INTERVIEW:
KSMBA
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IT has been a thrill and pleasure…
interviewing the wonderful Sydney-born, Melbourne-based producer, D.J. and vocalist, KSMBA (Bella Kasimba). With You is a brilliant single that explores vulnerability, intimacy, and the power of genuine human connection. Their rise through Australia’s Electronic music scene is wonderful to see. I was a big fan of the single, Touch, and With You is a resolution to that song. Beyond radio play and success there, KSMBA was named Mixmag’s Artist to Watch for 2026, selected as a triple j Unearthed Feature Artist, and appeared on the cover of 10 Magazine Australia’s Music Issue in collaboration with Chanel. I was keen to learn more about this incredible multi-talented D.J. and producer. Whether there is more music coming. Dig a little into their musical tastes and loves I am also keen to see KSMBA in the U.K., as there is definitely a waiting and adoring fanbase here. You can follow KSMBA on Instagram and TikTok. I think that next year is going to be such a massive and successful one for KSMBA. A real honour to discover more about…
THIS wonderful human.
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Hi KSMBA. How are you doing? What has your week been like?
Hello!
I am doing quite well, thank you. I am currently getting my hair braided, catching up on some admin bits, and moodboarding on Pinterest. This week has been a beautiful balance of finalising things for my next single and working on new music. I had my voice lesson yesterday too which is always so eye opening, and stayed up probably too late (as always) comping vocal takes.
Before discussing your music, what have been your highlights from this year?
The highlights of this year have actually been quite internal. I have put an enormous amount of work into my song writing, my vocals, and really honing in on the vision I have for KSMBA. Looking back at this time last year, all of these aspects have evolved so much. I feel much more assured in what I’m creating, what I want to say, and where I want to take this project.
The other big highlight has been building the team around me. I have started working with the most brilliant manager, and it has been so beautiful seeing how much this has allowed things to grow and expand. Having someone else in the trenches with me, who wholeheartedly believes in what I am doing, has given me a lot of confidence and more mental space to be creative. I also recently signed with agents in the U.S. and Asia as well as a new agent for Australia, and I'm extremely excited to be beginning plans for my first overseas shows and building out my Australian live strategy.
“With You is about allowing yourself to be completely seen by someone else, and the bliss that comes with surrendering to that connection”
Tell me a bit about your latest track, With You. It comes after a successful and busy period of touring. Did your time on the road influence the track at all?
I wrote With You in July last year actually, so it’s been sitting on my hard drive for a while. I definitely get inspired from playing shows , but my songs are a bit like a journal for me, so they are often born out of a feeling or an experience that I find myself needing to process or express.
With You is about allowing yourself to be completely seen by someone else, and the bliss that comes with surrendering to that connection.
I loved Touch, and the track received amazing feedback. As With You is out, are there plans for an E.P. or anything else before the end of the year?
Thank you!! I love Touch as well.
At the moment, I'm continuing with singles (the next one will be out in early December!), but I am also working on an E.P. for next year that I am so unbelievably excited about.
I had lunch with the amazing Francois Tetaz earlier in the year, and something he said to me REALLY unlocked a shift in how I approach songwriting. It was along the lines of “say what it is you are wanting to say”. Such a simple concept, but surprisingly difficult in practice!
That’s really been my guiding light the last few months. I’ve been pushing myself to be more direct, more adventurous, and less concerned with what I think I’m ‘supposed’ to make. I’m very excited for people to hear where that’s been taking me.
“I also think being so involved in music my whole life has meant my imagination has always been given space to roam free”
How does being a D.J. impact your music? Is there this close relationship between the two?
This is a great question, and something I think about a lot. There’s both positive and negative aspects. I think DJing can sometimes make you think inside a particular framework for the types of songs you can/should make, how they should be structured, and even what they should communicate. I have been spending a lot of time consciously challenging those expectations in my music.
On the other hand though, DJing gives you an instinctive understanding of how music moves people physically, and it is so valuable to be able to test out tracks on a dancefloor, feel how people respond to it, then take that knowledge back into the studio.
Ultimately, I want to make music that works on a dancefloor, but I don't want the dancefloor to dictate the limits of what I create.
I spotlighted you late last year, but you have had a very busy 2026. What have been your highlights from this year? What was it like being named Mixmag Artist to Watch for 2026?
