While he’s usually a joker, thinking back on the transition brings a bit of a dark shadow to Klever’s tone, but his next anecdote reveals one of the most endearing parts of Josh Winkler—his honesty. Maybe part of it comes from life lessons, or maybe it’s all those blunts. Either way, it’s a great trait (and makes for an interesting interview). He found his career eclipsed by some bad decisions in 2002, he says, when he met his lady and “really started falling off.”
“I got with my girl and all I wanted to do is have sex and eat and watch movies and cuddle. So back then, I would collect the deposit and not show up (to gigs). I was kind of known for that,” Klever admits without a hint of hesitation. “That’s something you just don’t do; I worked all these years to get to where I was, and I just shitted it all away because I got comfortable; I wasn’t getting international bookings anymore and was just doing local gigs. It was a huge blow to my ego. I just hoped that I would get one more chance, just give me that opportunity again—I would not fuck it up. So I started making all my shows and doing my thing, and then it just happened. I’m proud of myself because I stuck with my promise. I could have said fuck it and gone to work construction. I don’t have a college education, I dropped out. But now I am taking this very seriously, and I pray to God that my music will be accepted.”
If you take his remix work into account, the odds (or the moon gods, as it were) are definitely smiling on Klever, and probably still will be when he drops his So So Death EP of original production in August. After all, his sound comes from the most awesome place—the soul of a DMC champ, a lover of crunk ATL beats and breath-stopping drum & bass tracks, and a don of deafeningly crunchy electro basslines. And when you hear it, you can tell it’s straight from a true kingpin of the party: one who’s definitely seen it all but isn’t afraid to take himself to a more streamlined level.
“I guess I grew up,” Klever muses with a sense of polished confidence. “I was a skateboard kid forever, but in the last few years, I’ve got in tune with who I am and how I want to look and where I want to go. And fuck everyone else—I don’t care anymore. I’m just comfortable in myself.”
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