring lineup, with the concerts billed as "KMFDM featuring PIG". The setlists for those shows feature KMFDM songs alongside Pig songs. A live CD from the 2002 "Sturm & Drang" tour was released onMetropolis Recordsthat same year.

Watts was given a tongue-in-cheek description in the lyrics to the KMFDM song "Intro" from the 2003 albumWWIII:

The Lord of Lard, the Mighty Swine
He lovesManchegoand a bottle of wine
Also known as Raymond Watts,
He screams out his lungs while his brain slowly rots!

Other collaborations

Watts has worked with severalindustrialandavant-gardeartists, receiving credits as PIG and Raymond Watts interchangeably. He has also been credited as "Nainz Watts" or "Nains Watts" on several early releases.

• From 1984 to 1986 Watts was sound engineer forMona Mur.
• From 1985 to 1989 Watts was a sound engineer forEinstürzende Neubauten.
• Watts has occasionally collaborated withJ. G. Thirlwell,briefly playing bass inFoetusCorruptus and co-writing songs forSteroid Maximuson the albumGondwanaland.Thirlwell, in turn, has cowritten and remixed songs for PIG.
• Watts recorded music for ex-girlfriend spoken-word artistSow(born Anna Wildsmith)'s 1994 albumJe M'Aimeand again for her 1998 albumSickand 2010 albumDog."Je M'aime" was reissued under the name "Pig/Sow" in 1999.
• PIG's 1995 albumSinsationwas released in the US onTrent Reznor's labelNothing Records.PIG also toured with Reznor's bandNine Inch Nailsin the UK.
• Japanese-based bandSchaftemployed Watts as a lyricist/vocalist for the 1994 albumSwitchbladeand companion remix collectionSwitch.
• In 2001, Watts and KMFDM frontmanSascha Konietzkoteamed up with Japanese musiciansAtsushi Sakurai(Buck-Tick) andHisashi Imai(Schaft and Buck-Tick) to form the project super groupSchwein.Schweinreleased two albumsSchweinsteinandSon of Schweinstein;the latter being remixes from the first.
• Watts has also provided production, mi xing, remi xing, and/or vocals forPsychic TV,Chemlab,Haloblack, 2-Kut,Hoodlum Priest,Steroid Maximus,H3llb3nt,The Hit Parade,Brain Drive,Buck-Tick,D.I.E., Atsushi Sakurai,Sprung aus den Wolken,The Megaton Men,Mortiis,Judda],Tweaker,Prong,West End and Zos Kia.
• Watts contributed an original composition to the soundtrack of the computer gameMDK2.It plays on the title screen and one of Max's levels.
• Watts has composed music for severalAlexander McQueenfashion shows, including the final show before McQueen's death entitled "Plato's Atlantis".
• Watts has contributed vocals to the track "Second Coming" byTeam Cybergeist
• In 2020 Watts became a member of industrial supergroupThe Joy Thievesby contributing vocals to "Empty Spaces", a song the band recorded for Riveting Music'sTear Down the Walls: A Riveting Tribute toPink Floyd's The Wall.

Solo band members

Current members

• Raymond Watts – vocals, keyboards, programming, guitars (1987–present)
• En Esch– vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, programming (2016–present)
• Steve White – lead guitar, programming (1993–2007, 2018–present)
• Bradley Bills – drums (2024–present)

Former members

• Steve Crittel – live guitars (1991–1992)
• Jim McKenchnie – live keyboards (1991–1992)
• Kevin Bass – live drums (1991–1992)
• Michael Watts – keyboards, organ, vocals (1991–1993, 1998–2006, 2016–2019)
• Karl Hyde– guitars (1993–1994)
• Santos De Castro – drums (1993, 1994, 1996)
• Imai Hisashi– guitars, noises (1994–1998)
• Olivier Grasset– drums, percussion, programming, production (1994, 2002, 2010)
• Joanna Peacock – bass (1994)
• Günter Schulz– guitars, programming (1994–1999, 2006, 2016–2017, 2019–2020)
• Jules Hodgson – guitars, bass, keyboards (1997–2006)
• Andy Selway– drums (1997–2006)
• Jason Knotek – live guitars (2006)
• Angel Bartolotta– live drums (2006)
• Mark Gemini Thwaite– lead guitar, bass, synthesizers, programming (2015–2017)
• Gregory "Z. Marr" Steward– guitars, keyboards, programming, production (2016–2018)
• Eric Gottesman– live keyboards (2016–2017)
• Luke Dangler – live lead guitar (2017)
• Ben Christo– lead guitar (2018–2019)
• Martin Eden – guitars, bass, keyboards, programming, production, mi xing (2004–2010, 2016–2019)
• Jan-Vincent Velazco – drums (2018–2019)
• Galen Waling– drums (2016–2018, 2019–2024)

