In the ever-evolving world of drum and bass, few artists embody the passion, perseverance, and excitement of the scene like FMS. From his first rave experience in 2019 to honing his skills during lockdown, FMS’s journey as both a DJ and producer has been nothing short of transformative. With influences ranging from jungle rollers to jump-up heavyweights, he has carved out his unique sound while embracing the creative freedom that drum and bass offers. In this interview, we dive deep into his creative process, the challenges he’s overcome, and the future of the genre as he prepares for what promises to be an exciting year ahead.
How did you first get into drum bass music and what drew you to the genre?
I got into it when I was younger, around 11 or 12. Back then, you had artists like Wilkinson and Sub Focus dropping generational bangers, with tracks like ‘X-Ray’ after ‘Klo’ – that sort of vibe. I remember ‘Sweet Lies’ hitting hard. At some point, I kind of lost touch with it, but I also got into artists like DJ Fresh and Truman Bass.
Then, I got back into the scene when I heard everyone’s tuned really tall—it brought me back to the jump-up side of things. From there, I got into the bassline scene through Crew Cast, and that’s when everything clicked. My first rave was in 2019 at Rock City, Crew Cast’s event. That was a life-changing experience, and I completely fell in love with the music and the rave culture.
During lockdown, I thought to myself, ‘I want to be one of those guys.’ So, I picked up some decks, and my passion for the music and the DJing side just kept growing.
Did Covid and the lockdowns affect your interest in music?
A hundred percent. It had a massive effect. It was basically what I did for a year and a half, so it was just, I got decks about a month before with the intention of learning to do it and that being what I do and I was like, okay, well I can’t do anything else now, so I’m going to put all my interest into this one hobby and just, yeah, no, I literally just was DJing for hours and hours and hours every day and then by the time we got to 2022 and 2021 when the lockdown had gone, I thought I was quite good. I’d learned how to know I could do the triple drops and stuff. I’d learned how to mix to a decent level and still I’ve improved since then, but I think that was a crucial part of getting my skills, which is basically be having that the only thing you can do, not being able to go outside or anything really. And then that being the main thing I was doing really, really helped me.
Who were some of your early influences when you started producing music?
When I started producing music, it was around 2019 to 2020, and at that point, I was really drawn to the rollers and the darker, minimal jungle side of the scene. Artists like Kings, Boo, Benny L, and Limited were huge inspirations for me. Those guys really shaped my sound early on. After spending some time with rollers, I moved into jump-up around 2020. Hedex became a massive influence during that time. I loved his Rampage set from 2018—it’s still one of my favorite sets ever. Other big influences included Kmos, Canine, and so many more.
There was just so much inspiration back then, and I felt like there were so many people I looked up to in the drum & bass scene. And to be honest, I still look up to a lot of the same people today. The scene’s always been full of talent and vision, and it’s still amazing to see how much influence these artists have had on me and the scene.
What’s the story behind the name FMS and does it hold any significant value to you?
Right, so it’s gone through a lot of changes, but essentially I just wanted an acronym, something cool, like “MC” or something similar. It went through a bunch of different variations, but one that really stood out to me and made me laugh was “Fucking Massive Selector.” Someone said it, and I thought, that’s brilliant – I’m going to stick with that as the new meaning for it. I just thought it was hilarious.
The thing is, I didn’t really have a name to go off. I just needed something fast. I was figuring out how to do these decks, and I wanted to start posting blends. At the time, TikTok didn’t even exist yet, so people weren’t posting mixes there. It was all about uploading blends to SoundCloud, and I needed a name to go with that. And that’s when I decided, yep, that’s the one I’m going with.
Can you walk us through your production process? Do you have any rituals or unique techniques that you use when you’re in the studio?
One thing I like to do, which I’ve seen Primate do as well, is set up a project template at the start. I’m sure a lot of people do this, but it’s basically about having all your drum buses and channels already linked and formatted. That way, when you open up a new project, you don’t have to rename all the channels or color-code them into groups. I’ve already got a kick and snare bus set up, my drums are routed through the drum bus, and my bass and other elements each have their own buses. They’re all linked together, so when I’m making new sounds, it saves me about an hour per track and speeds up my workflow significantly.
I also find that inspiration for tunes usually strikes when I’m not at the computer. I’ll hum a melody or an idea while I’m doing something else, and once I have it, I’ll jump into FL Studio to write it down and develop it into a full track. Those are probably the two biggest time-savers for me.
What do you think makes Drum and Bass unique compared to all the other electronic music genres? We’ve seen it explode in the last year or so. Why do you think that is?
I think one of the standout things about drum and bass is the sheer number of subgenres attached to it. Obviously, Jump-up is a massive part of it right now, but when you look across the scene, there are so many different types of drum and bass. Liquid and Jump-up, for example, are so far apart stylistically. If you look at genres like house music, you’ve got subgenres like Bass House and Disco House, which are somewhat similar in concept. But with drum and bass, the subgenres stretch so much further. You’ve got No Fun, Liquid, Dancefloor, Halftime, Minimal, Jungle, and of course, Jump-up. There are so many variations, and it’s constantly evolving.
In fact, we’ve even seen new subgenres emerge recently, like the dark, minimal jump-up sound that artists like Alien have been pushing. It’s such a cool direction and shows that we’re still finding unique sounds and completely different elements within drum and bass. Artists like Amanu, the Carle Project, and Bushen are all making incredibly unique melodies and tracks. I really think there’s so much creativity in drum and bass compared to other genres – it feels like there’s always something new and exciting coming out of it.
How do you feel the drum bass scene has changed over the years and where do you see it heading in the future?
