#012 - George Thomas
Welcome to our interview series, where we interview emerging creatives all over the globe!
Today, we will be interviewing George Thomas, an emerging electronic music producer known for crafting rich soundscapes, textured drops, and detailed transient work. Drawing inspiration from house, indie, and atmospheric music, George blends genres such as bass music, hyperpop, and dubstep with vocal-driven elements to elevate his sound. Despite battling perfectionism and confidence in his earlier releases, he continues to push forward, refining his unique sonic identity. With a debut bass house EP on the way and a fresh summer track titled “Wastingmytime,” George is gearing up for a standout year in music.
With that being said, we will now dive into the questions we have prepared for George!
Hey, George! We appreciate your interest in taking part in the FTWS interview series. How are you feeling today?
Feeling good! Glad I get to be a part of the series.
Awesome! Let's begin with our first question: Can you describe the steps you take to create a track? Do you begin with a melody, a rhythm, or a particular sound?
I usually start with a drop, melody, or bassline in mind, and use saw waves as a temporary placeholder. If I don’t already have a rhythm, I’ll get a transient (I make a ton of transient one-shots) and write out a nice rhythm, letting myself worry about the movement of the track separately from the melodics. Then I’ll start combining the two, and after that comes the sound designing. I do some layering to polish the drop a bit more, then add drums, then do the arrangement. The process and order is pretty much the same for each section of the track, and drums are usually always last in the order.
Numerous electronic musicians create a distinctive sound. What would you say about yours, and what was the process like?
To preface, I haven’t released much new stuff this year as of yet (although that will be changing quite soon), so some of what I say might be based on a style that isn’t quite public yet. However, I’d say that my sound has always consisted of rich soundscapes, contrasting textures, and attention to transients. An artist’s attention to texture is that kind of thing that will take their music from good to great. Along with that, my mom loves house music, and whenever I play her my music, she always tells me that “vocals take a song to the next level”. It’s very good advice from a listener and producer perspective, and because of this, I’ve tried to get more vocals in my projects. The goal is lyrical stuff, but if a track is too busy for lyrics, I still put effort into adding vocals of some sort, even if it’s just a simple vocal pad or hook. That’s definitely had an effect on my sound, especially given that I still put in effort for having lyrics in genres that are typically instrumental (like color bass and dubstep).
The landscape of electronic music is always changing. How do you preserve your artistic integrity while staying on top of trends?
I uphold the image and sound that I want to present with. I participate in some trends (in the production world and the music marketing world), but if I can’t get a trend to work with my style, I don’t stress over not participating.
What has been the most difficult obstacle you have faced in your music life thus far, and how did you resolve it?
My most difficult obstacle would probably be the confidence I have in my music. My current discography has more songs that I don’t feel very good about than it does songs I do feel good about. This partially stems from my heavy perfectionism, but I think it also comes from how my perfectionism actually affects my ability to make music. I’ll be too afraid to ruin a really awesome song by trying to finish it, so I’ll just ignore the song completely and never release it. I know I can make good music, I listen to my unreleased stuff and am really proud of it, but I just don’t have enough of that music out to feel like I’m allowed to be proud yet.
Does your production style draw inspiration from artists or genres beyond electronic music, and have you worked with artists from diverse backgrounds?
My production style probably stems from the fact that I didn’t know advanced sound synthesis for a very long time haha! That and participating in a lot of beat battles early on led me to instead chop random sounds and use insane amounts of audio effects to get crazy results with unique timbres. Sample flipping has become ingrained in my mind, so I still do it for a lot of my sounds even with my current abilities. As I mentioned before, I really enjoy making rich soundscapes, and I think I draw a bit of that from indie and atmospheric music that I come across. As for who I’ve worked with (even if the songs haven't been released), I’ve made music with artists from all different styles like color bass, hyperpop, pluggnb, and even with people in indie/folk. I love blending styles with other artists because that’s where you come across the most unique ideas.
The demands of the music industry can be high. How do you strike a good balance between your personal well-being, creativity and performance?
Staying organized is definitely the most important for all three. If you’re organized, you don’t have to worry about keeping track of everything as much, leading to less distraction and better chance at making efficient progress in any of them.
That concludes our interview with you. Thank you so much for participating! Would you like to share any new music or plans over the next few months?
Thanks for giving me this opportunity, and sure! I’ve got my debut bass house EP coming within the next few months, I’ve been really hyped to get that out there, so stay tuned! I also recently dropped a song called “Wastingmytime” which is great for summer soon! Other than that, just getting more music out there, and solidifying my brand into something I’m happy with.
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