Name: Pig&Dan
Members: Igor Tchkotoua & Dan Duncan
Interview: Dan Duncan
Nationalities: Scottish (Dan), Spanish (Pig)
Occupation: Producers, DJs
Recent release: Pig&Dan's "Electricity," featuring LIVI, is out via Get Physical.

If you enjoyed this interview with Pig&Dan and would like to stay up to date with their music, visit their official homepage. They are also on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.

These thoughts complement another recent chat with Pig&Dan about REAKTOR. We also recommend our earlier Pig&Dan interview in which they expand on a wider range of topics.

Over the course of their career, Pig&Dan have remixed, been remixed by, and collaborated with a wide range of artists. To keep reading check out our conversations with some of them:

[Read our Gregor Tresher interview]
[Read our Victor Ruiz interview]
[Read our interview with Victor Ruiz about DJing]
[Read our David Morales interview]
[Read our Tiger Stripes interview]
[Read our John Digweed interview]
[Read our Inner City interview]
[Read our Kevin Saunderson interview]
[Read our Andres Campo interview]



Some see instruments and equipment as far less important than actual creativity, others feel they go hand in hand. What's your take on that?

Actually I would agree with the old saying “it’s not what you have, it’s what you do with it.” I’ve seen artists with incredible studios and everything one could dream of create rather limited songs (in my opinion) and it has to be said some of the best songs ever written were written with hardly anything.

Creativity is everything. However, if the equipment you're using aids and adds to that flow, I feel it’s an incredibly important tool and part of that process. Some Instruments like “REAKTOR” hold that important factor because it’s so unique and diverse. It’s a very powerful modular concept which features an amazingly warm sounding synth that includes very inspiring patches plus a universe of opportunity to be creative with an edge.

[Read our feature about REAKTOR]

Also the fact that it’s open source which allows users to create synths that are completely out of the norm is a huge factor on how creating and experimenting unite seamlessly whilst in the flow using REAKTOR.
 
In the light of picking your tools, how would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

I have to say what an amazing question!! The answer is complex due to the fact that both of them apply in most cases however at different percentages.

It could be that a song has a very simple hook but the sound is so original and unique that it’s more important than than timeless part. And in another case, you could have an incredible hook on a very simple sound - but because of the hook it’s a total winner.

Innovation and timelessness should go in hand in some form, they should come together. And perfection doesn’t exist so let’s get over it and stop trying to make everything perfect. Nothing has more soul than an imperfection.

Music of the future, we love to push envelopes but never forget your roots!!

More generally, how do you see the relationship between your instruments and the music you make?

Harmonious - engaging - essential

Without them there wouldn’t be any. Maybe me humming along hahahaa.