[TSS Interview] Bass Kleph talks Maschines, New Music and Performing Around The World

Last week, we had the pleasure of unveiling Bass Kleph’s latest single “Scream” as a TSS exclusive premiere. Now, this week we have a full interview to share with you guys as well! We got a chance to reach out and ask some questions to the Australian DJ/Producer Bass Kleph and go deeper into his life and work. He’s a world traveler, a young veteran, a fountain of production knowledge, a maschine maverick, an amazing musician and across the board just a cool dude. We were able to go deeper into his productions, his performances, his past, his present and his future.

Bass Kleph playing “EPIC” live on Maschine |

TSS: Hey Bass Kleph, how is everything? Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

Bass Kleph: No worries mate!

TSS: Also thank you for the Maschine tutorials you make on your YouTube page. Really helped stepped my game up with my lil maschine mikro but I always wanted to thank you for that personally. How do you go about making those videos? How do you pick which would be a good thing to learn production wise and explain? What kind of feedback to you get from those videos?

Bass Kleph: You’re welcome! Glad you dig them! Most of them I pick from fan suggestions. I keep track of all the things people ask me to explain etc. and if one topic gets requested a lot, then I do that. That’s actually how my site www.bassklephmaschinekits.com came about. Everyone kept asking for a central place to download all my free maschine kits. They also wanted more kits. So now, not only does it host all the free kits, but I also upload at least one new Premium kit each month.

TSS: Do you have a favorite comment? Like from Youtube, SoundCloud or anything on something you’ve posted? Something that either really touched you or made you die laughing?

Bass Kleph: Good question. Yeah, they have been a few touching ones for sure. Especially since I started doing the Maschine tutorials and kits. Online and in person I often get people coming up to me saying things like, “You’re the reason I bought a Maschine”, or “You taught me how to play my Maschine”. Just the other week when I was playing at Avalon in Los Angeles someone even said “Thanks so much for taking the time and effort, to make your show interesting. Too many DJs all seem the same these days, and what you do, is what we need more of in the scene”. It’s so nice to hear things like this. I do work really hard, so this kind of feedback keeps me driven towards my goals of showing the world there are other ways to perform dance music than just DJing. I want everyone to experiment more.

Bass Kleph: That’s What’s Up – MASCHINE Kit Demo

TSS: So you’ve been touring extensively around the world for some time now, what are some of your favorite places to play? Also, what do you do when you get back home? I mean besides make music, we know you do a ton of that. Do you go out to the beach? Play any sports? Go out and have some drinks? What’s your off time like?

Bass Kleph: I’m so grateful that music has taken me all over the world. Fave places to play are Avalon (LA), Ministry Of Sound (London), Club Mass (Seoul), Spark (Beijing), Tuning Hall (Moscow), Synq Beach Club (Goa, India), Pacha (Sydney), Marquee (Sydney). When I’m home and not in the studio, I catch up with friends. If it’s winter I’ll be snowboarding (love that), summer we’ll be skating/surfing. I like to live healthy and keep fit, but we do get loose every now and then too ;)

TSS: How do you go about putting together your sets since you have the live performance element added to your DJing? Do you like going into sets with things planned out? Do you only plan a few things and freestyle a lil bit? Also, what’s your best source for getting new tracks to play? (You can say TSS it’s cool)

Bass Kleph: I keep my record box pretty organised so I can find what I need fast, but I do usually make a rough playlist full of tracks I’d like to play for each show. I think it comes from playing vinyl. Back then you couldn’t bring all your records to a show. You could only pack about 60 records in a box. Then you would play from that. For getting new tracks I love This Song Slaps! But I actually use Beatport quite a lot too.

Bass Kleph – Scream|

TSS: What’s your favorite app right now? Snapchat? Instagram? Anything we don’t even know about? What do you do to kill time when you’re looking at your phone not doing business?

Bass Kleph: Probably Spanish study apps. I’ve been learning for 3-4 years so I try to get some practice in when I can. My fave Spanish apps are CN Spanish, Conjugación, Duolingo, and SpanishDict.

