Slipstream (Ten Questions with...) Exclusive Interview & Guest Mix

George Winkworth is a recognized name in the British trance scene and beyond. The English producer released his tracks under such projects as Slipstream, Atlantis, Dual Shock, Fantazm, Fractika, Good Question, Honor Mission, Piquet, Spamster, Swomp and Waveburner. Certainly the first two names are most familiar to most fans. George also created his productions under his own name. Be sure to check out the release catalog at Subterrania Recordings, Borderline or Pure Trance Recordings for his tracks. George shared some amazing information about his work and his passion for trance music. I invite you to an interview conducted only for Visions Of Trance.

1. What is trance music to you?

It’s a huge part of my very existence, of my being. It is a way to express myself like no other. I can transfer pure emotion into what I create and know that it can hit others, right smack in the feels, ha ha! There is no genre of music that can generate the levels of euphoria that good quality trance can.

2. How do you perceive the state of the current trance music scene?

In a state of total renaissance, I would say. I have just come back from Luminosity Beach Festival, which is probably the best trance event of the year, and I would say that the trance scene is absolutely buzzing! The fact that the classic trance sound has come full circle and is great news for the scene. There is some great modern trance being created but it’s sadly few and far between. The last few years have seen a real dip in quality and an increase in template trance. People are just fed up with it all, so stripping it back to the very basics that created all that original excitement which spawned the whole trance movement, is an obvious move. Regression for progression, if you like. The scene has become so swamped with cookie-cutter noise, that something had to give if the trance was to survive. So there has been a quiet rebellion with labels like Pure Trance and Activa’s Borderline Music leading the charge. It’s all about breaking it back down to the very core elements that really are the soul of the tracks, focussing in on the melodies and individual sounds, then adding the modern production techniques and polish. The result is a more organic & authentic feeling trance that has real character and people are really starting to buy into the sound hopefully longevity. It also means that dinosaurs like me get to be releasing again. Ha ha! The collaboration I did with Activa called ‘Cassini’, which came out in 2022 really opened my eyes. It contains all the sounds and passion of that magical late 90’s trance era, so to see it getting such wonderful support and amazing feedback from all the top trance DJs (“this is the trance sound that we have been missing!!”- *you know who), spurred me on no end. I’m writing more music now that I have since the 90’s and I am working mainly through Rob (Activa) over at Borderline HQ. It really is an amazing community he’s building over there, and his mission brief is clear and one I truly believe in (just check out the back cat there - Amazing!). Rob’s new mixed compilation CD ‘Movement: One’ is a perfect example of ‘that sound’. He’s even pulled in the Gatecrasher classic CD art designers TDR to do the covers. Through Borderline, I have also been working with some incredibly talented producers – John Dopping (Definitions), Sonic Element, I’m working on some new tracks with Peter Steele and obviously ‘the govenor’ Rob. I’m also in talks for some potential exciting new collabs and there are plenty of solo tracks in the pipeline. Of course my time is much more limited than it was back in then (when I was doing it full time), but I am absolutely driven and sleep is overrated anyway. Ha ha!

3. What are your goals in producing trance music?

Just to keep writing music that keeps exciting the hell out of me. I have been addicted to that buzz for well over 25 years now and I’m not giving that up, ever. I have no deadlines or agendas, I just work at my own pace and want to keep enjoying it as long as I can. What could possibly be better?

I also want to make many new friends along the way (and I’m doing pretty well so far, as the trance scene attracts the absolute best people in the music scene).

