Raymond Watts is a versatile Brit musician who's been around since the early 80s. Watts started off as an admirer of early punk, which caused him to "gravitate" out of the suburbs of London to London proper, and eventually to Hamburg. He worked with Einstürzende Neubauten in Germany, and managed to bump into Sascha Konietzko and Udo Sturm. They did a live together, broke apart, Raymond did some more work with EN, and then later found their way back together (minus Sturm, plus drummer En Esch) and formed a band under the moniker "Kein Mehrheit für die Mitleid". Allegedly due to Watts' difficulty pronouncing the lengthy German (a play on words that almost means "No majorities for the pity"), they shortened the name to KMFDM. (But that is a story of its own ... )

The early KMFDM made two albums together (What Do You Know Deutschland? and Don't Blow Your Top) before Raymond went solo under the name Pig. In 1988 he released an album in the US with Wax Trax!, A Poke in the Eye ... With a Sharp Stick. In '89 he met Jim "Foetus" Thirlwell backstage at an EN live and toured with him for a while. (Jim also produced a Pig single for him.) After a very short stint in a half-serious "Steroid Maximus" with Foetus, his second album, Praise the Lard, was also released in the US, and is actually findable today. The tracks on it range from latin-jazzy (¡Toxico!) to chaotic eruptions of brass (A Touch of Upheaval) and is pretty much classic synth-less Pig; Pig's musical influnces are very eclectic. The next two album releases Raymond made as Pig were The Swining and Red, Raw, and Sore, which can be found today as a combination album. (One track from RRS, Symphony for the Devil, is cut for length.) This is apparently when Raymond discovered that proper use of synthesizers and orchestra samples can make your music sound evil. After The Swining's release, Pig toured live with Nine Inch Nails.

It's now 1995. Raymond released Sinsation in Japan (most Pig album releases were in Japan and never, or only after great length, saw American shores). The year before, he'd worked again with Sascha on the "KMFDM v. Pig" 4-track CD; they collaborated more on KMFDM's next album, Nihil, which has Raymond's voice all over it. Pig released Sinsation the next year on Nothing Records (also know for Marilyn Manson and NIN). Raymond left Nothing on good terms when it became clear that with their two star performers they wouldn't have time for Pig. So, that year he released Wrecked in Japan and the next year (1997) in America. Wrecked was much more synth-heavy and generally KMFDM-like than his earlier work, yet it had a much darker tone to it than KMFDM and an altogether different feel in ways. (This is at least partially because of Raymond's use of orchestral samples.)

1997 later saw Pig join KMFDM's BeatxBeat tour and the release of KMFDM's (symbols) album, with Raymond a prominent presence once again. 1999 saw the release of new Pig in Japan (Genuine American Monster), as well as the (temporary) disbanding of KMFDM. 1999 also heralded the release of The Swining - Red Raw and Sore on Cleopatra in the USA. Raymond made it back for the official rebirth of KMFDM in 2002; Raymond appointed Kaptain Konietzko co-producer and bassist in Pig after undergoing hernia surgery after the strains of the 2002 Sturm und Drang tour. During the period between he worked with Sascha Konietzko and some Japanese friends from his Schaft days (Fuji Maki of Soft Ballet and Imai Hisashi of Buck Tick) to tour the foursome as Schwein.

Raymond's voice has been described as growly, gravelly, demonic. It's one of the trademarks of his music, and his involvements in KMFDM. He speaks in deep, sonorous tones in the dramatic Ojo Por Ojo, and squeals, roars, and sings baritone in Fountain of Miracles. Raymond can make his voice sound ... well, almost beautiful when he wants to. But he's better known for the raw, harsh edge he gives it. This is, in fact, part of Raymond's image; one fan on the Internet said he hoped "Raymond would spread his slimy filth for years to come". Pig lyrics can often be alliterative ("Rhapsody in rhythm / my dirty soul is smitten", "I just masticate on a murdered mind, this mind of mine") and are generally Not Cheerful Things.

Raymond is known for being drunk in general, and it's pretty much accepted by fans of KMFDM and Pig that he's sloshed for every performance. It must be part of the appeal of his dark 'n' dirty Pig image.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.