Obituary: J. Saul Kane

27 November 2024 - Press release

Legendary producer, mixer and DJ, J. Saul Kane (aka Depth Charge), born Jonathan Saul Kane on 26 January 1967 died on 12 July 2024 from complications arising from diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

Jonathan was raised in West London by his mother Carol, a dancer and graphic designer who actively supported his early musical and cultural development. A gifted breakdancer, he appeared alongside Joseph Christophe (Waddy) at Sadlers Wells in 1987. A high-profile face in the flourishing 80s Ladbroke Grove scene (DJs, MCs and street artists), his prodigious turntable skills saw him playing sets at numerous warehouse parties as well as the legendary Wag Club on Wardour Street, Soho, and the Mud Club, before releasing tracks in 1988 and his first single under the Depth Charge moniker, "Depth Charge (Han Do Jin)", on the Vinyl Solution label in 1989, a track that saw his trademark ground-breaking and deeply influential use of martial arts and spaghetti western cinematic samples already in place. A stream of key Depth Charge records followed, all instrumental in the development of trip hop and big beat, both terms for which Kane had little time.

His restless and defiantly uncategorizable creativity saw him releasing music in a rich variety of styles under a range of pseudonyms throughout the 90s – Octagon Man (whose "Free-er than Free" was deliberately released without designated playing speed), Grimm Death (with Bomb the Bass's Tim Simenon), Alexander's Dark Band, Block Ink, Mr. Selfish, T.E.T. and The Spider.  

Working as a producer and A+R for Vinyl Solution, his signings included chart-topping Bizarre Inc., UK hip hop trio Gunshot, and late, lamented techno pioneer Eon (Ian Loveday) amongst others. And it was through VS that Kane set up his own varied and prolific labels, DC Recordings and Electron Industries, managed by the late James Dyer, releasing music by artists such as Emperor Machine, The Oscillation, Tom Tyler and Kelpe, compiling seminal lost 80s rap tracks on "Beat Classic", and reissuing classic soundtrack albums like Alain Goraguer's "Fantastic Planet". Kane was also highly in demand as a remixer, reworking tracks by a host of disparate artists including Depeche Mode, Mark Moore's S'Express, Sabres of Paradise, Red Snapper, Alabama 3 and Meat Beat Manifesto.

Kane was devoted to football, both as a fan and a gifted player, and his Brazil-celebrating track "Goal" was widely used by the BBC to soundtrack 1994's World Cup. A deep love of cinema was nurtured in part by days spent digging through the racks of Soho's Chinatown video rental shops in an endless search for films and samples. His passion for Hong Kong cinema prompted him to drag Vinyl Solution label bosses Alain de la Mata and Yves Guillemot to the legendary Sunday night double bills at the Leicester Square Empire - the result was the founding of Made in Hong Kong, a video label and theatrical distributor which released a host of classic Shaw Brothers titles (including Kane's favourite, the classic "Five Deadly Venoms"), as well as the previously  little-known works of world-class directors John Woo, Ringo Lam, Wong Kar-wai and numerous others.

In recent years, health problems saw Kane retreating from public life, although he remained an active and prolific street photographer.

A complex, gifted, mysterious and unique human being, he will be sorely missed.

For any further information please contact Alain de la Mata at mata@bluelight.co.uk.