It’s great to see Will Saul handed the baton in the DJ Kicks series, and he responds with a mix that focuses on sounds from his labels Aus Music and Simple, but makes the extra effort to secure some exclusives and rarities from those labels. Saul paces things really well, creating a heat-soaked atmosphere with his Komon collaboration ‘Bendy’ and Joe Gray’s lovely ‘Tozai’, then adding a tinge of gospel with Jabru’s distinctive ‘Church’, where the vocals from Joel Culpepper are rather beautiful. Saul incorporates ‘Two For One’, a collaboration with Komon for this compilation that has a heat-soaked feel, before moving on to the dubby sound that characterises some of the best Aus Music productions with Axel Boman’s ‘Dubbel’. Then he eases on the afterburners to feel the funk more with the Marquis Hawkes’ bendy ‘Life Struggle’ and Gerry Read’s nippy ‘Baseball’. Intelligently thought out and perfectly paced, this is one of the best mixes Saul has achieved – which given his track record is a high compliment!
5 out of 5.
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
{http://soundcloud.com/schneidereien/sets/will-saul-dj-kicks}
