If it’s OK for super celebrities to insure the various body parts which apparently make them who they are, then I posit Will Saul should see about having his ears insured. Sure, everyone in the music industry needs them, but Saul’s are extra special: not only is he a revered selector and producer, but ask anyone about his labels and you’ll always get the same answer, that they are run by someone with impeccable taste and immovable ideals when it comes to the question of quality control.
Having started out as an A&R at Sony, it was roughly eight years ago that the London DJ and producer moved on to build two of his own musical empires in the form of Simple Records and, latterly, Aus Music. The former reaches its 50th release this month with a very attractive, double gatefold double vinyl pack which spans the house music spectrum (courtesy of tracks from the boss himself as well as remixes from Wolf + Lamb & Slow Hands and Art Department amongst others) whilst the latter, too, had a rather landmark year in 2010 releasing the first dubstep track to be remixed by one of the Detroit techno big guns (namely Carl Craig’s edit of Ramadanman& Appleblim’s hit ‘Void 23’).
To mark the occasion, we spoke to Will about all things Simple…
Obvious one to start… why start Simple? What was your intention for the label?
Starting a little record label was something that I’d always dreamt of doing from a relatively young age, early teens I guess. As soon as I started collecting music. In the end I needed a platform for my own music and for likeminded friends. Our intention was to release good music no matter what the genre as long we felt it was deep, musical and futuristic. The first 5 releases on the label were pretty diverse from Fink to Infusion!
How has the label’s outlook and modus operandi evolved over the years it’s been running (in light of the vinyl/digital switch and all the associated implications… cost, piracy, more bedroom labels, lower cost to market of tracks so lower standards of QA etc) ?
We’ve obviously had to adapt to the changing nature of the way people consume/purchase music. As you say vinyl has all but been phased out by downloadable digital content. The profit margins are much lower on a download compared to vinyl. If you have a big record now it will sell 2000 vinyl whereas 5 years ago it would have been 10000+. The increase in downloads has not replaced the decrease in vinyl sales for most labels. So everyone is working on tighter budgets. As a small label with very small overheads we are pretty adaptable and are still here so I’m thankful for that. It’s worth mentioning that when we started Simple you really needed at least £10,000 to start a label.
This is because you couldn’t get a physical distro’ deal unless you had 5 releases planned out/signed/remixed and ready to go. Without going into too many boring details you needed cash flow of £10,000 to cover the costs of manufacture, signing and promo as you wouldn’t get paid until 3 months after releasing a record and you needed to manufacture 3 months before release. If you wanted to build momentum and create impact by releasing every month for 6 months then you would have effectively laid out £10,000+ by the time you started to get paid for the first couple of records….this kind of financial commitment meant you needed to really believe in what you were doing. Also the distributor would only commit to the deal unless he felt you had the quality of music to succeed. This kind of barrier to entry did mean that the overall quality of music released on regular basis was higher than it is now in my opinion.
How important is/was London and its associated scene on you and the label? Ever been tempted to move away?
Well when I first started the Simple I was working at Koobla Records which turned into Phonica under Simon Rigg. Working in the shop informed a lot of my remix decisions for sure. I was much more involved in a London scene then though I would say. Now I’m travelling most weekends and the last thing I want to do is go out clubbing on a weekend when I’m not playing to be honest. I’ve lived in London for 14 years and I’m very keen to move away now to be honest. I don’t need to live in London to do what I do and would unquestionably be living in California by now if it wasn’t for the fact that my girlfriend has to be here for her job. I’m a country boy at heart so would also love to have a little place in the country somewhere
Are relationships with artists important to you or is the music first and foremost?
Well you can’t really have one without the other as a label.
And what is it you are looking for in music you release? Anything specific like techniques, ideas, potential, exposure for the producer or is it just about the way a track makes you feel?
I think it’s mostly about how the track makes me feel when I first hear it as I’m never going to release something I don’t love. I’m generally moved by melody or a strong hook though so I’m naturally drawn to these things.
How involved are you in the writing process? You someone to request changes etc before release or do you leave creative control in the hands of the artist?
It depends on the artist. I will always express an honest opinion if I feel something needs changing or isn’t quite right with a track/remix that someone delivers and often do. Most artists are open to making changes. Some are more precious with their work and why shouldn’t they be as it’s immensely personal. It depends on what I request!
Every Simple release has been on vinyl (even though the 50th lost you money?) will you carry on like that forever? Is the medium important to you?
Sadly we won’t be able to continue long term. I’m not sure when we’ll stop and I’ll keep going till the bitter end as the medium is very important to me. As soon as I start losing money on the format then I will have to re‐consider it. It is important for certain artists to be releasing vinyl so in terms of getting certain remixers/artists to work with you it can be an important deciding factor. The 50th hasn’t lost me money yet – it depends how many we sell, but it is gatefold double vinyl so it was very expensive to manufacture….
