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Molly Morulane
2 days ago

Inside the mind of [kimetsu.]: A Conversation with the Sonic Architect of Love and Incomplete Beings

The first time I heard [kimetsu.], I was scrolling through one of those late-night music deep-dive on Soundcloud. You know the ones—where you don’t really know what you’re looking for but somehow end up finding exactly what you need. It was “SOME FALL IN LOVE...WE DANCE IN IT” that immediately caught me off guard. I was put into a trance and I did not want it to ever stop. From Chipego's harmonising runs, the sounds.....EVERYTHING! I immediately replayed it before it could even end. That’s how it started—a hyper-fixation, soundtracked by this producer-artist whose music felt like it had cracked open my third eye. I was hooked. His sound—raw, layered, and somehow deeply familiar—felt like a calling, deep longing and yearning in music form. That’s the only way I can describe it. And then, one random night, I met him, at Narowbi — a ridiculously cool social event hosted at Arts on Main located in Maboneng. Chatting with [kimetsu.] for the first time felt immediately familiar, like a close friend I've known for the longest time. I found that his energy mirrored his music: thoughtful, grounded, and intriguingly layered. Now at 26, the Johannesburg based, Ivory Park-raised producer has carved out a unique space in the South African alternative music scene, blending Lo-Fi, Jazz, Broken Beat, and Tribal House to create what he describes as "drywall"—daring, uncharted, and emotive. I had the pleasure of chatting with him, diving into his distinct production style, his creative journey, his projects, and his relentless passion for pushing musical boundaries.



The Personal Journey of [kimetsu.]


A photo of baby [kimetsu.]
From the roots of his real name to the spark of the personality that shaped his journey, this baby picture of [kimetsu.] captures the essence of who he is — pure, authentic, and undeniably him.


1. Back to the beginning: What inspired you to start making music, how would you describe your music style in your own words, and what influences have shaped it?


I have always flirted with the idea of music as early as primary school, not with any professional aspirations, but just being the guy that has beautiful drumming progressions on a school desk when the teacher wasn’t in class — it wasn’t until the plight of Covid 19, when my genuine interest was stimulated. My music style is simply to the left, a music connoisseur once called it “drywall” — daring, uncharted & purely emotive. It is, to me, a sonic tell-tale of the life that I have had, and the one that I continue to lead. Influences that have shaped me and my style of music include Lo-Fi, Broken Beat, Jazz & Tribal House Music.



2. Most of your music is found on Soundcloud. What draws you to Soundcloud as your primary platform for sharing music, and how has been the best way of engaging with your online community?


From my mid to late teens, most alternative artists that I loved were big on SoundCloud from Dirty Paraffin to ASAP Shembe, it almost felt like an unwritten rule that I had to follow, but I later discovered that it can double down as a medium that I could use to establish an audience, and a community, especially with the convenience that it provides through its comments’ & direct message functions. SoundCloud has also offered me real time interacting with the music, and its listeners.


3. Can you tell us about your creative process when producing and compiling music? To what extent would you say being South African influences your sound?


Yoh! I think each production is a uniquely beautiful experience — some influences are instantaneous, some are gradually acquired but each song centers me because despite how a song starts, either through jazz samples or broken arrangements, it inherently ends up sounding like me. One detail that’s probably most evident, is my emphasis & care towards my drumming & percussions — that’s easily my favourite aspect in composition, and that’s where I get to dance in the music, especially from someone who comes from a lineage of “Ubungoma”, where drums are at the heart of my music. Being South African is easily the backbone of the palate that I’ve acquired — growing up in the township, has really shaped my ear and appreciation of culture, in practice and in song. Most of my favourite artists and the ones that I continue to look up are born and based in South Africa.



4. Congratulations on the success of your previous project, "WE FALL IN LOVE... AS THESE INCOMPLETE BEINGS”. Can you walk us through the concept and build- up behind it?


Thank you — the name behind the project is an extract from “unmet”, a spoken word performance from Sio, off of her debut album, sbtxts. The line as a standalone stood out to me because it was a lived experience, and honestly still continues to be — it was a body of work that I had hoped to detail my ups & downs in love, from different places & perspective. The build-up was probably the most exciting that I’ve ever experienced, from penning down the concept to reaching out to Candice Myataza, who illustrated the cover art, and Tebello Nku who contributed a lot aesthetically to the project, I was so excited to be actively collaborating with some of my favourite creatives in the country. Once the design had be established, I reached out to Eartha, Chipego, Johnny Wxlf, Girlthewoman & laradá with hopes of having them tell the story with me, and they all were keen on doing this with me. I dropped the feature list two weeks before release, the track list one week before release, an article feature, the day before release — which all really contributed to the excitement & active engagement with the project once it dropped.



