After being away from the stage for a while, pig voice they set out to tour the country last spring They are presenting their album ‘Diversión’ (2021), in which they talk about their experiences during this period, “fighting for our dreams and goals in life, reminding us that we need to take advantage of time because it goes by so fast”. Madrid band said goodbye to the year by releasing a new album. New unreleased single composed by Álvaro Benitoa pop-rock song with the band’s characteristic sound: “Motor” (“Nothing to Lose”, “I understand you”, “I’m sick”; “I don’t care” Nothing can save you’, ‘I’m staying in hell’…).
pig voice He gained fame thanks to ‘Nothing to lost’ on the soundtrack of the drama ‘Los hombres de Paco’. The success was so great that they signed with Warner DRO and recorded a new album: ‘Television Announced’ (2006), which went Platinum. In just a year and a half they started to give more than 170 concerts in Spain and were a huge success.
Pignoise is headed by a former Real Madrid player. Álvaro Benito, singer and guitarist The person we are talking to is one of the jewels of the merengue collective academy, a football player with a start in the Valdano era and a future until an injury hits him.
Beginning a new phase for Pignoise? What has Pignoise got to drive so many people today?
Songs left, not much explanation. When we returned to the activity after a break of about 6 years, we noticed the number of very young people who knew the songs. Time passed, but the songs survived before they passed. We find it very difficult to stay current when it has long been outdated. If it’s hard to come by anyway, it’s much harder to be long-lived.
Is there a common thread in ‘entertainment’?
Facing a new job is a difficult task for us. The artist is the prisoner of his success. In other words, when you start work, you want to be known for your way of expressing yourself and differentiating yourself, and for this, you want to get excited and follow a handful of people. Once you have it, I think you should stick to a recognizable style and sound, but also not be repetitive. It sounds the same without being the same, it continues to motivate us as artists and the public as fans. It’s getting harder and harder to find that balance when you’ve been around for so long and so many songs have been made.
Pignoise owes ‘Los hombres de Paco’, right?
What we feel is tremendous gratitude. He put us in a showcase that we couldn’t reach by other means. And the songs were liked. It changed our lives forever.
Do you have any thorns because of having to quit football? Is it already too far away or is there still a connection?
It’s far and long gone. To tell you something, at my peak, for example, as a 27-year-old football player, I would like to see my ceiling. We will never know.
You have released ‘My Strength’, a song designed to help those most in need due to the crisis created by the pandemic. What prompted you to take this step?
So what about everyone? We felt helpless, tied and not really understanding everything that was going on. The opportunity arose to provide some assistance in composing my favorite thing, and I didn’t think much of it.
Pignoise returns to their originality, but they are also aware of their age. Apparently they say this on ‘Bones’, which talks about the passage of time.
I think there is a great evolution in the lyrics. When I started singing, it was very difficult for me to open up and show myself. Now I’m trying to come up with more facts and write down what a man my age saw and felt. As time passes, I value the message behind the melody more and more.
Twenty years ago, your sound, influenced by California punk-rock, Green Day, Blink 182, was the soundtrack of the moment. How do you see it in the current context?
I believe we are all children of our time and we are no exception. When we started with the group, it was the common point of most of these groups and this impressed us a lot; Definitely on the first discs, much more. Over the years, other things affect you and you listen to other music, but you still have to be pretty faithful to your voice. In this style, groups with good songs have weathered the passage of time very well. Green Day has become a huge stadium band around the world, and Blink-182 is blowing it up again with the ‘Enema’ and ‘Pants and jacket off’ series: Tom, Travis and Mark.
How do you feel playing songs like ‘I understand you’ and ‘There’s nothing to lose’ these days?
We are very happy because the songs are deeply ingrained. These are songs that even those who don’t like Pignoise know. They have become classics almost without us even realizing it.
El Canto del Loco, Pereza and Pignoise all reference the guitar pop of the eighties. Do you see yourself in that generation? La La Love You, one of the indie bands of the period, shows you as a source of inspiration. What feeling does it evoke?
We are bands from different musical backgrounds, but we have many common audiences. This means, first of all, that the imaginary barriers put up by some media outlets are not for the public. In fact, festivals are getting more and more eclectic now, and people sing indie, pop, and Latin songs equally.
And influencing other groups is something that gets us very excited every time they tell us. Even though years pass, you don’t realize it and the young people who grew up with your songs are now musicians. very good
Have you ever said that you don’t fully understand each other with radio formulas? Did they hinder your career?
We grew up with a fairly democratic radio formula. Almost everything from Guns ‘n’ Roses to Radio Futura to Michael Jackson to Depeche Mode was listened to so it could go on forever. Unfortunately, things have changed a lot in this regard. They didn’t put us on any of them until they went platinum – once they were successful they had no other choice – but on the others we just kept quiet. We don’t have any problems, we mean if we had a giant speaker to reflect our music and we could reach more people then that would be great but that wouldn’t be possible as it is today and we accept it. IT. Also, we don’t think we need it right now. We’ve also been running our own record label for thirteen years without any help.
Do you think Pignoise has a voice that fits nowhere?
Music doesn’t mean to fit or not fit anywhere. It is a form of expression and everyone should do it as they feel and freely. Also, nothing guarantees success, even if you try to make something that ‘fits’ what is commonly consumed. Perhaps our gender has always been a minority in Spain, but it has been shown that people will choose you if they have the opportunity to meet you.
‘Engine’, which comes as a starting signal for a new year, shows that you are inspiring and energetic. Are you preparing a new album, how will the new songs be?
We are not preparing an album of new songs. Next up, for the twentieth anniversary of Pignoise, with the collaborations we recorded, an album will be released at the end of the year and will continue with the corresponding tour. It was an ideal date to celebrate, and so will we. “Engine” and another song in the drawer will be released as singles. We have a lot of material so people can listen to new things and incorporate them into live shows.
After a few years of not playing, how do you experience this comeback? What feelings do you have?
Well, it’s the moment when you get into a spiral of ambition where you want to savor everything, want much more than you did in the first stage, and don’t stop to enjoy the beautiful scenery. And the number of people following us was surprising. We can only say that this is back for a long stay.