In Conversation: fabric Records and AUS Music

For more than 15 years, AUS Music has been a quarterly fixture in fabric’s Room 2, a run of nights that has become a proving ground for new talent and new sounds across bass, house and garage. It’s where Joy Orbison made his fabric debut, and where Aus founder Will Saul staged the first ever CLOSE Live show.

Now the two institutions have gone a step further. Out now, ‘Room 02’ is a six-track various artists EP marking the milestones of both labels. It brings together SYREETA, Huxley, Bella Boo, Otik, Iglew & K-Lone, Fort Romeau, Jacques Greene and Saul himself for a set of heavyweight house, bass and leftfield cuts built for the pressure of Room 2.

To mark the release, fabric Records’ Head of Labels Hiroki Beck and AUS Music’s Will Saul put questions to each other. Here, they discuss 20 years of AUS, the challenges of running a label through every format shift, the live show that nearly finished Saul off, and what’s next for fabric’s imprints.

fabric Records asks Aus Music

Hiroki Beck, fabric Records: Congrats Will on 20 years. That’s an impressive milestone and no easy feat to achieve, on both the label and event fronts. But from a label/A&R perspective, what’s been your highlight, your biggest or proudest release to date? (Apart from this one, obviously ;)

Will Saul, Aus Music: That’s tricky to answer, as there have been many highlights over the years. The milestone releases (50th, 100th and 200th release) are always special as they push you to take stock, which is genuinely something I don’t do enough of, both in this context and probably in life in general. We certainly had a sweet spot of time where we signed a group of artists - Joy Orbison/Bicep/Dusky/George FitzGerald/Leon Vynehall/Midland/Huxley to name a few - that all had very successful releases that connected commercially. In turn, this spell really defined the label for a while. We did lots of label parties all over the world with this roster of artists and I have many happy memories of these events and that period of time… 2010-2015.

Hiroki: 20 years in today’s scene is a long time, with so many changes in the electronic music industry in such a short amount of time. So what’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced over the years as a brand?

Will: Analogue to digital. The changing of formats and the shift in media to promote music. Vinyl to downloads to streaming, and the way the value and margin shifts with each one. It’s been gradual enough that we’ve stayed on top of it, or we wouldn’t still be here. The thing that keeps you going is actually researching each format and how your artists perform on it. Plough on regardless and you’ll hit trouble eventually. Alongside this, the shift in how you promote music and artists and the landscape that facilitates this has also been seismic. From actual music magazines and mailing out 200 promo records to DJs, to online media (and its demise), ending up with social media and the algorithm we’re seemingly beholden to now.

Hiroki: I need to ask you about your long-standing history with the club. I believe it spans over eight years. Why did you pick fabric after The End, and were there any standout moments over the years in terms of sets and/or artists you brought through?

Will: I had my first show at fabric in 2004 and then we did our first label night in Room 3 in 2005. But this was as Simple Records, which was my first label. We did a few of these over the following couple of years and they were electric. I loved playing in the “old” Room 3 as it was super intimate. We brought Walkner.Hintenaus (a three-piece live act with a trumpet player and percussionist) over from Austria on a few occasions, and it was a bit of a squeeze to get them onto the raised section in the room which acted as a stage, but it was an incredible atmosphere… I was then offered a monthly residency at The End which was too good to refuse. When The End closed its doors, Judy and Andy welcomed us back as Aus Music as I had stopped Simple Records. We had some momentous label parties in Room 2 over the years. Joy Orbison’s debut show at fabric was part of the Aus Music residency and stands out as a highlight, as there was a huge amount of excitement from all involved to have him play.

Hiroki: I was speaking to my colleagues Andy and Judy, who you obviously know well and are a key reason why we’re commemorating our milestones on this release. They mentioned that a particular highlight for them was seeing you play live alongside Houndstooth alumni Second Storey under your CLOSE alias. Can you tell us more about this project?

Will: This was my first (and last - it nearly finished me off!) live A/V show, which we debuted in Room 2. It was the live show for my album Getting Closer. It featured me on synths/FX and sequencing and then Al played the (Roland V) drums live. We played set behind a very fine gauze sheet which hung from floor to ceiling, and visuals were projected onto the gauze, which meant you could see us but not clearly. It played with your perception of depth. It was really, really cool and totally live, but in all honesty not really financially viable to tour as it required so much kit and three people to tour for each show. Lessons were learned!

