It seems like such an obvious idea. Get in on the ground floor of the record industry as an intern, work your way up to a paying gig as an A&R guy, and eventually take over the whole damn thing. Maybe that's how it seemed to a teenage Will Saul, who began his music career as a lowly intern at Sony International while attending university. But the straight career path never quite materialized. He did take on a post-college A&R job at the label, but it didn't last long. Saul, it seems, had a realization that apparently all they want to do is make money and don't care all that much about the music. "That, combined with a psychotic, menopausal French boss was enough to make me quit and start Simple," explains the soft-spoken Englishman.

Ironically, he did actually end up owning a record company, two of them in fact, Simple Records and its experimental offshoot Aus, nowadays two of the most reliable house labels in all of England. More modest affairs than Sony, granted, but at least they're his. For the most part. Saul has always had an been smart about grabbing up some of techno's hottest remixers, including most notably Mathew Jonson's first ever. You'll hear, among others, Gui Boratto and Wahoo working their magic on Simple's newest release, Simple Sounds — a double disc set out this month.

Saul started Simple five years ago, at a time when he was in fact entranced by breaks and nu-jazz. But the direction of the label changed when Saul began working at Phonica record store, the London center of gravity for the sounds then emerging out of Europe. A step down financially from ponytailed A&R work, to be sure, but a step in the right direction music-wise. The gig not only made him enough money to survive until Simple could pay the bills, it also exposed him to the sound of modern house and techno. He fell in love.

Aside from running Simple, nowadays Saul is producing, promoting and holding down residencies at The End in London and Weekend in Berlin. (He's one of the few English DJs to have made inroads into the Berlin's crowded DJ market.) I caught up with Saul via e-mail to talk eclectic English DJs, dodgy Russian music sites, and the plan (or lack thereof) that's gotten him to where he is today.

Did your parents encourage you to play music from a young age?

Yes. Although I hated the lessons at the time, I'm glad my parents pushed me. It’s given me a basic grasp of how to read and write music. I played the piano for about seven years, the sax for four, and the timpani for about six months.

The timpani?!

Yeah, my mum was determined to give me a good grounding in music, so she kept trying me on different instruments. I wish I'd continued with the piano though, as it would be really useful now.

Tell me about your introduction to electronic music.

I guess going clubbing was my first introduction to electronic music. I grew up listening to a lot of soul, which progressed into hip-hop and R&B as I moved into my teenage years. At about seventeen clubbing seemed like a good idea so I started traveling around the country with a group of friends to see different DJs. Basically as soon as I could drive.

What DJs appealed to you the most?

I grew up in the middle of the country in Somerset so decent clubs were not just round the corner. I was really blown away by seeing the Chemical Brothers DJ and was really into the eclectic nature of their sets. This appealed to me as I had (and still do have) a really wide taste in music. I started to save up for my first pair of turntables soon after that.

You worked in the music biz at Sony International in A&R.

Right. I started working for Sony during my second year at university, just doing work experience. Making tea, doing mail outs, all the crappy jobs they could find. They gave me more and more responsibility and eventually when I finished my degree they gave me a job as a junior product manager/A&R. It was a great overview of all aspects of the music industry, but working there was killing my love of music. For the majority of people working at majors, the music just becomes any other product. The bottom line is sales.

"For the majority of people working at majors, the music just becomes any other product."

How did your job at Phonica come about?

Well, as I was setting up Simple and focusing on making music and DJing I needed something part time to pay the bills. I worked at Koobla on Berwick Street Market first, which was the shop before Phonica. Si Rigg and Heidi (managers at Koobla) were then approached by people who wanted to start up a creative collective of a shop/magazine/vinyl pressing plant etc. which turned into Phonica/FACT. They asked me to join them at Phonica and I ended up working part time there for a couple of years.

Is this when you first started getting into house and techno more fully?

Yes. Si is superb record buyer, so I became immersed in all the great house/techno/whatever that was being released from 2000 onwards. It was at a really exciting time in electronic music's evolution. Mathew Jonson, Luciano, Villalobos - all these guys were just starting to emerge. The same could be said for labels like Get Physical, Poker Flat, and a whole host of others. This was right around the time that minimal music, as we know it today, was just forming. It enabled me to listen to all the new music released week in and week out and see firsthand which artists were selling and appealing to people’s imaginations.

It was almost like A&R work.

Sure. My time there informed a lot of important remix decisions for Simple and enabled me to feel which artists were going to blow up. I got lucky and got many of them to remix for Simple before they started charging silly money and remixing for the majors, such as Mathew Jonson.

The thing that most of the remixers on your labels have in common is a focus on big, melodic hooks. Is that a conscious decision?

