Solo artist, collaborator, songwriter, producer, remixer and drummer Georgia Barnes is also a self-confessed synth nerd, which she has every right to blame on her upbringing. Here she explains how she works within that electronic world with producers and artists including Rostam, William Orbit and Olly Alexander…
Having been born and raised in a studio where one of the most iconic electronic albums was recorded, Leftfield’s Leftism, it’s no surprise that Georgia Barnes is something of a synth geek. “My dad brought me into studios from the age of six,” she laughs. “There’s an actual picture of me as a kid on my dad’s Juno on a Leftfield 12” somewhere!”
Her dad is Leftfield’s Neil Barnes, but rather than living in the shadow of the legendary producer, Georgia has carved out her own successful career, with more strings in it than one of her classic synths. She has produced three solo albums, including the Mercury Prizenominated Seeking Thrills in 2020 and last year’s Euphoric.
Then, there are the collaborations where Georgia has variously drummed, rapped, sung, programmed, remixed or written for artists including Jessie Ware, Gorillaz, Mura Masa, Years & Years and William Orbit.
Being active in so many strands of music is key, she says – “there are so many avenues to explore so I’m doing as much as I can, and just take the opportunities” – and with such a varied set of opportunities already taken, who better to ask about raising your game?
How do you approach working on a remix or production?
Georgia: “The vocal is what draws people in, so I make sure I understand what the singer is trying to convey, and then create the world they want. Some producers will chuck everything in, but because I’m a singer I’m concerned about anything getting in the way of the vocal.”
How does it work with a typical collaboration for you?
“Sometimes I get demos, just the skeleton, the singer and maybe some guitar. And then it’s just put the ‘Georgia world’ into that. Sometimes I’ll start from scratch with an artist. Every song is different, an amazing world and within that you can go anywhere. I’m not traditional and approach it quite experimentally. I don’t use that many plugins, I’m just really obsessed with synths.”
What is that ‘Georgia world’ of synths?
“I was fortunate to be introduced to it at an early age – literally born in a flat surrounded by synths where Leftfield made Leftism, so my love for synths is born out of that. The first synths my dad introduced me to were Korgs – he got me a Poly 6 and a MonoPoly. As I got older, a Minimoog Model Dcame in, one of the greatest synths with such great bass sounds.”
What do you use now?
“I’ve got the Model D, my Korgs and my Rolands. I divide them into how