5. From this project, can you elaborate on your own experiences with love that you've explored in this project, from unrequited to mutually felt love?


“SELAH...” which is the opening song, really touches on the unrequited nature of love from the voice of Eartha — a theme in love that I’ve experienced quite a bit, a theme that most people really shy from having conversations about. At the time of the composition of the project, I was falling in love with someone that later decided that I’m not worthy of their love, so this piece made so much sense in my head. The song with Chipego is almost a victory song in acceptance of the love that could be — almost establishing control over one’s experiences in love, choosing to “DANCE” in love rather than “FALLING” in it, but with that, looms a rage, that’s a close parallel to what loving is, and Johnny Wxlf eloquently articulates these repeatedly with me in sonics. But there’s hope for mutual love, and Girlthewoman harmoniously brings these feelings of hope to life on the interlude. laradá moves swiftly from the physical experience with love, to a spiritual one with “IMIMOYA YEZI PHEPHO” and the last record is probably my most vulnerable from all of these, and easily the most self explanatory.



6. "WE FALL IN LOVE... AS THESE INCOMPLETE BEINGS” — a deluxe edition, follows the release of the first edition of your project. What growth do you see in your own artistry during the making of both releases? Can you share a personal moment of growth or realisation that came from creating this body of work?


Beyond the themes explored in the initial project, the deluxe took a darker approach towards the colourful nature of the initial project — the artist prior to making the deluxe would’ve never explored love from the context of grief & loneliness, in their most bare sense. From the song with atlii, she speaks to love as it weaves. Soul Rich tackles it from a loss through still birth and/or miscarriage. Girlthewoman speaks on the angel form, whilst alma is being alma really...emotion beyond just words. The growth for me came from the bareheaded and heartedness in exploring these themes.




7. What's the significance of the title "WE FALL IN LOVE... AS THESE INCOMPLETE BEINGS" , and how exactly did you approach the sonic, visual, and aesthetic aspects of this project to create a cohesive experience?


Phew! that’s a tough one, but words like “BEING” speaks toward the experience of being beyond one of physical existence, because I could’ve easily said “HUMAN” and with “WE” as a pronoun, it’s inclusive in the state that it’s not just me but multiple versions & forms of me in this experience. Sonically, the texturing, the layering, the composition & the arrangement — the songs were written and abandoned, in their most incomplete sense for collaborative work...

Visually & Aesthetically — the collaboration with Candice Myataza & Tebello Nku really was a beautiful one. From the colour scheming, to how the cover form would take shape, the layers would take eons to peel!



8. What exactly is it about Sio's spoken word piece "unmet" that inspires your body of work, and what resonated with you about the theme of incomplete beings in love?


Beyond how it’s inspired the titling — the diction, the tone, the mood, the delivery & sound devices are those that I truly fell in love with most. I could see myself in that prose — it was like the piece was written with me in mind, and I just knew that I had to write to, but in ways that I best could, through composition, and have other artists help me communicate and speak my resonance with the piece in song.



9. How did you assemble your dream team of collaborators, and what drew you to each of their unique talents?


Friendship — I think I have a unique, special friendship with each talent, having been introduced to Chipego in 2021, Eartha & laradá in 2022, and Girlthewoman & Johnny Wxlf in 2023. They have all grown to have really special real estate in my heart. Individually, Chipego has these beautiful grassroot textures, the kind that only a rural girl from Lusaka could have & the marriage with my music is always a special encounter! Eartha is easily of my favourite writers of all time & as a fan of his writings, it’s always an indelible moment whenever I have him write something with me — his delivery & calm approach to cadence is always in contract with my abrupt approach to EQ & automation! It always makes sense, somehow. laradá (phew!), is also another one of one — their inherent ability to go off on a record & still maintain their calm real life extension is always special to witness & on this record, she took me & hopefully the rest of the world to a divine scenery. Johnny Wxlf was a match made by chance — a tweet by Bonsai from Under Pressure Sundays citing a dream collaboration between us two, was the start of my experience with Johnny Wxlf, having reached out only to find he’s been hitting me up & the rest was history! His care & meticulous contributions to our collaborations are why we’re gonna be working together till the end of time. As far as Girlthewoman, I have to thank Jinji for introducing me to their work when they did — all it took was one song for me to know that she has to be part of the project. When I reached out & she was kind enough to give me their time of day. I had an idea for this sample from like 1981 & having arranged it, she was the first that I thought of — had this Joda Kgosi interlude that had the exact textures that I would have wanted but Girlthewoman really took it levels higher than where imagination had peaked.



