Artist: Will Saul & Lee Jones
Title: Hug The Scary
Label: Aus Music
By: Nick Williams | 7 September 2007
Tracklist:

• A. Original Mix
• B. Partial Arts Remake

Will Saul & Lee Jones "Hug The Scary"

Will Saul and Lee Jones team up on Saul’s own imprint, Aus Music, for this experimental and beautifully deep release ‘Hug The Scary.’ Will is no stranger to the production game, running A&R and releasing on his Simple and Aus Music labels based out of England. Lee Jones is one third of the outstanding production trio My My, and when these two combine you have one interesting song to come. The remix honors lie with Partial Arts, the duo of Ewan Pearson, fresh off his recent Fabric compilation, along with studio pal Al Usher. They provide us with a much needed dance floor suited version of the track.

The original of ‘Hug The Scary’ showcases some phenomenal production skills, coming at you with deep, grooved percussion peppered with slight dub influences in the atmosphere right from the start. The track builds gently into a break with spaced out synths and cool chords. The bouncy rhythm is really what intrigues me the most about this track; not too hard yet with enough depth to amaze. We float along and the track goes deeper and deeper, while a feeling of melancholy sets slowly in with somber chords and a pretty bell melody. The textures are quite amazing yet I find it hard to see this track working on the dance floor. It carries on for so long on such a deep note that I find it hard to see people dancing on the floor to this… a deep listen on headphones, a different story altogether.

Partial Arts provide an adaptation that suits the floor quite nicely with sharp synth swells right from the beginning, commanding attention, while the bouncy beats keep the feel from the original. Blips and squirrelly synths pair very nicely with the analog sounding bassline. As the track continues a guitar melody rides alongside a grooved out bassline, bringing a nice funk to the rich soundscape. The pads and melody from the original make their way in the breakdown, yet they don’t take the floor too deep for too long. The track grooves its way on to the finish with some more special elements and subtle soaring pads to richen the textures.

This release is an excellent EP for those into Will Saul’s and My My’s sound with a remix to suit your early dance floor. I always expect quality music from this label and they always seem to deliver some of the best listening music these days. Expect more from these two in the studio, as a string of releases from Saul and Jones will be out on Aus Music in the near future.