in music we trust

As much as I am really looking forward to listen to Matthew Herbert‘s new album One Pig, I am also quite terrified. The album is made of sounds made by one anonymous pig – from birth to plate. I am a bit relieved that the death part is actually not on the album as Herbert was not allowed to record that – I do not think I could handle listening to it. I am vegetarian, but I think it would be a pretty intense experice for meat-eaters as well.

The album caused quite some controversy in the process of recording, as organisations such as PETA accused Herbert of animal cruelty, etc. To be honest, I find this argument ridiculous – thanks to him the pig actually lived longer than other farm pigs, and it would be killed anyway. In fact, I believe that the record may cause some thinking amongst listeners and maybe a few of them will turn vegetarian themselves.

Herbert makes a good point in the film you can watch below about not being allowed to record sounds of death of the pig:

“My motivation for wanting to do that [recording sounds of death of the pig] was to acknowledge the reality of what it is to eat meat. For me, part of the problem we have in our society is a huge disconnect between what we do and the consequences of our actions. (…) Also it tells a great deal that in this country we don’t have any rights to see our food, we are kept in great distances from it. In Britain it’s kept behind us in a veil of corporate secrecy.”

Herbert is one of the most interesting experimental artists I have come across, I love his meticulous craftsmanship and original concepts behind his albums. As well as his versatileness: he made albums ranging from minimal house, to cinematic orchestrated electronica (my Herbert’s favourite – Scale), to sampling bizzare noises from the kitchen (or pig’s life), to a big-band record, to a de-construction and re-conceptualisation of club music on his brilliant One Club album.

One Pig is a last album from One trilogy (One One, One Club, One Pig) and it will be released on 10th October.

Below, you can watch a mini-documentary about the making of the album and Herbert talking about each of the songs on the album. The ending presents quite a vivid imagery I should warn you.