4. Who was your inspiration to start producing trance music?

Hmmmm… there is no one person in particular. It’s more a series of events over a very long time that led me to trance. I grew up on Jarre, Kraftwerk, then electronic artists like Numan, early Human League and of course Depeche Mode, so I bought a Roland Jupiter 6 back in 1983 then joined a few bands where I started to flesh out my writing skills. Then my good friend Phil Price introduced me to an Atari ST and then my mind was blown. I was fortunate to be there for all the new genres, acid house, rave, then hardcore etc, but it was always the more melodic & synth driven stuff that caught my ear (Njoi, Shamen, FSOL etc). Then in the early 90’s the progressive scene really kicked off and the release of the mythical Rennaisance 1st album heralded a whole new genre into the mainstream and I developed a real love affair for the deep basslines and crisp rhythms. There were many elements in that music that would eventually be pulled into the trance sound. Then when we opened Subterrania recordings, in around ’96 (I think) we were getting weekly deliveries of artists like Tilt, Quivver, Osbourne and Oakenfold all which had a profound effect on my musical direction. I think I must have had Oakie’s New York Global Underground on loop for 2 years. This was a genre that I had a real connection with and I just knew we would live happily ever after together. Ha ha!

5. Which song are you most proud of and why?

I am super proud of 99% of the tracks I’ve written over the years, but I guess that Fiji has to be the obvious choice there. But it’s more about the story of what that track symbolises. It feels like only yesterday when I was sat there in the summer of 1998, in the Subterrania basement studio, jamming round and forming the riff and chord progression. The studio had only just been rebuilt after the Easter floods that wiped out the studio and everything in it and this was the first step on the new musical journey that was about to unfold. From being utterly distraught about the loss of all my previous work, masters, vintage synths etc, Lloyd and I finished all the work on the record shop and studio renovations, Paul had just joined us and the future was now looking hopeful. The creation of Fiji filled us with a new excitement and as soon as it was released in November that year, good things began to happen rather quickly.

Fast forward 25 years to 2023 and hearing it played at Luminosity Beach Festival was just mind blowing. Apparently it was played at least 4 times, twice that I saw on the main stage - Peter Steele (who is well underrated IMO!) and Bryan Kearny, right at sunset. It means so much to me as it really was the phoenix that rose from the ashes, it fixed my broken heart (one day I’ll share the video of what the studio looked like after the flood. There were many tears) and is a sign of our resilience, to never give up and to keep pushing forward, to keep focussing on the mission, believe in yourself and you will continue to create moments that will lift and inspire you, carrying you forever forward.

As you now know, there are many layers to my love for this track and I put myself into the music I write, so to think how it still has a place in a few other people’s hearts after all these years is just the icing on the cake and just makes me want to burst.

6. Will your future releases be collaborations with other artists? Are you more into solo productions?

Short answer: Both.

Long answer: I love working with other artists. I like the unique, hybrid soundscapes that can be created when 2 different creative styles come together. I also love the fast flowing ideas that bounce back and forth between us and the shared excitement of being in the moment as a new element is added to the track and really, really works! And let’s not forget the banter. It’s equally important to have fun with it. But then I also recognise that I need to push myself to release more solo work. The only pressure there though, is an internal one. A personal discipline to finish tracks independently, then move on to the next. I get a lot of ideas popping up as soon as I start playing the keyboard, so I need to not fly off on a tangent quite so much and stay on the path to completion. Ha ha!

https://georgewinkworth.bandcamp.com/album/subterrania-1998-2003

7. What inspires you to create trance music?

My personal feelings play a big part in that. Writing music is a form of therapy for me. I don’t think I really need therapy (maybe ask my wife though..?) but playing & writing is very cathartic and also a way for me to tap into & express my innermost feelings without words, in an art form that others can pick up and instantly understand. Words can easily be misconstrued – Music cannot, because it taps into a certain part of the brain that bypasses all the bullshit. Straight to the core. It’s a known fact that people with dementia who sometimes (heartbreakingly) can’t recognise their own relatives or when/where they are, but can sing along to a favourite song from 40 years ago if it comes on. Music becomes a part of your very existence. It can also transport your mind instantly back to a memorable occasion when you heard the track played, triggering memories and historic emotions from deep within your mind, that have laid dormant until that particular track comes on again. The power of music cannot be underestimated, but it can be harnessed and used to change people’s moods, outlooks and in some cases – even their lives. It never leaves you.

