Belfast-born, London-based DIY artist Charlie Loane aka piglet is expanding his musical world with each new single, and his latest, “oan”, is perhaps the most personal yet. He explains:
“oan’ is about trying to work out where yourself and the people around you sit on various spectrums. The spectrums discussed in the song are mentally ill/healthy, addicted/just messing about, helpful/obstructive, good/bad. it is natural that these answers are dependent on perspective and that there is rarely one solid answer, but we live in a system that morally collapses if we cant point to certain people as the ‘bad’ one, the ‘ill’ one, or the ‘addicted’ one. this is the logic that distributes life chances, and the ‘good’ people get a vaguely comfortable life, and the ‘bad’ ones are subject to incarceration and institutionalised precarity.
“This song is about how, when you look into your own life, and the lives of people close to you, you can see that these moral lines don’t really work at all, we don’t live in a ‘fair’ world where these labels can be applied meaningfully.”
That’s a lot of ideas to pack into a four minute song, but piglet manages it by being completely personable and honest in his writing, and pairing it with such welcoming homespun sounds. One moment he’s concerned about a friend’s wellbeing, soon he’s reflecting on a divisive movie they both liked, then they decide to avoid the sideways rain by getting smashed. As he ambles through these thoughts, the instrumentation progresses from loopy brass-like sounds to buzzing guitar to fuzzy electronics and even onto a marimba-led hook, each warm new addition making us feel closer to him. It makes it all the more affecting when “oan” reaches its emotional peak, piglet announcing “I don’t know what to do” – let’s hope his friends look out for him just as much as he looks out for them.
Watch the video for “oan” below or find it on streaming platforms.
“oan” is out on Double Dare. You can find piglet on Instagram and catch him supporting Porridge Radio on the following dates:
21-1-22: Face Bar, Reading *
22-1-22: Marina Fountain, Hastings *
24-1-22: The Boiler Room, Guildford *
25-1-22: The Cookie, Leicester *
10-3-22: Avalon Cafe, London – Trans-healthcare fundraiser
* with Porridge Radio