I think the drum and bass scene has always evolved considerably since I’ve been part of it. There’s been a trend where we’ll follow a certain sound, and then it completely shifts. For a couple of years, rollers and that darker, more dominating sound were huge, but recently it’s moved towards Jump-up. If you go back to 2011-2014, it was all about dancefloor DnB, and that era was really thriving. You can still hear that afterglow in clubs today, with those signature sounds—like that sample of Kanye (I can’t remember the name, but I still hear it all the time).
I think the scene is heading in a really positive direction. The growth of the scene is allowing more artists to reach new levels, and the increasing demand for events means more opportunities for artists to make music a full-time career. This, in turn, allows for even more music to be made, and more unique tracks to be created. I think it’s a really exciting time for drum and bass, and I’m really happy with where it’s heading. It’s still an amazing scene.
When you’re not making music, what other passions or hobbies do you enjoy?
Okay, let me think of some good ones here because music is basically my life at the moment. I’d say I’m into F1, which is definitely a big one for me. Football as well, but I think a more unique one would be my love for roller coasters. That’s something that could definitely fit into the “unique and interesting” category.
It’s a really cool thing—roller coasters are something I absolutely love, even though I don’t get to ride them as much as I’d like to. There’s actually a pretty geeky community around roller coasters, which I was a part of and still kind of am. So yeah, that could definitely fit into the “unique” section.
What do you think about the rise of drum and bass and its broader music appeal and culture today?
I think the commercial success of drum and bass is a good thing. When artists like Chase & Status make it into the top 10, and when someone like Nick gets a number one track, even if you don’t like those songs (though I think they’re all bangers), it’s still putting drum and bass on the map. It’s getting more attention, and that’s helping all the artists in the scene across every subgenre.
People will listen to those mainstream tracks and then go down the endless rabbit hole of drum and bass. We’ve all been there. We all started with a mainstream song and then wanted to explore more. Especially back in the 2010s, many of us would have heard something like Afterglow or Desire, and then listened for hours and hours discovering more. If you’re listening to Backbone now, in a couple of years, you could find yourself watching an old-school Hype set or diving into artists like Dillinger. You can really go down that deep rabbit hole and end up discovering artists who were huge in the ’90s or find artists who are popping today.
Have you encountered any challenges or obstacles being a drum based producer and how did you overcome them?
Oh, I definitely still do. One of the main challenges I’m facing is getting the mix and mastering right—making sure a track sounds perfectly clean. That’s something I’m working on all the time. I’ve been really close to getting a track supported, and I’ve had some high-profile artists reaching out to me for tracks, which has been amazing and super motivating. It’s reassuring to know I’m almost there, but there’s still work to be done.
For me, the main roadblock is just making the track sound as clean as possible and getting the mix to sit perfectly. I do think I’ve got some unique sounds of my own, but my main goal right now is to find my signature sound. I want to reach a point where when someone listens to one of my tracks, they can instantly say, “That’s an FMS track.” Like how when you hear an Amplified track, those W’s are so iconic that you know it’s them. The same goes for artists like Hedex, Bou and Kanine – they each have a sound that’s easily recognisable. That’s where I want to get to: to create a sound that’s uniquely mine.
What’s your favourite live experience and why?
My favourite live experience would have to be Cone at BoomTown. It was the perfect set—just the best balance of blends, euphoric intros, and seamless mixing I’ve ever seen. Another standout was the final set before Pendulum at Origin. That one was probably the best DJ set I’ve ever witnessed. As for live shows in general, there are so many memorable ones. It’s hard to pick just one. But I also saw a band called Easy Life, and they were absolutely amazing live.
Do you have any upcoming releases or projects you’re excited about?
As for upcoming releases and projects, I’ve decided to hold off on releasing music for a little while until I’m really happy with where it’s at. So, at the moment, I don’t have any releases lined up. My focus right now is more on DJing, mixing, and just getting everything in shape.
But for 2025, I’m really excited to dive in and get a lot of tunes out. I want to start signing some tracks towards the end of this year and have them come out mid-2025. I’ll also do some shelf releases along the way. I’m thinking of doing a Christmas free download too, and there’ll definitely be a track dropping.
In terms of big things coming, 2025 has some really cool shows lined up, both internationally and in the UK, so I’m pumped about that. This year is nearly full, but there are still some amazing shows to play. I’m especially excited for DnB All Stars in Amsterdam, a headline show in the Czech Republic, and a Halloween gig at Mango. I can’t wait to play at Studio 338 for All Stars, Fear Fest, and Euphoria as well. Those guys are absolutely killing it, and all the other shows I’ve got in that period are going to be awesome.
Finally, what advice would you give to any young aspiring producers who are looking to make their break in the scene?
I think the main piece of advice I’d give to DJs is to invest in FL Studio. Production is such a crucial part of standing out and creating a unique identity. If you’re just a DJ, that’s great—there are DJ-centric acts that have proven you don’t need to be a producer to go far. But I think being able to produce gives you a massive advantage. Having your own dubs, your own tracks, and being able to share your music with people is a real game-changer.
For producers, my advice is simple: just stay committed and don’t give up. Producing can be mentally taxing, and it’s easy to get discouraged. You might spend a week on a track, then listen to it on another system and realize it sounds awful, and you’ll see all the mistakes you missed. That can make you want to delete the track, but just don’t. There’s so much to learn, and every producer who’s big now was once in the same position—five or ten years ago, they were in the same boat.
Take someone like El Pablo, a good mate of mine. His tracks from four years ago were good, but nothing special. Now, he’s getting releases on Kruecast and is considered one of the best up-and-coming producers in the scene. It’s possible. With commitment, focus, and putting your energy into it, you can absolutely get there.