10. How has your journey as an artist/producer been so far, especially within the South African music industry? Any challenges and what have you learned along the way?


Honestly, it was hard having to establish a base of people that’ll subscribe to the music that I make — I had to think through my presentation & make allowance for time to grow & nurture an audience. With that, I had to sacrifice building a discography on DSPs and by extension, missing out on opportunities that had DSP releases as a prerequisite. The biggest challenges are mostly regarding finances. Since we are an unregulated and volatile market, it’s really challenging to monetise due to lacking access to opportunities that could potentially pay and/or getting gigs. On the upside, seeing your growth in real time, and finally getting to realise your assumed potential is such a fulfilling experience. Above all, what I’ve learnt is to remain true to myself and the messages that I carry in my music — that the music is never written in isolation and that there’ll always be people that see me. I love, respect, and will always be appreciative of those people too.



11. We are all curious. What is the significance of the construction of your stage name, [kimetsu.], what made you stylise it that way?


Yoh! that’s such an interesting question to ask — I think it’s mostly because I want to direct the attention to the music rather than to me, as the name is extension of me & the music that I make, besides inherently looking so cool. I think having it in brackets emphasises that it’s an extension and also, since 'Kimetsu' is such a popular name on the internet, having it stylised like that, helps make being identifiable much easier.



12. What's one thing you want your supporters to know about you that they might not already know?


That I am anything but mysterious. I think I write a lot about my feelings in description of my music. If there’s one thing that I feel I haven’t really articulated well towards them, is the love that I have for them, and for them to know that they hold some real estate in my heart — The comments, the excitement to see me, the showing up for shows, the voluntary sharing of my music, and the unwavering support that they have & continue to show towards me, has really gotten me through some of my most darkest times.



13. Which artists or bands do you wish to work with in the near future?


There’s so many if I am to be honest, and from so many culture, influences & genres even.

As far as artists go, I would like to collaborate with artists like Mag’Oveni, PHILA DLOZI, Buhlebendalo, Bafana Nhlapho, Koketso Poho, Nandi Zulu, Bruce Loko, St Germain, Tomahawk Bang, Four Tet, Bonobo & Amukelani M amongst others. There’s just so many yoh!

With bands, Babble Hume & Wav Gardn are probably at the top of the list — I am equally drawn to SPAZA, The Ancestors & Iphupho L’ka Biko too.



14. [kimetsu.], your music and artistry are widely admired. However, even the most talented creatives face moments of drought or uncertainty. How do you overcome creative slumps or periods where inspiration seems scarce? Are there specific rituals, practices, or experiences that help you tap back into your creative flow?


When I started making music, the slumps used to get to me because I had expectations of myself to create all the time. Over time, I, however learnt to embrace these as opportunities to sit back and enjoy the music that I’ve made, because an artist rarely gets time to enjoy their work if they’re constantly working on their next one. As far as getting back into my creative flow, I’m fortunate enough that I’m inspired at ease — it could be a sound, a picture or motion picture, it could be a scent or it could be a conversation. I rarely run out of stories to tell because everyday, is a new episodic experience. The only onus on me is to submit and surrender at will, in creating from those influences. Frozen Yogurt & some treats also help too.



15. Your music has already shown a remarkable range. Are there any genres or styles you'd still like to experiment more in the future? Perhaps something you've been fascinated by but haven't had the chance to dive into yet?


I recently got put onto Tsonga EDM and my my my...to say that I am blown away would be understatement! There’s something special about how they design their drumming & how it progresses — it’s a palate that’s uniquely ours but equally one that could crossover into Ibiza at any point! It’s too fast for me sometimes, but I hope to dabble with it one day when my skill set matches my taste in music. The end goal for me is to ultimately transition into being an experimental jazz artist.


[kimetsu.] discography cover art, courtesy of Soundcloud.


16. How do you balance creativity with commercial appeal in your music and the tension between creating art for personal fulfilment and sharing it with the world, potentially inviting scrutiny?