Being named one of the Mixmag Artists to watch for 2026 was very special, especially so early on in my career. When you are building something from the ground up it can be very hard to stop and look around and see the progress you have made, but something like this is a beautiful reminder that things are starting to resonate with people.
In many ways I feel I am only just getting started, and this just adds more fuel to my fire!
I am always keen to shine a light on amazing D.J.s. and producers. I know you are classically trained and graduated from London’s Royal College of Music. How important do you think this education and experience has impacted and informed your sets?
I absolutely do not think that formal music training is a requirement to be an artist, or more specifically a D.J. or producer, but it has been a huge part of my own journey.
Music has always been the centre of my life. My earliest memories are sitting at my family piano and making up songs, and forcing whoever was around to be my audience. The path that I found as a kid was to pursue music through an instrument so I put all of my determination and energy into that.
I think pursuing anything at a high level teaches you a huge amount. Discipline, how to work at something, getting comfortable with setbacks, working collaboratively. I also think being so involved in music my whole life has meant my imagination has always been given space to roam free.
At this point, I can’t separate what is a result of my training versus what is just me, but I have enormous gratitude for that chapter of my life.
I guess there is this greater depth and musicality to you compared to some D.J.s? Obviously music was a big part of your early life. What was it that compelled you to become a D.J., rather than, say, become a Classical musician or become part of a symphony?
I wouldn’t necessarily say so! I think that the craft of DJing in its purest form is its own art form.
I think what I'm trying to build is slightly outside of that framework though. Creating music is really at the core of what I do, and for that my background has without a doubt shaped how I approach things.
There wasn’t one definitive lightbulb moment, but more a gentle unravelling as I let my curiosity and instincts lead me. I knew I wanted to write music and I knew I wanted to share that music and perform. Once I began the initial exploration of the kind of music I wanted to make, DJing was the natural first step.
I don’t think DJing will be the only way I perform live though and I’m excited to explore things beyond the DJing booth.
“I think it’s this experience, more than any specific musical tradition, that has informed how I see the world, and in turn, the music I make”
There is still gender inequality when it comes to festival bills and exposure. In terms of polls and the ‘best D.J.s’ lists, (white) men still dominate. Often, you have been the only member of a line-up who is Black, queer and gender-diverse. Do you feel things are improving or changing, and what does the industry need to do? Perhaps still a boys’ club, do male D.J.s need to show more allyship and stop solely bigging-up their male peers?
This is a huge question , and I can’t speak definitively on whether things are changing since I’m still relatively new to this, and my experience has predominately been in Australia.
So-called ‘Australia’ has an extremely shameful history that has never been adequately reckoned with, and one that many white Australians are still unwilling to confront honestly. It would be naïve to imagine that the music industry somehow exists outside of these broader structures, so of course this is reflected in who is getting booked and who gets platformed.
As the brilliant Audre Lorde said, “the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house”.
I don’t know the answer, and in order to mentally stay afloat I try to focus on my own personal sphere of influence and where I feel I have something to contribute. My hope is that by putting myself wholeheartedly into my music and my career, showing up with all the facets of myself, and doing what I can to uplift others, I can create an environment where others feel they can do the same.
Ultimately though, meaningful change requires the people who currently hold power to question who they’re giving opportunities to, whose perspectives they value and why.
Talk to me about your Ugandan heritage and roots. You have said that “I wholeheartedly believe that dance music is a place that can foster a lot of really beautiful things”. Is this tied to your Ugandan heritage, or is that influence more felt in the country’s strong traditions around drumming and dancing and how you have incorporated that into your music?
You know I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently while I’ve been writing new music and thinking more deeply about the stories that I want to tell.
I’ve never lived in Uganda; my lived experience more so is that of being a third-culture kid. Navigating the space between different cultures and identities. Not quite belonging here, not quite belonging there. I think it’s this experience, more than any specific musical tradition, that has informed how I see the world, and in turn, the music I make.
As we head towards the end of this year, what have you set your sights in for 2027? Maybe in terms of new music or a venue that you have always wanted to play?
Lots of new music, my first international shows, and continuing to expand the KSMBAverse!!!
Are there any gigs or tour dates booked for the U.K. soon, as you have a big fanbase here?
Nothing locked in yet, but getting back to the U.K. to play is very high on my list!
Finally, and for being a good sport, you can name a song (one that is not your own) and I will end the interview with it. What shall we go with?
I’m going to have to cheat and name two songs. Tinashe’s Too Easy, and Nina Simone's I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free . Both living on repeat in my head.