Simple One
Mixed by Will Saul
Simple Records
Released February 2005

a version to appear in earplug.cc

In its relative infancy, Simple has been putting out some of the most innovative breaks in the scene. Rather than being mired in the dark, techy rut of some producers, the label has achieved a difficult balance between being intellectually engaging and cutting it on the floor. Mixed by Will Saul, Simple One is a fluid mix of live-sounding percussion with distinctive jazz and dub elements and an overall emphasis on melody. Sideshow’s “Waiting in the Darkness” is a percussive groover with a piercing snare tone that sounds sourced from a taut marching drum. Austria’s Walkner.Hintenaus bring forth a live, electro jazz amalgamation with “Karma,” and for added variety, Matthew Jonson re-rubs Sideshow’s “Slide,” adding a bouncing analogue bassline and throbbing techno groove. On the darker side of the equation, Precision Cuts’ “Xylophone” applies a formerly geriatric instrument to a new context, while Saul ends things off nicely with Infusion’s barnstorming mix of his own “Cliff.”