How much thought went into/goes into Simple’s visual identity?
The visual identities of the labels are very important to me. I’m lucky enough to be working with Michael Place of Build for all our artwork and visual identity. He’s one of the best in the world in my opinion and was one of the founding members of Designers Republic and did a lot of the early (and recent – he did the artwork for Flying Lotus ‘Los Angeles album) Warp artwork.
How difficult is it to be steadfast to your beliefs in terms of the quality of music you want to release? Especially if it’s a track from someone you know/admire/whatever…?
I’m very steadfast in this area. I have completely rejected two remixes this year….one of which was from a now very big live electronic act and it would have definitely been in my/the labels interest profile wise to release the remix. I honestly didn’t feel they had put in enough work on their mix and didn’t feel it was strong enough to release.
Do you think the traditional role of a&r is still alive and well or has the immediacy of the internet killed it off somewhat?
I see what you mean in terms of the A&R not really needing to dig as deep and really get out there to keep in touch with what’s going on now the internet can tell you everything at the touch of the button. Magazines real or virtual haven’t always correctly joined the dots between underground hype and commercial success. I’m still out DJing most weekends so am able to hear what a lot of other people I respect are playing.
How much thought/effort goes into the remixes on your releases? People say nowadays there are often too many and it’s devaluing the art/purpose of them somewhat – what are your thoughts?
I put a lot of thought into the remixes for our labels. It depends on the release. Selecting the right remixes for a release is vitally important. I always pay the remixers unless it’s some kind of swap that the original artist has in place with another artist (this is rare for us and has only happened once ) so couldn’t afford more than one to be honest! Occasionally we’ll get two remixes if it’s a single from an album and the budget is slightly larger. An ideal remix should push the release into other areas/genres and have a different appeal to the original whilst still having sales potential. This is a combination that is very hard to get right!
Who decides on who to target for remixes – you, the original artist or both? What are the sorts of criteria by which people are chosen?
I always discuss it with the original artist and I wouldn’t get a remix form someone unless the original artist was happy with my selection. Usually we are on the same page. Despite what I’ve said above the main criteria is that the remixer has to be someone that both I and the original artist think is exceptional at what they do. I NEVER get remixes purely for sales potential but it is definitely something I consider when choosing from a list of 10 people. There’s a balance – sometimes I will select an artist to remix something that I know will probably not sell very well but will generate a huge amount of press/credibility for the label – it’s a trade off and sometimes it’s worth it. Sadly we are not a non‐profit organization or a charity. If the remix doesn’t sell then we probably won’t break even and the original artist and I will lose money. Let’s not forget that I own Simple 100% ‐ if I get a decision wrong then it comes out of my own pocket at the end of the day. In order to continue doing what I love for a living the record labels have to break even….
Do you go looking for new peeps for the label or does music manly come from connections you already have or..?
A bit of both really.
And are there any tracks/artists you consider as ‘ones that got away?
Sure. I missed out on a couple of Actress tracks last year that he offered me for Aus. I can’t go into why I missed out on them but I did. They would have made a great EP. There have been many over the years.
In your mind, how is Simple different to Aus – are they clearly separate entities or does something tie them together?
I think my love of a certain type of melody and groove ties the labels together but I try and keep them different stylistically. Simple is now rooted in house and techno albeit at the deeper end of the dancefloor spectrum whereas Aus is resolutely eclectic and can move wherever it chooses….
And I wonder what the thinking was behind forming Aus? Was it because you had a very precise vision with Simple that you wanted to maintain or..?
That is one of the reasons for sure. I didn’t want to confuse the record buyers of simple by releasing a sideshow live dub record after 5 house EP’s from Adultnapper, Motorcitysoul, Adam Marshall etc….however, I mostly started Aus as an outlet for albums from two of my closest friends – Fin Greenall (Sideshow and Fink on Ninja) and Lee Jones (also MyMy and previously Hefner). Two of the most talented musicians/producers out there for me. Their sound didn’t really fit with the dancefloor ethos of simple so I created Aus for them.
What else is on the horizon for you and the label?
I think Simple will probably take a little break for a while to be honest. I have 6/7 singles/EPs lined up for Aus right now and an artist album to finish so plenty to keep me busy.
Final question: two respected labels and an equally admired DJ in your own right. Hard work aside, can that be put down to anything other than a good ear/taste?
Well I would always say they are innate right!? I think taste is pretty innate in general to be honest and vitally successful to being a good DJ/label manager so whilst it wouldn’t be impossible to teach someone the basics of both principals I do think it would be impossible to teach them the taste required to be a success in those areas. It doesn’t really matter which genre of music you are operating in, you need a personal taste that makes you stand out within what you do…
Kristan J Caryl for AUTOBRENNT
