Goldenscan aka Fu Man Choo aka Serie A come full on with all their guises inclusive in this interview with i:Vibes in light of their recent release of their single "Ascension"

Goldenscan's Artist Profile

Groomed on the dancefloor of Gatecrasher, Goldenscan are a Sheffield based production outfit comprising of Ed Goring, Mark McCormick and Tom Lindley. Responsible for massive anthems such as Goldenscan’s ‘Sunrise’ and Fu Man Choo’s ‘Outlaw’ they have spent the last two years working under various aliases chalking critical acclaim in underground tracks as well as their familiar floor fillers.

Having generated massive support by the likes of Van Dyk, Oakenfold, Jules, Armin, Tiesto, Dave Pearce and Gatecrasher's own residents Scott Bond and Matt Hardwick to name but a few they have appeared on countless compilations through their various guises including Gatecrasher, Passion, Godskitchen, Euphoria and Minsitry of Sound and worked regularly with labels such as VC Recordings, ATCR, Good As, BMG and Lost Language / Hooj. Their tracks have featured on the playlists of major radio stations across the globe and at countless festivals and events.

January 2003 has seen the release of the much awaited third Goldenscan single ‘Ascension’ through their own label Dubious Recordings.

The Interview

The trio who comprise Goldenscan have been pushing the limits of trance over the past few years, remixing some top tracks and producing some of their own, we have a few words with them to see what they have been up to.

i:Vibes: So guys, where did it all begin, before the likes of producing such anthems as "Sunrise" and "Outlaw"

Goldenscan: Ed and Mark pretty much grew up together and were into music production from a fairly early age. Mark initially started writing music with Ed’s brother Will. A few years later Ed, Will and a guy called Rob Davis formed Elevator Man and released the massive Funk and Drive. After a messy night out, the Goldenscan name came about and things just started up from there. We met Tom a while later and just decided to do tracks together and it seemed to work.

i:Vibes: Where do you put your interests in? And who are the individuals who have been inspirational to your work over the years?

Goldenscan:We don’t have much time for anything other than music at the moment. We have just moved our entire studio and we are somewhat up against it getting tracks and remixes done.

There are so many people who have influenced the way we work but we try to do our own thing as much as we can.

i:Vibes: Tell us a bit about the various guises you 3 have, such as FU Man Choo, Serie A, and others. Are their aimed to conjure up various styles you 3 aim to portray or what?

Goldenscan:Fu Man Choo’s ‘Outlaw’ came about after the success of ‘Sunrise’ and was initially meant for experimentation. Graham Gold loved the demo and decided he wanted to sign us to Good:AS with Praha turning out an awesome remix. The track enjoyed much compilation exposure with the likes of Ministry of Sound and Slinky and ended up on about eight in total. The follow up ‘Generation’ was aimed more at the dancefloor as an underground track and again Praha supplied the remix.

Serie A was meant as a different take on dance/trance. Tim from ATCR picked it up and liked the track so off it went. We have no plans to follow up the Serie A tracks at the moment but who knows maybe one day.

i:Vibes: Many would say that "Sunrise" is by far your best production, what do you guys have to say to that? agree? disagree?

Goldenscan:Its always hard to say. Sunrise was obviously our biggest production and certainly means a lot to all of us. It would certainly be very hard to write another ‘Sunrise’ as it was such a unique track at the time.

The best track from a production point of view is yet to come from us. We have recently changed our studio set-up and everyday is a new challenge although we are starting to turn corners now. Hopefully this year should see some interesting new material.

i:Vibes: How about your pick for the top tracks in the box at the moment?

Goldenscan:There are too many to mention really. Ronski speed’s mix of Aly and Fila ‘Eye of Horus’ is probably Tom’s favourite tune of the moment.

Also anything by Armin, Pvd, Ferry, Above and Beyond, Solarstone, Hiver and Hammer, Steve Helstrip, Andy Perring etc….you get the picture!!!!

i:Vibes: The latest single "Ascension" has shown support from DJs across the globe, and you have upcoming releases of "Of Our Times" as well as another untitled single set forth on Dubious. Is Goldenscan the preferred direction at this time?

