SAUL: “Killing Egos”
Photo taken by @kristinamillicanphoto on IG
Meet SAUL, an RNB/Hip-Hop artist in San Diego, California. Through the Beat-Match events we throw here at Amplified Studios, SAUL, and QUEEN OMARA created and released the song "Killing Egos," in which SAUL made the beat. Let's hear more about this new single, "Killing Egos," which came out on July 6th of 2023, and see what SAUL has to say about the recording process, the songs meaning, and what we can expect from him in the future!
LISTEN TO "KILLING EGOS" OUT NOW ON ALL PLATFORMS!
NAME, WHERE YOU ARE FROM, AND WHEN YOU STARTED MAKING MUSIC.
"I go by SAUL, grew up in Ramat Gan (a city right by Tel Aviv in Israel), and started seriously making music about a year and a half ago. Although I graduated with a degree in Electronic Media in 2016, I haven't put it to use until recently."
WHAT GOT YOU INTO MAKING MUSIC?
"Music has been a big part of my life since I was a little kid. I remember many specific times when I would put on headphones and get transported to a totally different world, away from everything in my life. Sometimes it was cheesy music like Backstreet Boys or old-school Usher, and sometimes obscure techno like Skazi or Infected Mushroom. Nowadays, I listen to a vast variety of music, spanning genres and subgenres of Hip-Hop, Soul, R&B, EDM (mainly Deep House), Bluegrass/Folk, some Pop, or whatever else my mood leads me to. Creating music truly feels like the only thing I WANT to do in life."
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR BIGGEST MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS?
"My musical inspirations are any artists out there that are being unabashedly themselves and are creating the music and life that is true to them - those are the people I look up to. Many artists influence my music, but no one specific. I want the sound I create to be uniquely me."
Photo taken by @kristinamillicanphoto on IG
LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR LATEST RELEASE, "KILLING EGOS," WITH QUEEN OMARA, WHICH CAME OUT JULY 6TH OF THIS YEAR. WHAT WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS LIKE?
"'Killing Egos' started as a beat I was creating to offer for sale (and still is). I did write some lyrics for it, but I wasn't sure about them. When I came to Amplified Studios's Beatmatch event and played it for everyone, it got a great response and ended up being the beat that my team used. I initially wanted to create a new song for it, but I showed the previously written lyrics to QUEEN OMARA and Christian, and they loved them, so that's what we used. They then each wrote a solo portion of their own that was added to the song. I did some arranging, and we ended up with the song's final form. As the night went along, our turn to record came up, and we each had our moment in the booth at the studio. It was my first time recording in front of a large group of people. The energy was amazing! Marc (Amplified Studios Engineer) then sent me the recordings, and I did the rest of the mixing/engineering/mastering in my home studio."
DO YOU LIKE WORKING WITH OTHER ARTISTS, OR DO YOU PREFER WORKING ALONE?
"I don't do many collaborations; I find it easier and quicker to work alone. This whole experience of meeting new artists and creating within a collaborative studio space was very new and exciting to me. I look forward to doing more of it in the future!"
WHAT DOES THE SONG "KILLING EGOS" MEAN TO YOU?
"'Killing Egos,' to me, is about taking a step away from yourself and realizing that this whole character that you are (your personality, your likes/dislikes, your opinions, even your feelings) is something that you developed over the years. This character (the ego) has been heavily molded and shaped by everything around you since the moment you were born: family, friends, social norms, culture, etc.
At our core, we are all unique but the same - and we forget that. Creating space between your true self and your ego allows for an objective evaluation of where you're at, which creates an opportunity for change and growth. Sometimes it's minor changes, and sometimes it's a complete Ego Death that leads to a significant transformation."
Photo taken by @kristinamillicanphoto on IG
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SAN DIEGO RNB/HIP-HOP SCENE? ARE THERE ANY AREAS WITHIN THE SCENE THAT EXCEL OR LACK COMPARED TO OTHER MUSIC SCENES?
"I feel like the Hip-Hop/R&B scene in San Diego is fairly limited and lacks opportunity for emerging artists to grow. There seems to be a greater inclination towards Singer-Songwriters and Acoustic artists in the city. That being said, a handful of Open Mics and venues (like Amplified) support lesser-known Hip-Hop and R&B artists. At the end of the day, if you want your art to make it out there, it's up to you to create that opportunity for yourself."
WHAT CAN FANS EXPECT FROM YOU IN THE FUTURE?
“In line with 'Killing Egos,' I decided to set aside the Hip-Hop music I've been creating. I had an EP and more singles in the works, but something didn't feel right. Last year I focused on performing, creating, and developing SAUL. This year I couldn't get myself to continue with it. I recently realized that although I enjoy Hip-Hop and R&B music, it doesn't feel very natural to me as a creator. I'm taking SAUL in an entirely new direction and will be creating a new world of music in the sphere of Deep House and styles of that nature."
"Old SAUL music will remain available online, but I am more excited than ever to create and share everything to come! I look forward to taking you on this journey with me."
