How did a Broadford fisherman and a candle maker and part-time barber become DJs?
And no this is not the beginning of a bad joke.
Childhood best friends Fraser Gillies and Ruaridh McKenzie have a lot of skills between them thanks to their day jobs.
However, it is their newest and slightly unusual hobby that has been making waves from their town of Broadford in Skye.
The creative minds behind the DJ duo F.R. have been gaining traction in the electronic scene thanks to their fun style of music, social media presence and unique island location.
With over 40,000 streams on their first Soundcloud release, they were soon picked up by Cannae Beat It Records and released their debut single Closed Off in September this year.
But interestingly, their newfound career did not start out intentionally.
How did F.R. happen?
Speaking with Ruaridh, who works at the Highland Candle Company and as a barber in his spare time, he admitted he never thought creating music was on the cards growing up.
While his headphones are often blasting music, the 23-year-old said: “I’ve never been a musically gifted person.
“I never thought I could get into music. I’ve always loved it, I listen to music every single day. My headphones never come off.”
Listening to everything from traditional music to 80s and 90s disco hits to afro beats, Ruaridh, said he likes listening to a range of styles.
So when around a year ago, Fraser, 21, invited him around excited to show him a newly purchased deck, Ruaridh was curious.
“He fell in love with it and I started messing about and I fell in love with it,” Ruaridh said. “And then maybe two months after that we got into producing.
“We were just messing around we didn’t post anything. And then we were like, ‘Ok we’re both really enjoying it.’
“I got some decks as well and every single night we were just back and forth at each other’s houses, and we were like, ‘Why not do it together?’
“We’ve been best friends since we were kids and four or five months in, we released our first song on SoundCloud. That got a lot of love.
“And ever since then we just kept posting stuff on TikTok and Instagram and people just enjoyed it.
“So we thought maybe it could be something.
“We didn’t necessarily have a plan. We’re just having fun and enjoying it.”
Isolated in Skye but music changed that
The Isle of Skye is regularly seen as a picturesque and peaceful place to live but growing up in the area as a teen, Ruaridh admitted it could be quite lonely.
Thankfully his love of football kept him occupied however he said the lack of transport to nip over to see friends on the other side of the island made it harder.
He said: “I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone else but for me, it was a little bit lonely.
“It was nice and the views are amazing but it was difficult.”
While it can feel the same as an adult, Ruaridh said producing music and sharing it with others through social media has changed that.
“I’ve had really nice conversations with people I would have never spoken to before,” he added.
“There’s quite a few people on our TikTok and Instagram who always comment and they almost feel like friends. It’s a good community, I feel less isolated.”
Being Broadford DJs has its advantages
Due to DJing being an unusual occupation in their part of the country, Ruaridh admitted their new interest was met with differing opinions.
However, apart from the odd misplaced joke, he said being part of a smaller community had its advantages.
Describing the encouraging messages from old school friends and support from friends and family, he added: “I think everyone’s just excited for Skye to get recognised.
“I think that’s actually a bit of an advantage because it’s such a close-knit community that you will have more support.
“Say you’re in Glasgow, there’s so many people I’d say it’s harder to get out there but in Broadford, it’s been good.”
Between Ruaridh’s jobs and Fraser’s as a fisherman, the pair struggle to find time to produce some days despite living a few doors down from each other.
But it is clear they are keen to keep producing with a live performance and more Spotify releases being the next step.
“We just want to continue to have fun and hopefully make other people enjoy our music, and see where it takes us,” said Ruaridh.
“There’s not really a plan. We just go with the flow and like having fun while we do it.
“A big goal of mine would be to travel and DJ in places like Spain and Italy because I’ve always wanted to travel and I love music. To join them together would be ideal.”
You can listen to F.R. on Spotify, Soundcloud or TikTok.
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