Composer Craig Armstrong: "I don’t think anybody realised the impact the film Love Actually would have"

The series aims to promote innovative new music projects, with a particular focus on emerging musicians and composers. Armstrong was among the first artists invited to perform as part of Berlin Confidential, premiering Pacific at Berlin’s historic Meistersaal concert hall in March 2025. The concert featured Armstrong on piano alongside cellist Lena Angelina von Almen and producer and musician Guy Sternberg, combining acoustic instruments with live electro-acoustic treatments to create a rich and atmospheric sound world.

Recorded in May 2025 at Lowswing Studios in Kreuzberg, Pacific continues Armstrong’s ongoing exploration of blending acoustic and electronic sound in a natural, seamless way. Over several days in the studio, Armstrong, von Almen and Sternberg developed the work’s intricate textures and dynamic interplay, resulting in a recording that captures both the intimacy and expansiveness of the original live performance.

When speaking about the creative process and his collaborators, Armstrong said: “Lena’s beautiful playing , tone and expression worked so beautifully on Pacific, Lena was also a great collaborator and was always willing to experiment and try new musical approaches. Lena is such a natural musician and she brought so much emotion and beauty to the piece. I wish her all the best in her future musical journey.”

He continues: “Guy is a unique combination of being a brilliant engineer and mixer and a prolific very talented musician/composer. I was very fortunate to spend time with Guy in his studio in Berlin. His sensitivity to the project and his electronic programming made a wonderful contribution to the composition. His collaboration and friendship made the days working in Berlin such a great experience I would like to thank Emma Ford for her dedication, enthusiasm and guidance on Pacific”

We spoke to Craig about his life and career.

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Growing up in Glasgow, were there early musical influences or experiences that shaped the kind of composer you would become?

When I was very young at nine years old, I had an aunt who had gone to the Royal Academy of Music in London, which is also where I ended up going myself much later on. This aunt taught me piano. She was a great musician and a big influence on my musical start in life. My mother was a huge music fan with a varied music collection from classical, jazz and pop and this also had a huge impact on my early listening.

What are some of the places in the city that you return to when you are home to reconnect with Glasgow? 

I live in Glasgow but when I return from working away it’s always great to catch some concerts at the City Halls or Celtic Connections to catch up with fellow musicians.

Your composition Glasgow Love Theme featured in Love Actually 22 years ago and still resurfaces in December each year, did you think you were writing something that could be an enduring part of people’s Christmas when you wrote this? 

I don’t think anybody really realised the impact the film Love Actually would have when we were working on it. It’s been really great people have taken music to their hearts as well, very special.

Were there particular moments in Glasgow that played a significant role in nurturing your creative imagination?

When I was in my teens I played the violin in the Glasgow Schools Orchestra. It was invaluable to hear amazing orchestral pieces being performed around you and being a part of that creating. My connection with Peter Mullan during our years at the Tron theatre in Glasgow and our early film collaborations had a very big impact on learning the craft and being creative.

How do you tend to start when you are beginning to create the musical language of a film? 

It really depends on the director you are working with. I would say that Oliver Stone and Baz Luhrmann have very different work methods. With Oliver Stone he is very keen that you start working from the script before anything has been shot and with Baz he is very involved in a day to day basis collaborating with you whilst he is on set filming each day.

Of your film scores with director Baz Luhrmann, which do you feel the strongest personal connection with? 

The Great Gatsby because I feel this score is probably the best work I did for Baz. I think we both really related to F.Scott Fitzgerald’s novel and I hope the score succeeded in helping the film tell the story.

What was the inspiration behind this latest album, Pacific? 

When I was originally commissioned to write the piece for a new concert series in Berlin supporting young musicians called Berlin Confidential and asked to work with the cellist Lena Angelina von Almen and Guy Sternberg, we all felt it would be important to write a piece that reflected the uncertainty around the world at the moment. With that in mind we dedicated the album to those who are struggling to find peace. All profits from the vinyl go to charities towards peace.

Your work with directors like Baz Luhrmann has left a lasting imprint on modern film music. How did those collaborations evolve creatively?

My work with Baz has spanned several decades and I feel our connection and work processes have evolved throughout the many films. Each one of course has been very specific but I do believe there is a thread through all the music and of course Baz’s creative aesthetic and creative team he works with is a constant.

Many of your scores blend classical orchestration with electronic or ambient elements. What draws you to this hybrid musical language?

I think really it’s just a product of the time I was brought up in and the development from working with early electronics at the Royal Academy of Music, right through to the innovations that are being created at the moment.  So for me it’s a very natural thing to combine both worlds together.

Looking back, is there a particular project that challenged you the most as a composer, and what did you learn from it?

I feel every new project is a new start and in a way every new piece is a new challenge and indicates where you are as an artist at this moment in time. I think the challenges ahead with how artists work with AI is really the main topic of our time as musicians today.

You’ve collaborated with artists across genres, from classical performers to bands like Massive Attack. How have these experiences shaped your compositional voice?

I feel when I write film music I don’t really specifically try to write in the genre of film music and when I do song work my classical influences are very prevalent so I really don’t try and wear different hats for different styles,  I try to compose with my own voice each time.

When scoring a film, how do you approach building an emotional world that supports the story while still retaining your own musical personality?

I think in a lot of films I’ve worked with specifically Baz Luhrmann, Oliver Stone, Peter Mullan and Thomas Winterberg, there was lots of room to express yourself as a composer. So I’ve been lucky working with these artists, that there is room to express yourself as well as the technical challenge of underscoring a drama.  The music can be a vital element in finding a thread that connects an entire film together, it can sometimes take quite a while to find the musical essence of a film but once you’ve succeeded with that it can be an important element.

How does your Scottish identity influence the way you approach storytelling through music?

My Scottish identity is very important to me most recently having worked with Calum Martin and psalm singers form Lewis on the album we recorded -  The Edge of The Sea with the Scottish Ensemble. I found studying in detail the structure of Gaelic psalm singing to be fascinating and influential to my musical compositions.

Do you find yourself returning to Glasgow creatively for inspiration, and if so, what aspects of the city tend to spark ideas?

I have always lived in Glasgow and still do, although a lot of my work has been international so it’s quite hard to pin point exactly how Glasgow has had an effect on my work however I would say the Scottish landscape and indigenous music has definitely had an effect on my compositions and one of the amazing parts about living in Glasgow is that we are half an hour away from incredibly beautiful landscapes and countryside.

Proceeds from Pacific will be donated to charities working towards peace: Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red Cross.

The limited-edition vinyl release has been pressed on Eco Vinyl at SeaBass Vinyl, a sustainable plant near Edinburgh. The record features striking cover art by Dirk Rudolph, who has designed several of Armstrong’s previous releases.

Pacific is out now via CMA Records here.