KLP On New EP ‘Alter’: 'Sometimes You Have A Song & A Gut Feeling It’s Working'

KLP is a force to be reckoned with in the ever-changing world of electronic music.

With her diverse range of talents as a producer, vocalist, and radio host, and collaborations with the likes of Skrillex, What So Not and Peking Duk, she has well and truly made herself a household name across the Australian sharehouses of the country’s festivalgoers. 

With the release of her latest single, Symphony, KLP heralds the arrival of her anticipated EP, Alter. This new project is a testament to her signature sound of pulsating house beats and infectious piano hooks.

As she wraps up a national tour, KLP offers a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind Alter, sharing the stories and inspirations that fuelled the artist’s newest soundscape.

KLP – ALTER EP – TRACK BY TRACK

COME THRU

This track started with me playing around with a different vocal recording technique. It was actually shown to me by Ninajirachi when we were both over in Amsterdam at a Songhubs writing camp. You use the re-pitch tool in Ableton Live and slow a track/instrumental down, and it also lowers the pitch of it.

You record vocals at that tempo and lower key and then make sure the vocals you recorded are also set to re-pitch when you speed it back up to normal tempo. It creates this kind of chipmunk effect that I just loved. It gave me the feeling that it was a sample that had been ripped from old vinyl, chopped up, and sped up. 

SYMPHONY

The story and lyrics to Symphony just tumbled out of my mouth one morning into a voice note after talking to friends about feeling you’re running out of time to get all the things done in life that you planned on doing.

We all felt like we were constantly chasing things that felt out of our reach instead of living in the moment and appreciating how far we had come. I recorded scrap vocals and a really basic beat, but I felt a little stuck as to where I should take it next.

I sat on the idea until one day, I sent it to fellow Sydney/Aussie producer Dave Winnel, who immediately brought it back to life, building on my original idea. The final piece of the puzzle came from another regular collaborator of mine, Loods.

We’d been talking about jamming in the studio, so we got together at BMG in Sydney, and he added the incredible driving keys. Since making Symphony, I’ve kept working with both Loods and Dave so I guess it’s a special track because it really cemented a nice ongoing working relationship.

NEVER LET ME DOWN

I had been meaning to write in person with Airwolf Paradise for a while, so when I had a Melbourne show, I flew down a day earlier and got a taxi straight to his studio. We worked on a bunch of ideas, some for me and some for him.

Never Let Me Down came about closer to the end of the day and started from a basic demo I had started. We ripped it apart and produced it back up in a matter of a few hours and it pretty immediately just worked and felt good.

Once I was back in Sydney, it was really only a matter of a few things being sent back and forth, me recording some extra vocals and then voila! Such a speedy and easy track to pull together. 

VITAMIN

Sometimes, you have a song, and you have a gut feeling it’s working, but it’s not until you play it out that you totally understand how it is going to connect. This is exactly the case with Vitamin.

I had it finished for a while, and it was on my USB in the hopes I would test it out a few times at shows. Then, every time I played it, it went so hard that people would jump into my DMS or try to screenshot the decks and see the title. I decided to put it out and include it on the EP. You really can’t deny the good energy it brings to the dancefloor. 

I KNOW

I wrote/produced this track mid-flight on my Airpods using any old samples I had on my laptop, including chopping up some of my old vocals. I brought it back to my studio in Sydney and decided I really had to replace the vocals with something more fleshed out, so I enlisted the sweet vocals of Lucy Lucy. She has such a beautiful, sexy tone—it just fits the whole vibe of this track perfectly.

Alter is out now.