DJ and producer Will Saul loves to take risks. From the running of the now highly praised Aus Music to his exclusives packed DJ sets and instrumental, pop leaning alias Close, Will is all about the creativity of modern contemporary music and the experience of which we discover quality, well thought sounds. He’s recently joined the ranks of K7’s world class DJ Kicks mix series, and, taking inspiration from Kruder & Dorfmeister’s legendary K&D Sessions compilation, the mix is entirely comprised of exclusive tracks of which none have seen the light of day before. Encapsulating his approach to DJing and the Dancefloor one that seeks to inject excitement, surprise and longevity into electronic music Will is been busy with his various projects, tying up the ends before embarking for festival season, which includes a return to one of Croatia’s electronic, intimate festivals, Stop Making Sense. MEOKO caught Will when he had some spare minutes to talk Skrillex, compilations, producing music and juggling all the elements that form his sterling reputation as a champion of forward thinking music. Read on…
We’ve already seen a string of releases on Aus this year, from Leon Vynehall and the mighty Breach are the future plans for Aus looking strong?
Absolutely. I made a deal with!K7 last year and they have now invested in us to allow us to do what we want to do and it allows us to do more in terms of volume. Before when I was running the label there was only so much I could do by myself what with producing and running the label. So far this year, we’ve done 2 a month and there’s also an album coming in October (although I’m not allowed to say who that is yet). But we also have two more albums coming, one from a new artist called Escape (who’s never done anything before) and also one from Youandewan. In the meantime, we’ve got EPs from Huxley, Gerry Read plus a new Close EP at the end of August. I literally lose track of it all!
How much of a headache have! K7 relieved for you in terms of the nitty gritty of the admin based stuff?
It’s been a huge weight lifted to be honest. I bought in someone who was booking our events and label managing Aus. So he works in London for 3 days a week, setting up everything, sorting the copy and liaising with press so my role is now purely A&R based. I’ve also just taken on the role of A&R at!K7 too, so I’m able to also concentrate on making more music for a large part of the time too.
Speaking of labels, you started with the widely respected Simple Records, although nothing has been released for a while on this are you looking to re-ignite the imprint at some point soon?
I kind of felt that in the current climate, it didn’t make sense to have two labels and there wasn’t enough separation and difference between the two labels. Producers on Aus these days are making sounds that lean towards house and techno, but originally we were releasing more dubstep, broken beat and experimental stuff. It made more sense for everything to be coming out on Aus, with more profile and a bigger spotlight. I may look to revive it one day in the future but for the moment, it lies dormant.
Last year saw you release your first ‘solo’ album Close, with a more experimental and song-focused structure to it…. Did this allow you to concentrate on a musical aesthetic that you hadn’t previously had a chance to explore? Was it a real challenge to step outside of the producer/DJ box?
It was always structured songs with pop leanings was always what I loved and did. I’m not a full time producer so I don’t spend all my time writing music, so it seems more pronounced when something like that comes up.
With your new EP as Close, it’s obviously a style and sound that you’re revisiting. Do you think you will ever blend it with your Dancefloor-orientated stuff or will you keep it completely separate for the time being?
No, at the moment I‘m happy to keep this alias separate for when I make more song-structured music and do interesting musical collaborations. I’m happy keeping Dancefloor stuff under my own name I have an EP on Aus under my own name in June, then one with Komon in July and one as Close in August. Then I’ll probably disappear again for a while ha.
We think it’s been a long time coming, but you’re the latest figure to be taking on the DJ Kicks mix series for !K7; each mix has been specifically crafted by the artist to give it a unique flavor and representation. What are the ingredients behind your entry into the series?
I had a long time to think about how to approach it. I looked back at what excited me most about early DJ sets and buying recorded mix CDs is that I’d never heard the majority of the stuff that was on there. I wanted to re-create that, but realized it was impossible in this day and age when there’s no secret weapons anymore. I thought it would be nice to get some exclusives from all the artists I work regularly with. I gave them a lot of advance warning (as they’re all busy in their own right), I got some amazing tracks in. Enough for me to make the entire compilation consisting of exclusive tracks that no one has ever heard before. And that’s the end result they are all 100% new. This is a clear representation of what I do as a DJ.
In electronic music these days it seems a lot of DJs and producers although they love what they do they seem to be caught in a hamster wheel and don’t get excited through challenging themselves they’ve done it all before. Do you think that people in the scene could challenge themselves more? Do you still get surprised?
I constantly get goose-bumps from new music but with my A&R role at !K7, we just licensed a band called Hundred Waters for the UK and EU. You really, really should check them out. But surprisingly they’re licensed to Skrillex’s label in the US, although they are the polar opposite to the sound you’d expect on OWSLA. We got sent the finished album (bit weird at first, “why are they sending stuff here?), it’s one of Pitchfork’s most anticipated albums of the year. It blew me off my feet when I first heard it it’s very, very exciting to discover these new things.
Finally, outside of the recording studio, we’re stepping into festival season, swamped and saturated by the amount of festivals to choose from in any given part of the world what do you think to festivals such as Stop making Sense with their intimate vibes?
We played last year and the boat party we did was possibly one of the best shows I’ve ever done. I mean my wife and friends were there too, but it’s a beautiful spot, with slightly older clientele there and it generally just felt very relaxed and intimate. I’ve had great times at the other Croatian festivals I’ve been to as well, but SMS is less hectic, more relaxed. You’re not overloaded with stuff to do each day you’re not trying to cram like 50 million things in to one afternoon.
Will Saul is playing at Stop Making Sense in Croatia this summer.
More information about the festival HERE
