KARABA Brings Soulful Storytelling to the Global Afro-House Scene

KARABA has been making waves in the global electronic music scene since she released her first EP, Déliverance, in 2022, followed by the EP Souvenirs in 2023. Growing up in France until age seven, when her family immigrated to Montreal, KARABA’s childhood was steeped in music. Her Congolese father played the hits from his homeland, her French-Italian mother loved Motown, shaping her sound into an eclectic blend of international influences.

Her third EP, Tides, has the rhythmic rises and anticipated beat drops that make a body move, but it is also dance music that inspires deep thought. Tides represents an aquatic journey into KARABA’s psyche, powered by moody percussion and mystical vocals. It’s the thinking person’s dance music—introspective and immersive, with an irresistible energy. In our Winter 2025 issue, KARABA spoke to 3 magazine about making the career jump from dancer to DJ. Here, over a video call from L.A., where she’s now based, she dives deep into her art and inspiration.

Where did your journey as a DJ begin?

I toured with artists such as Drake, Selena Gomez and Camila Cabello as a professional dancer for years, living that high-energy life. I got to travel the world and it was an incredible chapter. As dancers, we embody another artist’s story, but deep down, I wanted to start telling my own. Music was always at the heart of what I did, so DJing became the next natural step for me. It was a way to take everything I’d learned from movement and performance and translate it into sound and energy. By 2018, I felt the pull toward something more personal. The dance community is so diehard, but evolving outside of the profession can sometimes be viewed negatively.

Do you have a talisman you carry with you when times are hard?

When I decided to transition from being a professional dancer to a DJ, I felt alone. I was on tour with Camila, and I remember seeing elephant symbols everywhere. I wondered, What is this all about? After doing some research, I learned that elephants are never alone; they live in close-knit tribes. It felt like a sign saying, ‘You’re not alone. Your tribe is always with you.’ That’s when I decided that this would be my last tour and I got the elephant tattoo on my forearm as a reminder of that journey. Music has become my outlet to tell my story now, and when I look at my tattoo, I know I made the right choice.

What does movement mean to you as an artist now that you’re making music?

I was always moving as a kid. When I was seven, my family moved to Canada from France and I remember being an immigrant family and having to figure out all these new things together. I felt like my only way to escape any hardships we were going through was through dance. I’ve always carried that feeling with me deeply.

I want to recreate that feeling for the crowd whenever I produce music or play a DJ live set. When I’m behind the decks, it’s the same rush I used to feel on stage but, this time, I’m the one creating the emotion, setting the tone and guiding the experience. It’s like choreographing energy in real time. When I hit the flow during a live set and the crowd is dancing and vibing, it feels like I’m on cloud nine. It’s an incredible feeling to be able to create that moment of escape for others.

After a 2024 Juno nomination for Underground Dance Single of the Year for “Mad Mess” off your second album, you released Tides in May. It’s a narrative told through water imagery from the first track, “Into the Sea,” to the fifth and final track, “Surfacing.” What was the inspiration?

I watched a documentary on Netflix called The Deepest Breath about the extreme sport of freediving deep in the ocean without any oxygen. I was going through a tough moment in my life and it struck me because it’s like a metaphor for how, sometimes, you have to go all the way down to the bottom and face your fears before you can push yourself back up. In the documentary, they said that when you’re ascending back up through the water is when it’s actually the hardest because you have the pressure on your lungs. And I thought, “I feel like that right now. How can I interpret that feeling of being submerged in water into music?”

I also really wanted to dig deep into the electronic sound because my other projects had different vibes. With Tides, I wanted to solidify my sound as an electronic producer.

How has your sound evolved since your first two EPs?

Déliverance was me trying out anything to see what worked. The second EP, Souvenir was a love letter to my inner child. I was inspired by my dad’s Congolese background and I really wanted to connect with the music I listened to as I grew up. There’s a more celebratory sound on those EPs than on Tides, which is darker and moodier, with less of an influence from my childhood.

Electronic dance music, whether it’s Afro-house or trance or techno, is often considered “fun,” with no story or message behind it. Why did you want to bring your personal journey and vulnerability to your music?

I always want to stay connected to how I feel and the things I go through when I make music. When I used to be a professional dancer, I could let out a lot of emotions through my body. It’s funny because while my team supports me, they say, “Okay, it’s fun to do a project, but sometimes we should just do singles.” And I have a hard time randomly putting out singles because I like to tell a story. For me, it’s important.

I want people to look back at Tides and say, “She was trying to say something with this EP.” Dance taught me discipline, performance and presence and all of that shaped the kind of DJ I’ve become. Now, when I play, I feel that same sense of storytelling and connection, just through a different medium.

To get a sense of her unique tastes and style, check out this KARABA-curated playlist.