Drum n’ bass drum-lord Kevin KJ Sawka has made an iPhone app called DrumBanger. It simulates his half-electronic drum set and lets you remix and sequence his music and sounds from your iPhone and iPod Touch. The app is a multifunctional looper, drum machine, and sequencer. Arrange and rearrange cd-quality samples of Sawka's live drums and synth sounds. Construct, deconstruct, and record the drum n’ bass frenzy right there on your iPhone. Plug it into your speakers where the insta-rave will begin. Make sure you’re wearing soft, bright, furry clothing, and put your pacifier in. Sawka's drumming impossibly conjugates. It re-evolves freehand robotics. Jungle calculates out of your head. Formats unformat, fractals answer, beats become function. When you watch Sawka play, do not try to understand. Take it in, then step away from the venue or screen, and go somewhere where you can stare at water or at a screensaver of water. Now the dnb drum lord is in your pocket.

To create DrumBanger, Sawka teamed with GroovWare’s Brian DeWaide and developer Jason Thane from General UI. Sawka spoke about the process:

How did you approach Apple about the idea? Was it accepted immediately?
Sawka: It’s pretty simple. You make an app and then submit it. If the app is functional and rated for any age, it most likely will get accepted. I originally wanted to call the app FingerBanger. Because you bang the drums with your finger. Makes sense right? Well, we had to change it, and DrumBanger was born. It was accepted immediately.

How did you mix and master the sounds to make them sound decent coming out of a phone speaker? I know they’re CD quality through headphones and real speakers, but how does one mix or master sounds for a phone speaker?
Basically, I mixed it like mixing a track. Panned things a bit, and mixed levels for a club sound system. We had to turn everything down quite a bit, it was overloading the iPhone. Other than that, it was similar to mixing a tune.

How much were you involved in the set up and layout of the app?
We all were involved in the photo process, Brian, Jason, and I. The drum kit and pads needed to visually make sense to hit with your fingers. I made all the sounds, loops, and samples.

What other apps do you want to invent?
I’d like to invent an app that helps with everyday life. For simple things like putting your socks and shoes on. Or maybe something more in-depth, like iPhone laser hair removal, and brewing coffee.

Is it true that you almost French kissed Ellen Degeneres backstage when you played on her show?
Yes.

Get DrumBanger for FREE: The first 5 people to respond to FreeDrumBanger@gmail.com get it for free! (I got the codes for you.) UPDATE: No more codes left. They have all been given away.

Sawka plays tomorrow - Friday, June 12 at Nectar.