Goldenscan:Yeah definitely!! Goldenscan is by far the most popular name we produce tracks under and we are going to stick with it for a while. The name works for us and is well known now so we are just going to go with the flow and build on the profile.

i:Vibes: Dubious is your own label; how did that come about and what sort of artists are you looking for it?

Goldenscan:We started Dubious initially to release Goldenscan material. We aim to take on board more artists and find people who could possibly do remixes for us. If any readers out there have any demos then we would love to hear them so get them sent through!!

i:Vibes: Is there any sign of an artist album set forth to come?

Goldenscan:Certainly not this year but it is something we are very keen to pursue for the future. We would like to maybe experiment with tracks for an album so I guess we will see what happens. Our main priority for the minute is writing new material for the label and remixing.

i:Vibes: Who in your opinions are the biggest artists in terms of producing and remixing, as well as the top DJs in your perception?

Goldenscan:The ultimate DJ/producer would have to be Paul Van Dyk in our opinion. His productions are faultless and there is nobody we would rather hear at 3am in Gatecrasher.

Armin Van Buuren has also made a huge contribution to the scene over the past couple of years. He has a distinctive sound to his productions and manages to pull off excellent tracks and remixes everytime as well as remaining one of the most exciting and respected DJs on the scene.

Other producers such as Ferry Corsten, Steve ‘Thrillseekersher ’ Helstrip, Ronski Speed, Hiver and Hammer, SolarStone and Above and Beyond also manage to produce to goods with whatever they touch and are certainly making trance a much more competitive genre.

As for out and out DJ-ing Matt Hardwick definitely needs a mention. His sets at Gatecrasher always take the roof off and in our opinion Matt has grown to be one of the top DJs in the world and is one of the nicest guys we know.


i:Vibes: How about giving us a taster of whats to come in the upcoming months and into 2003..

Goldenscan:Well we have finally released Ascension through our own label Dubious Recordings and Goldenscan’s ‘Of Our Times’ is on its way through Lost Language. I believe its going to be out around April with a Super-8 mix which is sounding fantastic.

The biggest aspect of our year is sure to be the ‘Sunrise’ re-release that’s coming soon. Its something we are very excited about and the mixes are coming from Pulser, liquidlife and our man of the moment Ronski Speed through Euphonic. There are also plans for more mixes but at the moment we cant confirm who so keep listening!

We also have a fair few remixes lined up in the next few months. We will be working with Euphonic, atcr, Good:as, Lost Language and a few others as well as trying to get some releases out through Dubious. Hopefully there will be work on the third Fu Man Choo single but for the time being Goldenscan is our biggest priority.

On top of that we intend to do as much DJ appearances as possible this year so if there are any promoters out there who want to get Goldenscan at their club get in contact. We have various gigs up and down the country and in Berlin. We should be doing a few live broadcasts on www.tranceairwaves.com as well this year so hopefully we will get more chance to promote our own productions to a wider audience so check us out if you can!!

i:Vibes: Your opinions on digital media and the surge of mp3s growing around the world?

Goldenscan:The new wave of digital media be it, Mp3’s, final scratch, CD’s or mini disc mixing is certainly a very exciting concept as far as getting the latest tunes to the dancefloor. A few times now we have finished a track or remix late on a Saturday night, burnt it to cd and then taken down to Gatecrasher for either Scott Bond or Matt Harwick to play. However there is always the issue of material being ripped off. MP3’s are great for showcasing or promoting your work but when people are downloading them and burning them to CD to play rather than buying them it’s a different story. People need to realise that by downloading the latest track from their favourite artist they are taking away from that artists livelihood. If that artist can’t make a profit from their work then sooner or later they will have no choice but to give up releasing their own music. It would be a lot more beneficial for people to support and reinvest in the music they love and help keep the scene alive and thriving!!

i:Vibes: Final words of wisdom towards the readers?

Goldenscan:We will be honest with you……we thought about it and couldn’t come up with a single word of wisdom to pass on!!

Thanks guys, much appreciated!

Dubious Recordings

Goldenscan's next single will be "Of Our Times", released on Lost Language Recordings in April of 2003.

Lost Language