Hiroki: Lastly, how have you found the balance of being an artist versus label owner? Have you needed to prioritise one over the other? Similarly, what is the dynamic/setup at Aus and how do you make it work?

Will: My wife Bella has run Aus for many years now, and without her, everything would grind to a halt. We also run a music consultancy/label management business together. This enables me to occasionally peel off and write some music, but this happens much less now. That said, I have a track on this EP and have recently put out an EP on Aus. There are a couple of my remixes out soon on Aus as well, one of Bambounou and one of Huxley… so I haven’t completely retired.

Aus Music asks fabric Records

Will Saul, Aus Music: This is the first time that fabric and Aus have ever collaborated with another record label on a release. How did the collaboration come about?

Hiroki Beck, fabric Records: Funnily enough it came about via a music conference. I was on an A&R panel with Will and we just got chatting about a few things, a seed was planted and here we are. But yeah, with a rich history for both our brands it made sense to commemorate our landmarks in a collaborative release.

Will: People imagine label management as digging for records and signing artists. What does the job actually look like on a Tuesday afternoon, and which part of it would surprise the people reading this?

Hiroki: I wish it were that simple; however, the reality is far different, especially when it comes to label management. There are so many different facets to the role, mostly in operations and people management. It’s still a business at the end of the day, so there’s a fair amount of financials involved, along with admin-heavy tasks related to all the behind-the-scenes work people never see when running a label, from various registrations to ensure every potential revenue stream for a release is covered, to legal agreements etc. There are of course the creative aspects as well, but label management in a nutshell is about overseeing the creative and operational direction for the business (i.e., the bigger picture stuff) and implementing your vision. This means a lot of meetings, which doesn’t leave much time for all the other bits. I think the simple answer is no two days are exactly the same, for the better.

Will: fabric Records carries the weight of the club behind it, which is a blessing and a constraint. How much does “would this work on that soundsystem, in that room” consciously shape what you sign?

Hiroki: I would say the label is somewhat blessed operating on its own merit; however, the shadow of the club always hangs over it, of course. The club itself is the brand, so I don’t think the general population really differentiates between the club and the label; it’s just all “fabric” at the end of the day. Therefore, with the imprints we try to create as much synergy as possible between the club and label. We try to support a release with a club show, and vice versa. Obviously, this doesn’t happen with every release due to logistics with touring and release schedules, etc., but being in a very unique position to have the label or the club as a marketing tool is quite invaluable. In terms of signings, we try to ensure the music makes sense but ultimately, some artists sell out shows without selling many records, while others sell records but can’t fill a 100-capacity venue.

Will: How do you balance the A&R and brand identity across the four labels that sit under the fabric umbrella - Originals / FABRICLIVE / Houndstooth / fabric Records - and is this a challenge?

Hiroki: It’s relatively simple in terms of identity, as each imprint has its own specific sound. For example, Originals is primarily house and techno; FABRICLIVE covers sounds represented by UK music (DnB, dubstep, grime, jungle, garage etc.); fabric Records handles the long-standing fabric mix series; and Houndstooth is a predominantly artist development, avant-garde experimental imprint. There are only so many weeks in the year so we try to represent each sound in a balanced way. Every staff member has their own individual A&R strengths in terms of knowledge within their genre of dance music, and sadly it falls on me to say no a lot of the time.

Will: fabric’s been through closure and reopening, format shifts, a scene that’s changed shape a few times over. What does the next chapter look like for the labels specifically? Is there anything you want fabric Records, Originals or Houndstooth to become that they aren’t yet?

Hiroki: To continue developing and growing within their own lanes, and ensuring each imprint remains strong musically as well as branding-wise. The Originals and FABRICLIVE imprints are both very new labels, so at a certain point I’d like to see them both establish strong identities with core artists on album setups, fostering a community of sorts. In terms of output, there’s lots to come which I’m not ready to let out of the bag yet. However, we are highlighting and celebrating our club residents, who will all have the opportunity to release on the label, starting with Tapefeed next month. Also, 2027 will see the introduction of a brand new club series of releases, focused on ready-made club tracks for the dancefloor.

'Room 02' is out now. 

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