Sleepy, dreamy soundscapes, organic soulful bass, sultry liquid percussion, echoic mystical vocal samples, sounds of melancholy and tenderness – are all elements skillfully delivered on Will Saul’s debut artist album Space Between. Having set up the Simple label about two years ago with a group of like-minded friends, Saul’s album, to be released on July 4, will be the fourteenth release for the label.
Growing up in Glastonbury and Sommerset in country England, Saul’s obsession with music was fuelled with regular trips to his local Tor Records stores and treks to clubs around England. After moving to London he bought turntables, ran and DJed at a night in Soho and started really learning to mix. A two year stint at Sony International also helped him build the networks to begin Simple, a label all about good music, whatever the genre.
His wide ranging influences and natural flair for mixing and production have since enabled him to develop a style of his own, praised in house, breakbeat and electronic circles for their strong grooves and subtlety alike. Saul weaves infinite melodies, deep space techno, stoner dub grooves and serene melodies on Space Between, written during a difficult time in his life during the breakdown of his seven year relationship. Saul’s intention to create something downbeat and chilled out, thus more suitable for home listening was intentional. “I’ve always been into a really wide selection of music and I really don’t want to listen to tracks aimed at the dance-floor for 60 minutes at home or in the car,” explains Saul.
“On a Sunday I would reach for a selection of Sly & Robbie, old Motown, Recloose, Vangelis soundtracks, Boards of Canada, Prefuse 73 etc. As my taste is based mostly in soulful down-tempo music I definitely wanted to create something that worked in the home environment. Dance music works best in a club, but if there’s interesting melody, dynamics and depth then it can translate to home listening as well, which is why I put some deeper but more up-tempo tracks on the LP.”
The album particularly highlights Saul’s attraction to Jamaican sounds with dub and reggae influences present, particularly on tracks with Ursula Rucker such as Tic Toc, the forthcoming single. There’s even a bit of opera on the first track! “I just try and use sounds that are rich in warmth and feeling,” says Saul.
“If they create an emotional response for me then they make the grade. I’ve always loved dub and reggae as their sounds are so full and fat, so I wanted to use the production techniques and equipment they started to use in the ‘70s on this LP. I bought an old ‘70s WEM Copicat tape delay and borrowed a big 1960’s spring reverb (a huge box filled with springs) and we ran a lot of the sounds through these effects.”
“We used old analogue mixing desks and outboard compression and then ran the tracks, adding effects manually until we were happy with the end result. It would often be about 20 takes until we were happy with the sound but you get more of a live feel, which I like. It takes away the sterile feel of a lot of electronic music and adds the human touch. Live percussion and instrumentation also add this warmth (really good mics help as well) so we tried to play as much as possible.”
The album was pulled together from a number of lengthy studio sessions over an eight month period, with collaborators such as Fink (Ninja Tune), Tam Cooper (Precision Cuts), vocalists Ursula Rucker, Sandi Mill and Lizzy Parks, and even Saul’s own brother on trumpet. Saul described the process of getting together to write, first “getting really stoned, relaxed, switching off from everyday life and generally catching up with each other. This usually puts us in the right frame of mind to start making music,” he says, “this combined with 18 hour working days usually does the trick!”
But seriously, sourcing the samples, figuring out what sound to go for took it’s time explains Saul. “I sit down with the guys and we figure out how we are going to achieve the end result. We may be figuring out a chord progression for a day or so then building the drums, bass and instrumentation around it – which was the case for Mbira and Speak & Spell which I did with Tam; or we could find a palette of samples and start listening to which work well with each other and then start building a melody around a particular sound. We never really start with a beat though (other than to give us a rhythm) as this isn’t what makes a good track in my opinion. It’s the melody or hook that makes my hairs stand on end. With Tic Toc we spent a day working on the bass-line and melodic stabs and built up a rough track which we sent to Ursula in Philadelphia. She then figured out a vocal and sent it back – we edited it and added more instrumentation – which included my bro on trumpet.”
In addition to a healthy use of organic and traditional instruments, such as s the trumpet, mbira, bass, and guitar, Saul looks heavily to the Ninja Tune and hip-hop ethos of “the art of sampling”. “I think sampling is great as long as you are using little shards of other people tracks to make a bigger picture and not stealing huge hooks,” explains Saul. “I would have no problem with anyone sampling my music in this way. As long as you don’t steal a whole idea then you can plunder at will.”
A larger population in the UK and Europe does allow more creative freedom to express more unique or less commercial sounds agrees Saul. “If there is the outlet for experimental and deeper sounds then you have the opportunity to showcase what you do, which in turn enables you to reach people and ultimately sell records, therefore enabling you to earn a living from it and keep pushing your sound. If clubs/magazines/media don’t support new music and underground acts then it becomes harder to keep doing what you do as no one is aware of you.”
“Deep/non commercial doesn’t have to synonymous with obscure. Lots of acts cross over into the wider public conscious from the underground if they have an element of accessibility to what they do. This doesn’t mean you have to sell out. Kruder & Dorfmeister have sold over a quarter of a million copies of their K&D Sessions LP. Rokysopp have sold bucket loads of albums and were being played on the underground before hitting it big. You have to develop a unique sound and stay true to what you do. I think clubs need to try and strike a balance between quality underground artists that are making great music and more well know acts that get people though the door.”
Saul was lucky enough to receive healthy encouragement from his parents to pursue a musical career direction, and it has ultimately affected where he is and who he is today. “As a kid I don’t think I appreciated it. I played piano from the age of seven to 13 and the sax for about the same time. I also tried the double bass and timps briefly as well. I played in the school swing band for a few years on the sax. However, I started playing lots of sport aged 12 and suddenly girls became a very important part of my life so music lessons got dropped! I regret it so much and am re-learning the piano at the moment. My Mum loves music and plays the piano and sings so I guess she wanted me to be able to experience the same pleasure as she gets from it.”
Will Saul is planning a tour of Australia and Asia in January/February next year, but until then, keep your ears peeled for the upcoming singles Tic Toc, Animal Magic and Where Is It?, and a new project under a mysterious “yet to be decided new name”. In the meantime, grab yourself a copy of his stunning new album Space Between out now through Simple/Inertia.