I think it’s just what turns me on about music most. I really appreciate stripped back grooves without a big melodic hook that still have real power and will play these tracks in my sets to break up the melody. Carl Craig’s recent remix of Lazy Fat People on Planet E is a prime example. That being said, I would get pretty bored if there were no melody. It wouldn’t really be music. For me, anyway. However, watered down, unimaginative melodies and hooks are far worse than no melody at all, so there’s a fine line.

Simple started as a breaks label, right?

I don't think we were ever purely a breaks label. Precision Cuts were the only breaks artists signed to Simple when we started and they are about as deep as it gets within breaks. Our first two releases were from Walkner.Hintenaus and Fink and they were pretty much leftfield/nu-jazz. Simple has always been eclectic.

I'm certainly not going to deny that I was into breaks when it was exciting, though. When labels like Marine Parade and Fuel were starting out and the music was more experimental and futuristic, it was a much more interesting genre. Steve Bug and DJ T. released a single on Marine Parade in the early days! There was a slew of bootlegs over a two year period that just turned breaks into party mush. I witnessed it firsthand in the shop.

Does Simple and Aus make enough money to keep you afloat?

Simple and Aus are both profitable and I could draw a salary, but I’ve been banking the profits from the singles because we’ll be releasing four albums next year and I will need some extra cash flow. I’m also aiming to employ someone, as I can’t release four albums and however many singles on my own and have any sort of life! I’ll need all the profit we’ve made over the last year (and more…) to fund this.

Is DJing a necessity to make ends meet?

I earn part of my living from DJing/remixing, but I also produce music for TV/adverts. If Simple is doing well and the music is getting good press then I get more gigs, so in a way it does keep me afloat. I think DJing or live performances are crucial for the majority of producers to earn a living. If people keep downloading music for free from blogs or dodgy Russian music sites, live performance/DJing will be the only way of earning a living for producers/musicians.

How are you feeling right now about the balance that you have between DJing and producing? You mentioned a few years ago that you wanted to do less gigs and focus on production more. Is that still the case?

It is still the case — and until I get that member of staff it will continue to be the case! Tam Cooper and I are aiming to write an LP together in the first six months of next year and, unless I find someone to work with me on the label, this won’t be possible.

What sort of training does Tam have?

He’s self-taught, but he can play the guitar and piano fairly well and is a good percussionist/drummer. He also reads a lot about music theory, so he understands the relationships between certain types of chords and harmony. It makes writing music a lot easier. His real strength, though, is engineering and getting the best out of old analogue gear (which forms the basis of all our tracks and studio). He’s been doing that since he was about ten.

"I would get pretty bored if there were no melody. It wouldn’t really be music."

How did your residency at Club Weekend in Berlin come about?

Phonique booked me to play at his monthly party there a couple of years ago and my set seemed to go down well so Oskar the promoter asked me if I'd like to put on my own night bi-monthly and book the guest. I jumped at the chance. We've had Maurice Fulton, Brooks, Todd Terje, Efdemin, and Jerome Sydenham play so far and I'm loving the night.

What’s your philosophy as a DJ?

I think the key to being a good DJ is maintaining the energy in what you're playing no matter what the tempo/style. Mixing at the right time, never leaving a record in too long, switching the basslines at the right time, and clever EQing are the little details that can make a difference. Excellent track selection and reading what the crowd want/need should be a given. A balance between tracks that you know work and new material that you know people wont have heard is also a key factor.

What’s your ideal night?

In an ideal night I like to play from 115 bpm to 125 bpm and play from slow house and disco right up to jacking house and techno. I really like longer sets when you start the night and see the room fill up and the energy of the room build. It's difficult to say that I play this style or I play that style. I touch on lots of different genres. I guess with all the music I make and play, I just like interesting melodies and hooks (could be a bassline or lead melody), a futuristic feeling, and an irresistible groove. At the end of the day if people are dancing and screaming then you’re a good DJ. I've heard plenty of people that can't mix well rock a room.

What’s up next for Simple?

In the immediate future there are 3 EPs around the LP featuring new, exclusive tracks. They also feature remixes from Wahoo, Gui Boratto, Putsch 79, and 2020 Soundsystem. I'm also looking to turn the Simple Sounds concept into a series and approach some of my favorite producers to get involved, so there will be another one in Spring 2008 but I can't tell you who it will be yet.

And for Aus?

I'm working on LPs from Sideshow and Lee Jones and more 12"s from Motorcitysoul and Sian. They are my core artists on Aus. Cortney Tidwell is currently writing a song for one of the Sideshow LP tracks which is really exciting. The LP is very dubby, but there is also a real driving indie feel to a couple of the tracks, with euphoric yet emotive hooks, in an Interpol kind of way...if that makes any sense. Fin (Sideshow) worked with a drummer and got his electric guitar out for it. It’s pretty stunning.