Placid demeanors have been altogether incinerated by one man, his arsenal of electronics and his excitingly intense sound. Please meet Craig_FS who found us on SoundCloud several weeks ago and since then, has being infiltrating our heads and our feet with his banging but brooding alternative electronica. Powerful groove heavy bass lines with all sorts of underlying bleeps, beats and fancy feet have scored smiles on our faces and injected whiplash in our necks.

A humble creature, for now, crafting the soundtrack to one of your best nights out from his bedroom, please be acquainted, love it and live it for we are sold. This is Craig…

Heyloooo Craig, how do you do? We are very pleased to have met you!
Aye, good ta. How are you? Pleased to meet you guys too, thanks for being so supportive of my songs on the web.

You sent us some music on SoundCloud as Craig_ FS, what does the FS stand for?
I was offered a job in, what is known in the NHS as the Scotland Foundation School. When I got the e-mail, they had abbreviated the last two words, so I read it as “…. you have been allocated to Scotland fuck sake.” Like, there was something wrong with that. I made that my name because I’m easily amused.

It now has no set meaning although I would like it to mean “from Scotland”, “Freudian slip” or “fone sex”.

How long have you been making your sweet sweet bedroom music?
I started using music software about 4 – 5 years ago. However my most recent sound of fusing ‘producer’ style electro and depressing alt. rock is a much newer thing, probably only about a year or so. I’ve been working on improving that sound since then.

How did you get into these activities?
Well I had previously been in bands at school and uni, however I found that too many cooks spoil the broth and all that. It’s hard to make an awesome song when so many egos want to leave their mark on a track who all have differing tastes in music! It’s a rare and wonderful thing when there is more than one key songwriter in a band, e.g. Lennon/McCartney, Page/Plant etc.

Also, I have real trouble with making mainstream pop/rock. A guy I used to write with wanted to turn every composition we came up with into a Snow Patrol song. I just wasn’t into that. Not that they are terrible or anything, but I really wanted to make something that stood out rather than imitated.

I really love electronic music and when I started finding out how modern producers make their music, I bought some software and was hooked. The power of making whole songs in my bedroom blew me away, and I could stick to my own ideas, however weird they were.

How do you go about your writing process?
Often when I’m in the shower! I sing in the shower a lot and sometimes come up with something and run through to my room, soaking wet to record it on my guitar or MIDI keyboard before I forget it. I’ve decked it rushing out the shower so many times and consequently forgotten what I’d come up with.

Either that or when I’m fiddling around with my guitar or keys I’ll find something nice and record it, add some drums and see how it sounds. Then just keep adding stuff and see where it goes. Very unstructured if I’m honest.

You’ve casually bumped into Mr James Murphy of DFA records, swiftly putting his dauber back into the pocket of his chinos as he leaves your local Gala Bingo. You have 30 seconds to sell your sound. Go!
I’d do a quick sketch of Arab Strap murdering Deadmau5 and show him. If he didn’t call security, I’d call that a win.

Who/what are your major influences?
Kraftwerk. They’ve always been light years ahead of everyone else. Also, The Knife, Arab Strap, Mogwai, a lot of producers including Sebastien Leger, Chris Lake, POPOF etc, and a Ukranian band called Drudkh. They call themselves atmospheric black metal but they make these epic songs that sound almost post-rockish with beautiful chord progressions.

What was the last album you bought/downloaded?
Just pre-ordered the new Glasvegas one.

What was the last song you listened to?
The wee EP sample on NITEWORKS’ myspace. They are fantastic. Last full song was Cloudbusting by Kate Bush according to iTunes.

What about the last gig you attended?
I went to see The Decemberists on 5th March at the Barrowlands. There was a spare ticket going so I went. I was actually really impressed… but I hate it when I’m the only guy not signing along when the singer holds the mic up to the audience. I just open and close my mouth a lot and look shifty.

Are there any special requirements we should adhere to when introducing people to your sound (h’ordeuvres, loud volume, inebriation etc)?
Filthy magazines, fast cars and high-fives. These things are generally good for cheering people up, they may need it.

Kitsune heard us talking about you loudly and want to feature you on their next compilation. They’ve asked if they can restyle you for the promo shot. There’s chat of glitter and face paint. What do you say to that?
I’d ask them to make me a tiger.

Your songs are heavily electronic/dance orientated. Do you hit the dancefloor regularly and if so which clubs/ club nights would you recommend to us?
In Glasgow, I love the big Arches nights. Freefall, Pressure, Colours and even Inside-Out for something a bit harder! Sub Club is the best club venue ever, I loved Optimo especially. I haven’t tried it’s replacement yet as I currently live in Dundee. Up here there is a club venue called The Reading Rooms and it’s quality. Headway is a great night and the drum and bass night Pangea used to be there a lot but I’ve not seen that on in ages…. and my mate, Sham-pu, DJs at the union. He is an incredible DJ. He just totally mashes things up on the fly.

What are you up to next? Do you have plans to translate your work into the live setting?
YES! Really wanting to sort out a live rig this summer! I’ll need some help from a couple of willing guitarists and I’ve already been consulting tech-heads on how I would go about making such a set-up. I already have a lot of the basics….. and am eating tesco value soap as a result.

I’m still working on songs whenever I can but I’m getting increasingly busy at the moment with other things so they won’t be coming as thick and fast as they have been sadly. All will change come June though! As soon as I finish anything, you guys will know about it straight away.

What is one thing we should know about you that we don’t?
My guilty pleasures are Viking Metal and Gangsta rap. There, I said it.

Where’s the best place for people to hear your music?
Soundcloud.com/Craig_FS. There are links to all my networking sites on there as well. All of which are very new so be kind.

Check out  SoundCloud now where there are five tracks available to download. These pulsating beasts seem to be propagating in viagra-infused-rabbit like fashion so there very well may be more to ingest by the time of your reading. We look forward to hearing much, much more from Craig_FS and have just a mild feeling in our frothy water this will not be the last you lucky people hear us speak of him…

Kirstin Lynn