Five years after establishing Simple Records, label manager Will Saul returns with the label’s third long player Simple Sounds. Following on from the its debut Simple One mix compilation in 2003, Saul’s debut artist album Space Between in 05 and a string of 12” releases, this collection brings together a selection of new and exclusive tracks from the DJ/producer/label manager, as well as new remixes of former tracks from the catalogue and Saul’s new imprint Aus – a total of 23 tracks, spread across two discs.

On disc one, Saul is both an artist and A&R with artists such as Partial Arts, Gui Boratto, 2020 Soundsystem and Whoo (Dixon on Innervisions) invited to reinterpret tracks from the Simple catalogue, while Saul has produced four new tracks for the project. Here, Saul’s sublime Mbira and Sideshow’s dub of Sequential Circus from the Space Between album are still standouts.

On disc two, Saul melds Simple as well as Aus tracks and remixes from his own body of work, as well as Lee Jones, My My, Sideshow, Phonique, Impster, Sprit Catcher, Mathew Jonson, John Tejada, Sebo K & Metro, Motorcitysoul, Precision Cuts, Exit Cube and Alexkid. This disc provides a string of highlights all beautifully mixed by Saul.

The rise of the ‘minimal’ sound has proved to be a noticeable influence on Saul, choosing less of the melancholy dub and downbeat breaks which were so predominant in his first two long players, preferring to focus more on the click house, minimal, tech and electro house sounds that have been present in many artist releases over the last few years.

While the beautifully packaged Simple Sounds is accomplished and enjoyable it doesn’t have quite the initial over-whelming impact as its two predecessors on first listen, tending to be a ‘creeper’ with its effervescent atmospherics and deeper tip.