Will Saul is the producer and DJ behind Simple Records and Aus Music. His sound is based in deep dubdiscohousetechno with flashes of soul and irresistible melodies that hark back to the early days of Detroit (from Motown to Planet E). Over the years Will has gained an admirable reputation as not only a show-stealing DJ, but also a talented A&R and producer. He’s remixed for Chicken Lips, Jesse Rose, Manuel Tur, Cortney Tidwell, Solomun, Pearson Sound/Ramadanman, Phonique, Appleblim, Scuba and The Juan Maclean (DFA) to name just a few. Will was resident at the legendary End club in London for many years before it closed it’s doors and mixed and compiled the 15th edition of the renowned Balance CD series. The press response to this was superb with Will featuring on the cover of DJ magazine and receiving compilation of the month in DJ/IDJ and Mixmag whilst making the top 20 compilations of 2010 on Resident Advisor.
Will was born in Taunton, Somerset in 1978. Always surrounded by music, his musical path has developed gradually. Growing up his parents encouraged him to play the piano, sax and timpani, each of which he disliked at the time. He started buying records at eight - motown, soul, R&B, film scores - and diligently recorded the Top 40 on Sunday afternoons. Before his teens he’d begun collecting hip-hop and by sixteen was into dance. Trekking to clubs across England every weekend inspired him to get a job and save up enough cash for two turntables and a mixer. For such a passionate collector, DJing was a revelation. Two years later he won Muzik’s mixtape talent contest Bedroom Bedlam, having progressed his sound from lush, jazzy grooves and leftfield oddities to include deep, dubby breaks and broken- beats. After two years working in Sony International’s A&R department he left to set up a label with friends. They called it Simple, to reflect their open-minded intention to release good music, of whatever genre. It was while working at the legendary Koobla records, and then the fantastic Phonica, that he had his eyes fully opened to the wonderful world of house and techno. At the time the scene was being re- invigorated by producers such as Mathew Jonson, who Will quickly employed for his first remix.
Simple Records' musical focus is futuristic house and techno for the deeper end of the dance floor. The constant evolution of the label now sees Gadi Mizrahi (Wolf + Lamb), Adultnapper, Motorcitysoul and James Priestley & Dan Berkson making up the core roster. Over the course of 9 years Will has commissioned remixes from Carl Craig, Steve Bug, Seth Troxler, Chateau Flight, Argy, Gui Boratto, Sebo K, Isolee, Konrad Black, Jimpster, John Tejada, Tobias, Recloose, dOP, Prosumer, Dixon, Lee Curtiss, I:Cube and many, many more of underground house and techno's most respected producers. The label has just celebrated it’s 50th 12” single release (Feb 2011) which saw Will and his long term production partner Tam Cooper team up for a limited edition vinyl double pack EP featuring 4 new originals and remixes from Wolf + Lamb, Sideshow and Art Department.
Will's other label of love - Aus Music - explores more cutting edge leftfield sounds and has developed into a home for a range of unique artists – from the live dub of Sideshow (Fink on Ninja Tune), through to the layered, undulating techno of Sian via the heart warming, richly textured grooves of Lee Jones & his MyMy project. The label frequently touches on dub-step (and beyond) with Scuba, Appleblim, Midland, Ramadanman, George FitzGerald and Joy Orbison all having released on Aus in recent months.
Look out for Will’s second full artist album in the Autumn of 2011, which will feature collaborations with Scuba, Appleblim, Fink, Joe Dukie (Fat Freddy’s Drop), Paul St.Hilaire, Charlene Soraia, and Detachments.