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Will Saul’s self-labelled “dubdiscohousetechno” label Simple has just presented its 49th and 50th releases – his own double-EP, Hi-Lo/Room In Your Heart, produced with long-term collaborator Tam Cooper – which represents quite an achievement in an industry buckling under the sheer weight of competition between labels and artists, and global economic turmoil.
In these zippy digital times, the club scene is, for the most part, driven by quantity over quality. But that has never been Simple’s game. In fact the name says it all; Will’s baby has always been about getting the basics right and everything else falling into place.
What are those basics? “Journalists pin names on the Simple sound and so do I, through things like the official website” Will answers. “But I try not to. Simple is basically just soul and melody; I think those two ingredients are the key to its longevity.”
It’s a mantra fuelled firmly by Will’s own personal tastes and beliefs: “I love soul music; to my mind, all music needs soul in there. Soul music doesn’t mean one particular type or time of music; it means a feeling that stirs the listener emotionally. I’ve always been into a wide range of soulful sounds and when I’m playing out try to make my sets as diverse as possible. I try to inject that into Simple as well; it keeps the whole process fresh for people.”
Will Saul, London-based DJ, producer and label supremo, was born in Taunton, Somerset in 1978 – close to Glastonbury and surrounded by music. His mum forced him to learn the piano, sax and timpani at an early age, which he hated. “I was buying Motown and R&B and thought that there were cooler ways to impress girls with music,” he recalls. “But I guess it gave me a good understanding of how to read it and, today, structure tracks.”
At 16 he was properly into dance music, travelling to clubs up and down the country on weekends (buying a pair of Technics on the way…,) and just two years later was a winner of Muzik Magazine’s mixtape contest Bedroom Bedlam. He subsequently hit university to collect a business degree before landing a gig in Sony International’s product management and A&R departments.
“On top of the degree, working at Sony taught me a lot of valuable lessons about the music business” Will explains. “I very quickly gained awareness of how important general label admin is, and about how to release music effectively. I also learned to appreciate the importance of releasing in international territories. In terms of A&R, you either have an ear for music or you don’t, but around that it pays to understand all the business admin.”
It’s lessons like these that have undoubtedly steadied the Simple ship over its six impressive years – so far - of sonic navigation. Will set up the label with friends following an exit from Sony and then ear-opening stints at cult club imprints Phonica and Koobla; over time he took full control of Simple: “The first two years were dicey; we were still learning how to run a label and stop ourselves heading into the red. Output was slow, but when I took over from everyone, I think Simple gained more direction. It was me doing it full-time, rather than four of us dipping in when we could afford to.”
Over its 50 releases, Simple has covered a lot of different ground. Nonetheless, there has been some real focus on the deeper, more futuristic side of house and techno. Will’s own classic tracks – the likes of Sequential Circus, Pause and Mbira – have mixed well with offerings from pedigree affiliates Ian Pooley, Motorcitysoul, Mike Monday and Wolf + Lamb’s Gadi Mizrahi. And that’s not forgetting remix contributions by Jimpster, Dixon and Gui Boratto.
“I’m really proud to have made it this far, and the label’s unique direction is still there which is great” Will grins. “But I won’t be sitting back basking in the glory, there’s plenty more to be getting on with.”
And it’s not all Simple; Mr Saul also runs perpetually-hyped offshoot Aus: “I don’t want to flood the market and have people switch off, so everything on Simple and Aus for 2011 will be carefully scheduled. Simple will actually go pretty quiet now for a few months; there’s stuff in the pipeline from Motorcitysoul and Gadi but that’s it. This year the focus is really on Aus.”
Will might well believe in quality over quantity but he has a tall stack of Aus projects to contend with over the coming months. Is he in anyway daunted?
“Not at all,” comes the swift response. “I’m always aware of my labels’ responsibility to offer something unique and well-made, and many of the things Aus has coming this year have been planned for a while. I’m really excited about them.”
Aus, set up around four years ago, came a particularly long way in 2010, it’s more experimental remit ably reinforced by pivotal releases from Croydon’s feisty Joy Orbison (The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow EP), Ramadanman, Midland and Appleblim. According to Will, however, Carl Craig’s re-edit of Ramadanman & Appleblim single Void 23 in November was the real icing on the cake.
“It was amazing… very, very special; a landmark release without a shadow of a doubt…” he excitedly affirms. “It was the first time an old-school Detroit legend had worked with dubstep, and it opened a lot of the traditional house and techno heads to new ideas.”
Indeed, Aus is increasingly positioning itself between classic four-to-the-floor drum patterns and the maverick vibes of dubstep and eclectic ‘future-bass’ (or ‘bass house’ if you prefer.) It’s not the be-all-and-end-all of the label but a decent marker for its current, innovative progress.
“I respect the connection between new and old, and think we’re doing something truly original with it” Will says. “A lot of new house music feels stagnant; I think quite a lot of those deep, tech-house records are really formulaic now and that’s why I’m trying other things – consciously, and subconsciously.”
Aus has iconoclastic EPs on the way from Appleblim, Midland, Cottam and George Fitzgerald, all of which of which promise to dazzle and defy – in equal measure. Will’s second artist album is also on the horizon, a long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s nostalgic, mellow ‘n’ melancholic Space Between. There’s no title as yet but “three-quarters” of the work is done and its creator seems more than happy.
“There are lots of vocalists involved including a new singer on Peacefrog called Charlene Soraia; she can really hit the highest notes, she’s got an amazing range” Will reveals. “I want this record to standout so, in truth, I’ve avoided the dance instrumentals. I should be done with everything by the summertime; I’m aiming for a ‘future-soul’ sound, if I can call it that.”
Whether that ‘future-soul’ vibe will incorporate any home-grown piano-playing is debatable. “It’s my big resolution to properly learn the piano this year” he confesses. “I got to Grade 4 as a kid but what was I thinking by jacking it in?! It’s an amazing skill to possess but you’ll have to see if it makes the album… probably not!”
Keys or no keys, Will seems to be hitting the right notes.
Words: Ben Lovett
Will Saul & Tam Cooper’s double-EP Hi-Lo/Room In Your Heart is out now on Simple Records.
