I Love Me Some Pig & Dan...

In 1999 I was to know the taste of chronic dissatisfaction for the first time. This was the year that George Lucas was to use the world as his personal toilet by squeezing out "Star Wars Episode I" on his army of disciples. I was among them.

If there was any justice, he'd be throwing him away

Growing up I had heard countless yarns being spun about how life-changing watching "A New Hope" was back in 1977 and I wanted some of that for myself. I phoned Computicket for weeks in anticipation of the day when I could book tickets and buy myself a little slice of cinematic history. As soon as I was able to pry a date from those bastards, I woke up extra early, made myself a big flask of coffee and drove at top speed to my local ticket office. I was of course, the only one there.

When the woman who worked there finally arrived, I sheepishly stood behind her, sweating while she unlocked the door. I then followed her awkwardly to her workstation, waited for her computer to boot up and bought my tickets. One for myself for the opening morning and then a few for selected friends and I for the evening when I decided I could share "the magic" with others. I felt like I was buying porn. Now that I think about it, I also managed to get my hands on premier tickets for midnight the night before too. That's right, I would watch "Star Wars Episode I" 3 times in under 24 hours. Lucky me.

Imagine the supernova of shame and disappointment that must have torn through me as my heart died. You saw it. It stunk. "The Matrix" and "Lord of the Rings" didn't help much either.

Where movies have let me down though, music has come to my aid. There are certain artists that consistently deliver the goods with each new release. The delightfully named "Pig & Dan" are two guys who, unlike George Lucas, have never let me down.

Having met on flight to Spain in 1999 (irony?), Igor (Pig) & Dan (Dan) began crafting a sound for themselves, a sound now recognized worldwide as being loaded with an inherent sense of old-school fun and the capability to hammer-press a dancefloor. "Cubes" off the recent "Heat" EP is an artfully crafted example of what I'm getting at. A HUGE track with a little something for absolutely everybody.

Pig & Dan - Cubes (Mediafire)

While undoubtedly slotting neatly into the Progressive/Tech House category, "Cubes" never feels lame. Quite the opposite. There is an elasticated near-electro bassline, a driving beat, intermittent splinters of pure joy and moments of Nancy Drew-like mystery, all stitched together with surgical precision and iced with melancholy but there is definitely no cheese in this one.

Thank you Pig & Dan for being nothing at all like George Lucas. Thank you for giving us a taste of the past, infused with the present, making it massive and getting us to collectively gag for more. This is one to warm up a crowd and I am itching to play it for you.