- Content is the alias of Jesse Rose, whose work has appeared on such labels as Dubsided and Classic as well as his own Front Room Recordings. With his newest track, 'It's So...,' he adds his name to the Simple roster. In addition to Rose's original, the latest release on Will Saul's label includes a remix by the boss himself, who, with loads of releases on Simple as well as Air Recordings and 10 Kilo, has become somewhat of a household name.
The original mix sports a clean, metallic sound complimented by an almost robotic, endlessly looped and chopped female vocal ("It's, it's, it's so simple") that rides the beat from beginning to end. Crisp and punchy, the track has plenty of bleeps and computerized noises but still holds on to some organic essence thanks to its easy-going, natural groove. Something like a melody floats above, never quite touching down, and everything seems to be moving along just fine until the second bassline shows up. Continuously bending in pitch, it adds a certain funk at first; quickly, however, it becomes all but unbearable, and as it continues until nearly the end of the track, stopping the record halfway through is the likely listener response.
For the remix, meanwhile, Saul maintains the track's clean sound but completely reformulates every other aspect. Bringing in a brand-new bassline and showing a little more musical sensibility, Saul shapes a groove with a bit more pull. He also creates an entirely new melody, on which he places more emphasis, and to which he applies Content's pitch bending idea - making sure, though, to keep it within the realms of what a person can take and, perhaps, actually enjoy. The melody eases in slowly, gradually overpowering and forcing out all other elements of the track until it's the only sound there. Just as it reaches the top, though, it falls back underneath, only to begin its ascent and reach the peak once more before falling off for good. After that it's just a few more rounds of the beat and the bassline, and then the whole thing is done.
Content and Saul both keep the label name in mind with this one, keeping things very simple indeed. In fact, both versions seem more like DJ tools than full-on tracks: both just sort of plod along for a while and then end abruptly. While Saul's mix is easy enough on the ears to be useful in this respect, though, Content's original is at best too boring and at worst too annoying to have any real benefits.