There’s an old stigma attached to producers of electronic music that they are not “real musicians.” They just hit play on the laptops or CDJ’s and the songs do the rest. This is, of course, patently false because a) you need music knowledge to create a song, and some producers are actually quite proficient with a number of different musical instruments, and b) there have always been DJs who actually can perform routines during their set.

Bass Kleph falls into both categories. The Australian producer has taken his knowledge and skills as a former drummer and translated them onto a different instrument, the Native Instruments Maschine drum machine/production studio. He has used his Maschine routines to not only thrill audiences during his live show, but also to help build his brand through YouTube video playthroughs and tutorials. He even has a site (http://www.bassklephmaschinekits.com/) for you to download his various kits to play along to, and help build your own skills and style.

But as any hardcore fan of the scene can attest to, all that matters are the songs, and thankfully, Bass Kleph knows how to create great ones. His newest track “Redlining” (Oxygen) is a collaboration with M35, a young producer out of Los Angeles, and it is a straight-up banger. The varying synth patterns are complex without getting too complicated, and the builds and drops that culminate in an insane driving beat is sure to cause havoc on the dance floor.

All of this is a testament to the live production style of Bass Kleph. Being able to play this live allows him the ability to craft a song that feels more organic and “real,” instead of the cold and machine-like sound other artists' tracks can exhibit. The other perk is that by using a “real” instrument for “Redlining” it’s just as much fun to play as it is to hear. It’s an advantage that live musicians have, and Bass Kleph utilizes to the fullest: if the musician is strongly feeling it while recording and playing the song, the audience responds that much more to it, because then they know that the passion behind it is real. And Bass Kleph is as real as it gets.

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