No list of perennial techno talents would be complete without the addition of Pig&Dan. Igor Tchkotoua and Dan Duncan first met on a flight to Spain in 1999. Fast forward to the present day, and the duo has become one of the most recognizable acts in techno. Their broad spectrum of influences has repeatedly led the ELEVATE label heads to fill their library with a sprawling selection of unique sounds and sonic elements. Now, in their twentieth year of the Pig&Dan partnership, Tchkotoua and Duncan prove they’re only getting started with the release of a brand new rework of their pivotal track, “Hope.”



“Hope” was first released in 2008 on Cocoon Recordings. The tune was met with great applause in techno circles, its dramatic builds and rave-ready synths automatically sending audiences into a peak-time trance. The 2022 rework receives a healthy injection of percussive reinforcement while diving into a masterclass of modern-day sound design—a stimulating adjustment to the minimal nature of the OG. You’ll want to grab your good headphones for this one. Otherwise, you’re missing out.



This present-day reimagining of “Hope” comes off Pig&Dan’s new EP, 20 Years: Pig&Dan - Sampler 1. The four-track collection comes in the lead up to the dynamic duo’s new album, 20 Years: Pig&Dan. The twenty-track compilation will include a mix of brand new songs alongside 2022 edits of some of P&D’s most acclaimed anthems to represent every year of their two-decade partnership.




Pig&Dan had this to say about the forthcoming album:



“It’s almost hard to take in that we are already celebrating a 20 year milestone of producing and performing together. To mark this epic pillar in our musical career, we’ve produced a 20-track Techno long player where we’ve devoted ourselves to pushing our envelope and blurring the lines of genre. The project features an array of fresh unreleased productions that hold a sound we hope represents our progression over the last two decades. We’ve also included a cheeky selection of new, updated 2022 versions of some of our more celebrated productions from over the last 20 years of musical madness. For us, this is more of a statement than an album, hence the fact there’s a track that represents every year on this journey.”



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Pig&Dan Drop New Edit Of their Pivotal Techno Track 'Hope'


Gray Area makes another step in its mission to “unify and strengthen the House Music community around the world,” today by partnering with Spotify for an official editorial playlist on the streaming platform. Gray Area Guest List launched with over five hours of house and techno from the forward-thinking and creative voices that are defining the myriad sounds of underground dance. 



Spotify’s Guest List playlists allow noted brands and artists to take over an official editorial playlist curating it from top to bottom precisely to match that brand’s unique footprint. And the Gray Area list is lovingly selected to reflect the future of dance music.



Included are songs from Gray Area Spotlight featured artists QRTR, LP Giobbi, Vintage Culture, and Will Clarke. Alongside bonafide legends like Ricardo Villalobos, Miss Kittin, Maya Jane Coles, Anja Schneider, Guy Gerber, Steve Bug, The Martinez Brothers, Joseph Capriati, Jamie Jones, Louie Vega, Pig & Dan, Royksopp, and Maceo Plex. 2022 GRAMMY Award nominee Black Coffee, Repopulate Mars boss Lee Foss, Drumcode front-man Adam Beyer, and Godfather of House Frankie Knuckles are also featured.


The Gray Area Guest List is a great way to get familiar with the sweeping sonic footprint of house and techno. Too often, we get stuck in our own lane, and the beauty of dance music is that it encompasses an array of shifting moods and aural textures. So take yourself on a journey through the expanse of underground dance music, turn up the volume and Let There Be More House Music.




Gray Area Takes Over Spotify's Official Guest List Playlist

New artists enter the NFT space every day. It’s become tough to distinguish what separates one from the other. Pig & Dan (Igor Tchkotoua and Dan Duncan) and Gregor Tresher’s upcoming drop is a refreshing note of compelling music and visual storytelling. And it aims to use a more equitable financial model. And challenge the idea that art on the blockchain is bad for the environment.

