There’s something ancient pulsing through the basslines of Killabeatmaker‘s Afro-Colombian folktronica. Born in Medellín, shaped by Venezuela, and rooted in Colombia’s twin coasts; the Caribbean and the Pacific, his sound is a ritual of memory and momentum. Whether layering the primal rhythm of the tambora with modern electronics or remixing Totó La Momposina’s A Pila el Arroz into a celebration of life and loss, Killa’s music is more than fusion. It’s a bridge between ancestors and futures. You don’t just dance to it – you remember something in your bones.
Killabeatmaker recently graced Miami with al electrifying set to remember during our Miami Race Week coffee party rave, BPM: Beats Per Mile at Caracas Bakery. Before he made nearly the entire city tremble with his vibrating live set, we sat down with with the producer, DJ, and folkloric alchemist as he reflected on the feminine energy of drums, the emergence of new Pacific sounds like Exótico, and the fire that Bomba Estéreo lit in him years ago. His message is simple but resonant: in a world pulling toward isolation, music can pull us together. Because no matter the border or beat, we are, as he says, children of Africa. And the rhythm lives in us.
TIGRE SOUNDS: Your sound bridges traditional rhythms like cumbia and currulao with bass and electronics – are there any specific folkloric elements you’re spotlighting in your live set?
KILLABEATMAKER: It’s important to understand that the music that I’m making right now mostly is made by Caribbean coast folkloric instruments and music. We are using gaitas, tambora, alegre, and maracones. This is important because we have two coasts. It’s crazy. El Chocó, which is the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific coast, and the Caribbean. Right now, I’m focused more on Caribbean music.
TIGRE SOUNDS: Is there a classic cumbia track in your set that you feel has set the foundation for how you’ve built your sound?
KILLABEATMAKER: There is a beautiful song that I feel really inspired. Actually, I have a couple of remixes on release. The name is A Pila El Arro’ by Totó La Momposina. It’s a beautiful song about when someone dies, the intention of the ritual is to make a party, not be sad. Also, who is the next one who is going to a pila el arroz because the first one is not with us anymore. It’s a beautiful song, but the crazy thing is it’s sad in a way that it’s about death, but it’s cool because it’s a party and made for dancing and celebrating.
TIGRE SOUNDS: Is there any specific instrument – the tambora, marimba, gaita – anything that has always called you?
KILLABEATMAKER: The tambora. It’s very important because it’s so powerful. It has this feminine energy. Also, it’s performed by my gaitera, and she’s amazing. She knows how to put this sound in the top.
TIGRE SOUNDS: What are some Colombian electronic producers right now that you feel are also breaking boundaries?
KILLABEATMAKER: There is many right now. There is a project called Indux – they are blowing up. It’s amazing. And also a new artist coming called Silva, like Whistle, and he’s mixing electronic music with traditional stuff. He’s so great..
TIGRE SOUNDS: When you think of Miami – this hot pot of Latin and Caribbean sounds that somehow holds all things Colombian too – and the music that all seems to culminate here… is there a track that, for you, defines the spirit or the rhythm of the city?
KILLABEATMAKER: That’s a really good question because it brings me back to… super old things. I feel this kind of vintage biography of Miami, you know? That’s what I’m feeling right now. A song like… yes, yes – Mambo, Mambo, Mambo!
TIGRE SOUNDS: Is there any other traditional genre or Latin rhythm you’re looking to explore?
KILLABEATMAKER: Yes, yes, yes. There’s something I think is emerging – it’s just beginning, and I think it’s going to grow. The name is Exótico, from Chocó. It’s from the Pacific. It’s growing right now. It’s a kind of timbo, a beat made by young people from Chocó, Colombia, and it sounds incredible. Right now, it’s like a small group of people making that sound, but it has a lot of power. Exótico!
TIGRE SOUNDS: Was there a moment, a specific moment, when you said “ajá” in terms of finding your sound?
KILLABEATMAKER: 100%. Fuego by Bomba Estéreo. It changed my life forever. I was making funk music at the time. Then I heard ¡Fuego! ¡Fuego! ¡Manténlo prendido, fuego! and I thought, what the hell is this?! This is wild. It’s incredible. I had the chance to meet Li Saumet and I felt so inspired. I was talking to her, like, “Li, you inspired my music.” She’s so good. What is candela. She’s very costeña.
TIGRE SOUNDS: As a close member of the Tigre Sounds global family, what is a heartfelt message you’d like to share with this community?
KILLABEATMAKER: I think a beautiful message for the community, in general, Colombians, Latinos, all of South America and Central America, is that we must be more united than ever right now. And through music, which is such a powerful channel, we can connect. Because we are children of Africa. If you really look at it, in the end, all of our music, everything you’re hearing out there, has origins in Africa.
So, I think in a world where individuality, artificial intelligence, and superficiality are leading, it’s this powerful energy that came from Africa thousands of years ago, and has now evolved into this global sound, that reminds us to stay together. To be more united than ever. That’s the message. There shouldn’t be any more barriers. There are already too many – borders, visas, all of that. In Latin America, we must be much more united than ever before. That’s what I believe.
Killabeatmaker leaves us with a reminder that beneath the surface of every beat, every drum, every sample, there’s an echo of something ancestral. His music doesn’t just fuse sounds; it fuses people, generations, and geographies. In a world drifting toward division, his sets become ceremonies and spaces where we remember that we are, indeed, children of Africa. In that remembrance, we find connection, celebration, and the power to keep dancing; juntos.
Photos by Mariah Juliah.