TSS: You also have your own label “Vacation Records”, can you talk about how you started that and some of the artist on your roster? How is it balancing your music and the duties of running a label? Also, for the fans out there, what do you look for in an artist to sign?

Bass Kleph: It all started back in 2007 with just my close friends like Tommy Trash, Hook N Sling, Jimi Frew, Dave Winnel etc. We’ve now put out hundreds of records from all sorts of artists including Wolfgang Garter, Gotye and more. It’s really hard to find time to be honest. We’ve actually had to slow things down as it requires so much time and with music piracy the way it is these days, it hardly makes any money. I really just do it as a side project for the love now. People don’t realise how bad music sales are right now for all labels. This is the result of the changes over the last 10 years. It will be interesting to see where all of this goes and what comes next. What are we looking for in artists atm? Something fresh. Nothing that sounds like what everyone else is playing/writing. There are too many people out there copying each other. We want original creative ideas.

Bass Kleph – Cowboy Coffee (Original Mix)

TSS: Using clip launching and live beat making seems to be on the uptick these days with more artists trying to perform live while DJing. How much of this do you think is your influence? Also, would it bother you if you went out and saw a bunch of people kind of emulating what you do or would it be like, “Man I changed some things here”?

Bass Kleph: I’m excited that it’s getting more popular, and I would be so happy if more people started incorporating these things into their sets. Even if they do it the same way I do. That’s flattering. If I could make an impact on the global dance scene and get more people to push the boundaries of their DJ performance, then that would be a huge honour, and feeling of accomplishment.

TSS: I’m loving this new record “Scream”, can you talk about how you put this record together? Also shout outs Rozie for sending it over!

Bass Kleph: Thanks! My new stuff is steering back to my old Rock n Roll roots as a drummer. I wanted an epic rock breakdown and a slamming drop. I actually wrote those two sections as two separate sketches. Then I was listening to them and thought, they might work well together.

TSS: Australia is having a bit of a moment in the electronic scene right now. The Melbourne bounce genre is becoming a mainstay and you have artists like you, Tommy Trash, Ryan Enzed, Alison Wonderland and other Aussies crossing over and becoming global artists. What’s the scene like in Australia? What are some of the things that separate it from scenes in America or Europe? Also, it’s one of my dreams to go there, what should be the to do list when in Australia for anyone visiting?

Bass Kleph: Australia has always had a rocking dance scene. I started out there in about 2002. We already had a bunch of great clubs, big festivals and great producers. Dance music has only recently revived in USA. Maybe in about 2011. This is why all the Aussies coming over are doing so well. They’ve had years of practice already. You should definitely visit Australia. It’s an amazing country. There is so much to see. You really need at least a month. There are natural attractions like The Great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock, The Rainforests, The Great Ocean Road, and the incredible beaches. The cities are excellent and all different. Definitely check out Sydney, Melbourne, and if you can Byron Bay, Cairns, Perth & Hobart.

Darude – Sandstorm (Bass Kleph Bootleg Remix)

TSS: Outside of electronic music, who are you listening to these days?

Bass Kleph: All sorts of stuff. Some older rock stuff like Rage Against The Machine, At The Drive In, Does It Offend You Yeah?. Yet I still love Drake, Frank Ocean, and Kendrick Lamar.

TSS: If you could collab with someone right now who would it be? Can be anyone from any genre, we’re not picky here.

Bass Kleph: Justice & Skrillex

Bass Kleph shares his tricks for Maschine performances

TSS: Any new things coming down the pipe that we should be on the look out for?

Bass Kleph: Yep, apart from ‘Scream’, I have a colab with David Tort call Lemonade that is out in June. I’m also touring Australia in May, and might be doing India, Europe, and South Africa again soon too!

TSS: Anything you want to say to the fans real quick?

Bass Kleph: You guys are awesome! Thanks for all your support and encouragement! You keep me going in the tough times! Lots of good new stuff coming for you!

That’s What’s Up [Hysteria]

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