Trance music is the perfect example of that. It is a type of music that is enjoyed by those who want to be moved in those ways, who want to be uplifted. I have just come back from Luminosity Beach festival where I was fortunate enough to be hanging out with my wife and good buddy Peter Steele for the weekend, and the atmosphere was simply unreal. Everywhere you looked, there was just a sea of smiles, hands in the air and people expressing themselves to the music. Being a part of that is inspirational. Having your music move these people in that way, contributing to their enjoyment on that level…. Well what more inspiration could you possibly want.

Trance in particular enables me to be more directly emotional that other styles, which is probably why it’s a perfect fit for me (I am a very emotional guy (). So getting back to my 1st point, when I start a new project, it usually begins with me playing the piano or a synth, jamming around chords and melodies until I hit something that grabs me. It doesn’t usually take long (after 40-odd years of playing instruments, I would hope so too. Ha ha!). It is that time of just sitting at the keys, just me and my wandering mind, forming new audible euphoria that sometimes excites, sometimes saddens, but always ultimately lifts my soul. So that also inspires me.

That and the thought of 10,000 people going nuts to the finished breakdown, at some point in the future, ha ha! 😉

8. What hardware and software do you use to create trance music?

I have a fair bit of hardware that I have built up over the years. Back in the Subterrania days, it was all we used, so I have the original Atari ST that was used to create all those early tracks under the aliases Atlantis, Fractika, Spamster, Dual Shock, Pord, Swomp, and of course Slipstream etc. I also have a few of the synths from then. My trusty Supernova II Pro-X (amazing synth!), JP800, TX81Z (Lately Bass!!), Akai S300XL, Bass Station.

I also have a Microbrute, Hohner HS-2/E (Casio clone), TD-3, and during lockdown, I cheered myself up by adding a Prophet Rev 2 to the collection. 16 voices of bi-timbral analogue baby! It’s a stunning synth.

Having said that, I currently tend to work in the box. Mainly due to time constrains and ease of picking up a track where you left off, when I have a spare hour to get creative.

I have always worked in Cubase and probably always will. It does everything I need, the support is fairly good and the updates are always exciting and appropriately useful. Plus it’s pretty – Ha ha!

The ‘main’ VSTs I currently use are:

Spire – A really inspiring tool, a super-wide palette is easily possible and so editable on the fly. I love the arpeggiator – You can get some fantastic results by playing around with that in chord mode and I have programmed it extensively for the track I’m close to finishing up (which I am really excited about)

Diva – Creamy goodness, but a tad CPU hungry Serum

9. How do you perceive the influence of social media on the career development of a trance artist?

I’m going to pass on that as I only really do whatever I want to, plus there are a lot of very polarizing opinions on this and as I’m not really looking to develop my career (I am just purely having fun and after doing it full time in the 90’s and early 2000’s, I’d like to keep to that mentality), I will leave commenting on that to those who are invested.

I am very fortunate in that I am currently working with some of the most genuine & talented guys I have met in the business to date, over at Rob Activa’s Borderline label, and also John Dopping & Alan Ruddick’s Research & Development label. I have so much belief I what they are doing to try and bring back that quality trance sound and they are incredibly talented and really are a lovely bunch of humans. So my main driver to engage with social media, is really for the purpose of doing what I can to help the label grow and so to help with increasing exposure for all the artists and the team involved.

Having said that, I do recognise that it is a great way to spread the word on my music, get direct feedback and a way for me to chat shit & banter with all the great people around the world who also love trance as much as I do. I have met so many wonderful people through social media – I love being social and inflicting my crap humour on people all round he globe (and beyond…??). This is something we did not have back in the late 90’s, we had our record shop upstairs (where I also did all of the above with the customers), but not many people are fortunate enough to own one of those nowadays, so it should certainly not be taken for granted.

10. Finally, what would you like to say to your fans?

I think ‘Fans’ is a strong word. I know there are a few people out there who appreciate my music as much as I do. So to all those lovely people - Thank you for all the kind words, for making me feel valued, and for all your continued support and encouragement. I love you all.