Label of the Month: Aus Music

Will Saul launched Aus Music to fill a void. It was the early 2000s, and Will ran a successful deep house label called Simple Records. A few years after launch, Will helped set up Phonica Records in London’s Soho and worked there for a couple of days a week while he studied. “I got way more into house and techno as a result of listening to all the music in the shop,” he says. “And so as my taste shifted, so did the releases on the label, and I then set up Aus as a left-field alternative to Simple.”

Aus, German for “off,” is supposed to rhyme with house, although somebody needs to tell Pete Tong. “He’s called it “Oz” for, like, decades on the radio,” Will says. “I’ve never had the heart to correct him. But he’s Pete Tong, so he can call it what he likes.”

Aus came of this earth as an offshoot for music that didn’t quite fit in, but Will never expected it to grow into a tree of life. “It was supposed to be a home for music from Sideshow aka Fink and MyMy aka Lee Jones,” Will says. “Then gradually I started releasing music from Appleblim and Pearson Sound’s first incarnation Ramadanman.”

Will launched Aus Music in 2006. It was the post-dubstep era, and the UK’s taste was moving towards dub-heavy, bass-driven sounds, rooted in the 4:4 rhythms of house and techno. Aus released music that mirrored this development, sharing left-field house from artists like Midland and Joy Orbison. The label became so popular, Will could no longer justify running Simple Records alongside it. “And artists I’d been releasing on Simple wanted to release on Aus,” Will says. “We became quite popular and hyped.”

But that explanation undermines Will’s A&R wizardry. He had (and still has) an uncanny knack for releasing music from artists at the exact moment before they blew up.

Take Joy Orbison, for example. Aus released his 2010 EP The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow. It was just after his “Hyph Mngo” single, which was labeled “the most forward-thinking dubstep track of 2009.” Joy Orbison fastened his seatbelt, and Aus was there for take-off.

It happened again with Bicep. In 2012, Aus released their breakthrough EP You/Don’t, and then followed it up less than a year later with Stash, which planted the Belfast duo firmly in electronic music history. It was Bicep’s moment, and Aus was right there to meet it. 

Although Will modestly describes it as “luck,” it’s happened way too many times for it to be a coincidence. He's a master of the sweet spot, and that isn’t limited to the exact moment an artist is about to explode. It’s the spot between what’s popular now and what’s about to be. It’s the balance between releasing established artists alongside up-and-coming talent. It’s knowing when to move on from what’s popular, and not getting boxed into one genre. “It’s very easy to get trapped in a sort of niche sound, but people get bored very quickly,” he says. “You can only have so much of a good thing before you get bored.”

If the music industry is a tightrope, then Aus knows how to walk it, and a lot of it comes from instinct. “I choose music that's memorable from a musical perspective,” Will says. “Music that has a hook that captures you and moves you emotionally as a listener."

Will says the secret is simply releasing music he likes, and not being afraid to push the tastes of his audience, and delivering the unexpected. “Through trial and error you know what will connect with people,” says Will. “And I only release what moves me emotionally. There’s not a single release that I don’t absolutely love.”

Will is aware that certain tracks will connect with a far broader audience, and others will connect with a select few. He’ll release both. “I want people to be constantly surprised,” he says. “If a reviewer seems confused by a release on Aus, that’s a massive kick. It means I’m keeping the label interesting.”

Every track on Aus has a thread in common, but can also stand alone. This means Aus is constantly attracting new listeners and fans, and they’re approaching their 20th anniversary after one of their most successful years yet.

The year 2025 marks the lead up to the label’s 200th release, which Aus has built up to with a series of four EPs from four phenomenal acts. First came Quantic’s Tropics, then Cinthie’s Rave Baby EP, followed by Dam Swindle’s Come Back EP, with K-Lone, Chloé Robinson, and DJ ADHD on remix duties. The final EP in the series is Paradise Ave, out on May 7th, 2025, produced by Will Saul, Fink, and James Alexander Bright. The EP series is a showcase of the latest incarnation of the label, and the sounds and scenes that ensure Aus continues to thrive. 

Will is quick to cite K-LONE as Aus’ star of 2024, with his EPs Catching Wild Part 1 and Part 2 marrying deep, textured house with UK garage and breaks. K-LONE grew up listening to Aus releases, which is why his tracks effortlessly carry the label’s energy while adding fresh new direction.

“When it comes to new artists, I just keep my ears to the ground,” Will says. “I listen to a lot of demos and promos, and I have a lot of trusted sources who send me artists they just signed.”

2024’s success was thanks to a huge range of genres and releases from artists both new and established. “We released Dam Swindle with organic house music, and Cinthie who’s quite ravey, so very different sounds but all rooted in house and techno,” Will says.

Next on the Aus agenda is figuring out how to celebrate 20 years in the business. With such a huge back catalog of iconic music, Will’s been pondering how best to mark the occasion. “I think I’ll remix the most famous releases on the label,” he says. “There’s a lot of records that mean things to people, and I want people to reimagine those big moments.”

That’s exactly what Aus is all about: creating magical moments. It’s what’s kept Will going all these years, and keeps him motivated today. “I’m just as into what I’m doing now as I was when I started,” he says. “It’s my lifeblood. What I’ll look back on as I get old is the fact that people have had enjoyment from the music that we've released. It’s touched a lot of people, and I just get a real kick out of that.”

Listen to Will Saul's 'Best of AUS MUSIC' chart below or check it out on Beatport.