Guest members

• Alex Hacke– guitars (1988)
• Nikkolai Weidemann – guitars, piano, saxophone (1988)
• Axel Dill – drums, piano, mi xing (1988)
• Achim Mennicken – guitars (1988–1989; died 2014)
• Uwe Wüst – guitars (1988)
• Remo Park – guitars (1988)
• Christian Graupner – percussion, programming (1988–1989)
• J.G. Thirlwell– production (1988–1992)
• John Caffery – production, recording (1989–1991)
• Roli Mosimann– mi xing (1989)
• Martin Hawkes – recording, mi xing (1991)
• Paul Kendall – mi xing (1991)
• Siewert Johannsen – engineering (1992)
• Anna Wildsmith– vocals (1989–1992, 1995–1996, 1998–1999, 2003–2006, 2010; died 2016)
• John Gosling– programming, engineering, mi xing (1993, 2010, 2018)
• Enrico Thomaso – flugelhorn (1993–1994)
• Sascha Konietzko– vocals, synthesizers, production, engineering, mi xing, programming (1994, 1997, 1998, 2020)
• Jennifer Ginsberg – vocals (1994)
• Julian Beeston– programming, mi xing (1995–1997)
• Carol Anne Reynolds – vocals (1995, 1997–1999)
• Sakurai Atsushi– vocals (1997–1998)
• Chris Shepard– (1997–1998)
• Giles Littlefield – production, noises, programming (1996–1997)
• Rob Henry – programming (1996–1999, 2018)
• Jennie Bellestar – vocals (1996–1997)
• Ruth McArdle – vocals (1996–1997)
• Lian Warmington – vocals (1996–1997)
• James Reynolds – engineering (1996–1997)
• Ben Drakeford – engineering (1996–1997)
• Jo Maskell – vocals (1997)
• Andrew Bennett – guitars (1999)
• Lisa Millet – vocals (1999)
• Andy Cooke – programming (1999)
• Arianne Schreiber– vocals (2001–2006)
• Bryan Black– vocals, production, mi xing (2001–2006)
• Marc Heal– vocals, keyboards, programming (2004–2006, 2015–2019)
• Dan Abela – guitars, engineering (2015–2016)
• Nathan Cavaleri – guitars (2010, 2016)
• Tim Skold– vocals, keyboards, guitars, programming, production (2018)
• Anita Sylph – vocals (2018)
• Joshua Broughton – guitars (2018)
• Emre Ramazanoglu – keyboards, programming (2018)
• Phil Barry – guitars (2018)
• Ben Lee – violin (2018)
• Sasha Grey– vocals (2018–2019)
• Michelle Martinez – vocals (2018–2019)
• Susannah Doyle – vocals (2018)

Discography (partial)

Several of his albums were originally released in Japan, where he enjoyed considerably more success than in the United States and United Kingdom, but some of those albums were eventually released in the US.

In 2004 he signed to Grand Recordings for distribution in the UK, under the name "Watts".The All Hamerican Pig Showwas released in 2011 as a DVD via the Pig website, featuring performances from Pig's 2006 U.S. tour and a complete live performance from Osaka, Japan, 1999. The DVD also included the music videos forPainiacandEverything.

Studio albums

• A Poke in the Eye... with a Sharp Stick(1988)
• Praise the Lard(1991)
• The Swining(1993) – Japan only release; reissued in 1999 in the US as The Swining/Red Raw & Sore
• Sinsation(1995) – US release in 1996
• Wrecked(1996) – Japanese release; US release in 1997 has somewhat different track listing
• Genuine American Monster(1999) – US release in 2002
• Pigmartyr(2004) – UK only release, using the "Watts" name, although it was re-released in 2005 asPigmataunder the "PIG" moniker
• The Gospel(2016) – co-written and co-produced by Z. Marr
• Risen(2018)
• Candy(2019) – album of covers
• Pain Is God(2020)
• The Merciless Light(2022)
• Red Room(2024)

Remix albums

• Swine & Punishment(2017) – remixes of songs fromThe Gospel
• Stripped & Whipped(2019) – remixes of songs fromRisen

EPs

• Hello Hooray(1992)
• A Stroll in the Pork(1992)
• Sin Sex & Salvation(as PIG vs KMFDM) (1994) – collaborative EP with KMFDM
• Red Raw & Sore(1994) – Japan only release; reissued in 1999 in America onThe Swining/Red Raw & Sore(1999)
• Painiac(1995) – Japan only release
• Prime Evil(1997) – Japan only release
• No One Gets Out of Her Alive(1998) – Japan only release
• Disrupt Degrade & Devastate(1999) – Japan only release
• Compound Eye Sessions(2015) – withMarc Heal
• Long in the Tooth(2015) – withPrimitive Race
• The Diamond Sinners(2016) – digital only release
• The Redeemer(2016) – tour only release
• Prey & Obey(2017) – digital only release
• Second Coming(2017) – tour only release
• Hell to Pay... in the USA(2018) – tour only release
• That's the Way (I Like It)(2018) – withSasha Grey
• Mobocracy(2019) – tour only release
• The Wages of Sin(2019) – digital only release available only with purchase of Ultra Limited Edition "Hogtags"
• Sex & Death(2020) – digital only release

Singles

• "Never For Fun" (1988)
• "Sick City" / "Shit for Brains" (1989)
• "Shit for Brains" – Germany-only release
• "The Fountain of Miracles" (1993)
• "Black Mass" (2018)- (Free Digital only album of Christmas Covers)
• "Seed of Evil" (2019) – with Black Needle Noise

Video releases

• The All Hamerican Pig Show(2011)

Book releases

• PIG - The Word of the Lard: The Scripture of Raymond Watts(2017) – book compiling all of Raymond Watts' lyrics to date

Music videos

Several music videos have been filmed, but most remain unreleased outside Japan. Most videos have surfaced online onYouTubein questionable quality. The video forArbor Vitateis actually a re-cut version of theSchaftvideo of the same song.

• "Shit for Brains" (1988)
• "The Fountain of Miracles" (1993)
• "The Seven Veils" (1993)
• "Painiac" (1995)
• "Everything" (1996)
• "Arbor Vitate" (2004)
• "Long in the Tooth" (2015)
• "The Diamond Sinners" (2016)
• "Found in Filth" (2016)
• "Prey & Obey" (2017)
• "The Chosen Few" (2018)
• "The Revelation" (2018)
• "That's The Way (I Like It)" (2018)
• "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (2018)
• "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (2019)
• "Mobocracy" (2019)
• "Sex & Death" (2020)
• "Rock 'n' Roll Refugee" (2020)

External links

• Official website
• PigatAllMusic
• Pigdiscography atDiscogs
• Raymond Wattsdiscography atDiscogs