I have always perceived my music as an acquired taste to be honest and that has always given me the pass to create anything and everything that my heart desires — with this being informed by the notion that it will find its people, visa versa. Commercial viability isn’t something that I create in conscience of, but I think the introduction of vocal influences, visual palates & aesthetic nuances within music, help with appealing to that set of the audience while actively nurturing the core, non-commercial audience. I write in detail about the music that I make — to provide an extension, and sometimes, almost a breakdown, which not only provides a wider understanding of the music but equally offers a base for the critic to equally exist. The scrutiny will always exist — the only thing that I can do is to grow with it, and it helps that I am teachable and always willing to learn.



17. Which artists are you currently listening to?


Phew! there’s a lot at the moment, and I have to create playlists all the time so I know who to listen to and when — billy woods, E L U C I D & MIKE are probably my most played when it comes to rap internationally, but locally, H’ & Them, BABA KUSHI, Nangu Envy, Willing Listeners Forum, akirainfinite & thebookofeugene are who I listen to religiously. The Kujenga album has also been on high rotation, alongside with “From The Fire” by Audrey Powne and “First Light” by Village Of The Sun. “Forever, Green In Me” has also found a home in my library lately. Obviously, “St Germain” by St Germain is always an album that I make reference to with respect to texture. One of my most played albums this year is “Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace” by Shabaka. The best way to know what I’m listening to by getting me to curate a playlist.



18. If you could curate a music festival with any lineup, who would you headline and why?


That’s an easy one — I would have Shakaba & The Ancestors headlining. Their ability to tell the black experience from a black perspective, is one like no other and I’d ideally would have them co-headlining with Iphupho L’ka Biko, SPAZA & Nduduzo Makhathini, for a black experience that’s truly and authentically ours, especially since they dabble in messages beyond just the music, but they speak with respect to matters like black spirituality, land expropriation, decolonisation of our education system, and other socio-political issues.



19. What's next for [kimetsu.].? Any upcoming projects, lives or collaborations we can look forward to?


Growth — [kimetsu.] is stepping out of his cocoon & looking to explore more of his taste through collaboration with artists beyond and above the circle of alternatives. [kimetsu.] is dabbling more in visual storytelling through scoring film & other forms of motion picture. As far as projects, I had an album written out which had about 22 collaborations which included super talented musicians like Enocs Mae, Lia Butler, keyywav, 500., alma del niño & ssynths amongst others, but I lost my laptop so that as a concept might be out of the window and I might have to pen a new one altogether, but I am writing music and might surprise you one of these days. I have a song titled “UWMA” which features Ofentse Moses Sebula on the saxophone & Sigcobise Mbatyoti on vocals, and it’s set to drop on SoundCloud with Saccharine Radio. Thereafter, I have a song with Sonder the Africanime titled “FOOTWORK kaMATANASA” and that’s scheduled to go on all DSP's sometime in 2025. My songs and projects asides, I do have production credits on the forthcoming sergiodeartist and Chipego projects, so you must definitely be in anticipation of those two.



20. Lastly, What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?


Bathong! Mos lenna I’m an aspiring musician myself. However, if there’s one that I can definitely prescribe to anyone that’s starting out, is for them to be patient with their art — it’s takes a lot of time & practice to establish a sound. It’s not something that happens by chance, and making allowance for such is a lifelong investment. Being inspired is inherent, but carving a palate of your own from that, without sounding like the influence — that’s where the real gold is.



The Reader's Mention:

In recent weeks, [kimetsu.] has released his new body of work titled 'I DON'T WANT TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN COS I GOTTA BE VULNERABLE & SHHT - DON'T REALLY FCUK WITH THAT'. Speaking from my own listening experience - this new release is nothing short of amazing! It's raw, it's real, it's fearless, and drenched in emotional honesty, sharing the vulnerability, struggles and discomfort in navigating love’s unrelenting demands through a culturally rich use of language.


This features collaborations with Zango Kubheka, Chipego, DoxThe_Maverick & Zobisto, LUNGĒLWA and amongst various artists. With hypnotic vocals, confessional lyrics and remarkable production, [kimetsu.] continues to make a bold statement on love, connection and self-awareness through unfiltered sonic experiences.




👀 One last special mention… the deluxe of 'I DON’T WANT TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN COS I GOTTA BE VULNERABLE & SHHT - DON’T REALLY FCUK WITH THAT' is cooking, and knowing [kimetsu.], its gonna hit extra different and about to dig deeper. More raw, more layers, same vibes but evolved. Stay tuned. 🖤




⭐ Catch up with [kimetsu.] on Instagram: @congasplylations


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