The Burgh to the Boroughs and Back: Craig Smith

For many, a welcome introduction to the considerable production talents of Craig Smith will have come with the glorious series of 6^th Borough Project releases which began in 2008 with a debut on Jiscomusic. In partnership with Graeme Clark AKA The Revenge, Smith has consistently channelled his extensive knowledge of music and his sprawling vinyl collection into a brand of sumptuous low-slung disco edits, gaining many fans in the process.  

Yet, long before his current production projects took shape, Smith was a prominent force in Scotland’s clubbing scene and he has been putting his own name to records since the mid 90s. Over the years his releases have found a home on labels such as In Demand, Soul Heaven and Delusions of Grandeur and he is increasingly in demand as a remixer, due in no small part to the success of the 6^th Borough Project material.  

Last year Craig further built on his impressive list of achievements by co-founding the Fifty Fathoms Deep label and 2015 looks set to be his most productive year to date. In the coming months he has a nine track mini LP coming out on The Revenge’s Roar Groove imprint, while the start of next year sees him take on remix duties for Layfars with Peter Oakden and also as 6^th Borough Project to rework the upcoming Hercules & Love Affair single. He’s also working on a release for Atjazz with Richard Peace AKA Peacey, which will be released as part of Record Shop Day next year.

With the Nightvision Hogmanay party on the horizon, we caught up with Smith to find out what else is on his mind going into the New Year.

Hi, Craig. What’s been keeping you busy of late?

I’m always busy in the studio recording! I'm almost finished my solo LP for Fifty Fathoms, which will come out in spring 2015 and by then we (myself and Peter Oakden) will have completed a hip hop project we are working on, again for our label. Then it'll be time to start the third 6th Borough Project LP!

Sticking with 6^th Borough Project... how did you and Graeme Clark first come together and what’s your working process like?

About 16 years ago he dropped his 12" into the shops for all the locals DJs and I was the only one to get back to him – the rest is history! I spotted straight away he was a super talented dude and a lovely guy to boot. Working with him is a super easy process. We seem to have a good chemistry which can be a hard thing to find when making music with other people, no matter how talented they are.

When in life did you first encounter the kind of disco and soul records that form the basis of that project?

The music we reference is the music I grew up listening too. Yep, I am that old!

What other artists and kinds of music would you cite as influences, from your earliest days up until more recently?

There are far too many to pin down. I love music full stop. I have so many influences; whether it’s producers, DJs and artists from the last 40 decades – it would fill up the whole page. I think some people would be very surprised at what I listen to at home, but I do have way over 12,000 bits of vinyl alone to choose from, so I never get bored.

You’re playing as part of Nightvision’s NYE party in Edinburgh. The capital has taken some criticism over the last few years for the health of its clubbing scene, yet there’s an increasingly wide variety of nights on and there are many scenes which have always thrived in Edinburgh. What have been your experiences of partying in the city over the years?

There have been some good times and there have been some bad times over the years – I've been actively clubbing in the capital since 1984! But I think the Edinburgh club scene is very buoyant at the moment. I always say to anybody who moans about Edinburgh: ‘Put your money where your mouth is and get doing something creative to improve it, rather than being negative – make a difference. If not, shut up or move!'

What has been your most memorable Hogmanay up until now?

I was born in Melbourne (both my parents are from Edinburgh) but I left when I was a very small child so have no memory of it. During our first 6th Borough tour of Oz a few years back we played there on NYE and it was magical to be back to the place where I arrived on this planet all those years ago. The party with Motor City Drum Ensemble was pretty special too.

What kinds of sounds are most exciting you at the moment and what kind of DJ set can we expect at Nightvision?

Music always excites me – genre is no barrier so, again, there’s too many to list. Expect deep, soulful music with integrity and a few surprises!

Can you tell us how the label, Fifty Fathoms Deep, originated and what’s going on with it?

Fifty Fathoms is a label I run with Peter Oakden (check out his work as Fredrick – a super talented producer. I expect big things for him in 2015). We have been running for 18 months now, with releases from Layfar, Ranier Trüby, Marlow, Ugly Drums, NYAK, Phlash, 6th Borough Project, Fredrick and myself.  

We just put out music we love, and we've been really pleased with the response from the DJs and public so far. There are some exciting releases planned for 2015 already.

Finally, what else are you looking forward to in 2015?

Being happy, healthy and making music.