Scott Ferguson: Music beyond everything...

The Balearic Breakfast blog is the place where you meet Talented Musicians and Djs. Scott Ferguson is undoubtely one of them! Let's discover his journey!

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1) Thank you so much for joining us here Scott! Can you take us back to your first years? How did you start your musical journey, who were the artists/DJs who influenced you?

Thanks for having me Artur! My musical journey started back in the '70s in Glasgow and The Borders, where I grew up, thanks to my three older brothers, who were big into music. I’d always be digging through their vinyl collections. My oldest brother bought me a six-pack of Madness picture-disc 7” records for my birthday—I couldn’t have been any more than 7, and that probably cemented my lifelong obsession with vinyl. Back then, I loved the sounds of the 2Tone scene—The Specials, The Selecter, and The Beat—before moving on to bands like The Jam and Secret Affair.

The first taste of dance music that grabbed me came from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, followed by Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock. That track completely blew my mind and hooked me on the sounds of electronic music. Around that time, a friend’s cousin would bring us tapes from Tim Westwood’s Kiss FM show, which introduced us to the emerging breakdance and electro scene. My mates and I were obsessed—we got into breakdancing, bought records, and were all into music in a big way. My mate Richie was the first DJ in our ‘crew’; I still call him Richie Fresh today.

When I was 18 and living in London, I saw my friend Richard Bell DJ for the first time—I knew I wanted to do that. He was so skilled technically and creatively, and a pretty big influence. I had already started collecting records seriously and going to clubs in London, listening to DJs like Andrew Weatherall, Danny Rampling, Johnny Walker, and Trevor Fung. I then moved back up to Scotland, where the likes of DJ Harri and Stuart & Orde from the Sub Club continued to provide me with a priceless musical education.

I played my first gig in 1990, and by 1991, I was a resident DJ at the Citrus Club in Edinburgh and other venues across the city. I worked at the legendary Bomba Records in Glasgow, which connected me with other DJs and producers, sparking collaborations and studio experiments. It was at Bomba that I met Colin Gate of Deep sensation, and together, we opened Defunkt Records, also in Glasgow. My first studio session was with my mate Gordon Smith, aka Blackbeard, in 1997. We made a Balearic tune and recorded it at Can Can Studios. I’ve been making music ever since.

2) Colleen played your track "Beats from the far east" during Balearic Breakfast, can you tell us more about the way you composed that song and what you wanted to convey?

Beats from the Far East evolved from an ambient track I’d previously produced and released called Dreams From The Far East which was played on Radio 6 and featured on Nightmares on Wax’s Cover Mix for Mixmag magazine a few years back. Sometimes it happens like that—a tune doesn’t just begin and end with itself. If I sense that there’s ‘more legs’in a track, that’s what I like to do: develop it further and bring a new dimension, like a new episode to a story. In the case of BFTFE, I had a clear vision of the Balearic and trip-hop tinged sound I wanted to create while retaining the personality and unique features of the original track. I added some mid-tempo beats and keyboard riffs to the existing ambient elements, blending those chilled vibes with a rhythmic energy to make it feel fresh and dynamic. Small musical changes, but they elevated the tune to something pretty special. I am very proud of it, it’s definitely one of my favourite works, and I’m happy it’s been so well received.

3) Generally speaking, what drives your imagination? Where does the music come from and how do you work when composing? Do you try to draw a general musical line and then perfect it or do you work, on the contrary, bits by bits?

My general love of music drives everything. I’m constantly listening to different genres and I find inspiration everywhere. After over 20 years of making music, I’ve got seriously loads of unfinished musical projects sitting on my computer and ideas on paper too. I am always jotting ideas down in my diary so I don’t lose them—it happens more often than I’d like these days!

On the whole, my tracks come together in pieces, I start, but then I will take a break and sit on it for a while and come back with a fresh ear, then tweak it until it feels right—there’s always something to return to. Some releases are projects that have been completed over many years. Once there’s a seed of an idea my process starts with sample hunting, and I’ve got a big record and digital music collection so there’s thousands of samples to work with. A track often begins with a few loops, then I layer in beats, vocals, and other elements bit by bit.

4) How do you approach your DJ sets? Do you prepare them in any way or do you rely on the spur of the moment, the vibe you feel when being right there with the dancers?

I prepare in as much as I’ll have a rough idea of what I’m bringing to a gig, but it’s all very spontaneous. It’s always about feeding off the crowd, which comes from experience and plain old practice. It’s like give-and-take between yourself as the DJ and the crowd. I’m there to take them on a journey, but they guide the story too. I’ve been DJing for a long time, and mostly that’s meant DJing on vinyl as well as CDs. I was a very late adopter of the digital way and resisted it where I could. But times change, and you evolve your methods. Back in the day, you’d turn up with a box of maybe 100 records. If you ran out of music, you’d play the B-sides or dig deeper into your crate. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t—that was just part of the game. Now, with thousands of tracks at your fingertips, it’s all about being organised, making smart selections and memory.

5) I read in another interview that you suffered a stroke. I am so sorry to hear about this. How are you doing today? Can you share with us a few of your next musical moves for 2025?

Thank you for asking. That’s right, yes, I had a serious stroke in 2022 that nearly took my life. I was very lucky, my wife was with me and got help very quickly which is key with a stroke. It’s been a tough recovery, and I’m still dealing with the effects of my brain damage, I have physical difficulties with my left side, some sight and spatial awareness issues. Day-to-day this shows itself in various ways relating to how the brain uses planning and memory. Sadly, one of the ways this has affected me and I still really struggle with is mixing records, trying to get that coordination working together in my brain just doesn’t quite work yet, and that breaks my heart. Over the past two years, however, I’ve overcome many hurdles and I make improvements all the time, so I keep pushing forward. Recovery never stops, and the human brain is pretty amazing, so you never know how much things can improve with time and effort.

I’m hoping for 2025 to continue on the strong momentum of the last few years with my production (all of my tracks are availiable on my Bandcamp). I have a four-track EP — Robot84 Promo vol 5 — coming out on vinyl via Juno Records in February, and the response so far has been brilliant. I’m also releasing a Balearic-fuelled EP on the Magic Wand Special Editions series; I’m very excited about this one. I’ll continue to put digital releases on Bandcamp, and I’ve started work on Robot84 Promo 6, which is taking great shape. Beyond that, I’m wondering and hoping 2025 might be the year I DJ again, which would really make it a year to remember.

Thank you so much Scott. You are in our thoughts and I'm sure we'll meet all on a dancefloor soon. Take Care and thank you for the Music!!