The titans of techno will unveil four new audio-visual NFT’s called “Soulcatcher.” Created in collaboration with Stewart Graham from S272 Studios on June 16. The trio of producers is passionate innovators of up-front peak hour techno. They've broken new ground with this project. And are expressing the diversity of their sound in new ways.

"Soulcatcher" seamlessly combines audio precision with visual storytelling. It creates a world where the psychedelic journey of the protagonist mirrors the reality of navigating a world fractured by tragedy.

This isn't the first time they've dabbled in visual art. Dan has built collections alongside Banksy’s team for over 20 years. He’s excited about the long-term vitality of NFTs. And their potential to unite artistic mediums.

He says, “I’ve held a huge passion for art and music sort of being as one. And I think this was really, truly the first opportunity that we could get moving pictures, to be offered together with music as a single piece of art.”

 Speaking for himself and Pig, Dan says, “We're both so passionate about art. That synergy between art and music just ticked all the boxes. So, for us, it was an opportunity we couldn't resist really.” 

Pig & Dan and Gregor Tresher have been friends for years. They met while DJing at Sven Väth's legendary Cocoon Club in Germany. And they recently solidified their studio relationship on the Challenger EP, on Adam Beyers’ Truesoul imprint.

After the success of the release, they wanted to take the collaboration further Dan says. “It's an amazing synergy between us. And we thought, come on let’s milk this. Not milk financially. But our energy is flowing. Let's see what we can do.”

Tresher introduced Grahame to the group. They'd previously worked together designing album art. The accomplished Candian artist has worked with clients ranging from Sum 41 to Air Canada to Deadmau5.

Dan knew Graham was the perfect person to complete the trifecta of synergy from the gate. “He was so on it, like from the first second, we were like, Oh, this is brilliant. This is actually really taking me where I want it to be.”

Dan says their interest in NFTs stretches beyond windfall financial payouts. It’s similar to how he views his relationship with dance music culture. 

“It's not about money. It has to always come from the soul. The amount of times in my life I've survived on a donut a day or starved for my music. You can't do this for money. It has to be for the right reasons.”

The NFT communicates with the community they harvested for 20 years. They insist that they don't alienate the people responsible for their success. So, the NFT will sell via raffle, not auction. Art should be as accessible as music.

“The idea is to give a chance to any type of consumer and not charge these sorts of two and a half grand prizes for a record that they would normally buy for $2. It's got video content; it's got a lot more behind it. So, it is a little bit more expensive. But the way we're doing it is very much in accordance with catering for the people that follow our music.”

Their dedication to the community is just as important as their dedication to the planet. The NFT’s are minted on the FLOW blockchain. Which aims to be as carbon neutral as possible.

It’s part of Dan’s ethos. And something he grew up learning. His dad was a successful musician, but also kind of a hippie. Dan grew up with a “do no harm” philosophy. And he admits the lifestyle of a touring DJ isn’t the most ecological.

“Being a DJ who has been flying 400 flights a year, spending hundreds of hours on airplanes, and making a horrible carbon footprint, I think it's the least we can do is look at the best options to give back as much as we can to, to the environment. Because Mother Nature is all we got. For me, that's like my religion.”

Dan practices what he preaches. When he goes to the beach near his home on the island of Mallorca, Spain he brings a fishing net with him to pull the plastic out of the ocean. 

Their NFT drop comes with the promise that if it needs to be transferred to Ethereum, which has a much higher ecological footprint, they will pay for the carbon offset. 

He believes that NFTs and digital art have the potential to be even more ecological than traditional art. In 2019 Dietl International, a major shipping company generated 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide transporting items to Art Basel in Miami. If NFT’s can be traded on blockchains that aim to be carbon neutral, they could be infinitely better for the environment.

Dan believes he can open up to a new audience. Because as he says, “The NFT buyer is not necessarily a buyer of art or music in the physical form.” This is just the first drop. He’s a music lifer. And plans on staying in the art game for just as long.

Learn more about SOULCATCHER on the project website.

Pig & Dan

Articles

Austin Miller

Alexander Dias

Alexander Dias