Maaike Kito Lebbing, known professionally as Kito, is an Australian record producer, songwriter and DJ currently based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Kito originally debuted in 2009 on

Skream Oliver Dene Jones (born 1 June 1986), known as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream was an early and influential exponent of the dubstep genre. After producing several singles, he released his first full-len ...

's record label Disfigured Dubz. After independently releasing an EP in 2018 called ''Haani'', Lebbing debuted under Astralwerks/

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, releasing singles featuring

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Fletcher Fletcher may refer to: People * Fletcher (occupation), a person who fletches arrows, the origin of the surname * Fletcher (singer) (born 1994), American actress and singer-songwriter * Fletcher (surname) * Fletcher (given name) Places United ...

, Zhu and

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...

. She has created official remixes for Beyoncé's "

Run the World (Girls) "Run the World (Girls)" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé, from her fourth studio album '' 4'' (2011), released as the lead single from the album on April 21, 2011. It was written and produced by R&B singer The-Dream and Beyoncé, w ...

" (2011),

Broods Broods is a New Zealand musical duo from Nelson, composed of Georgia Josiena Nott on lead vocals, with older brother and multi-instrumentalist Caleb Allan Joseph Nott on production and backing vocals. They released the single "Bridges", which w ...

' "Too Proud" (2019) and

Wafia Wafia Al-Rikabi (born 4 August 1993), known professionally as Wafia, is an Australian singer-songwriter of Iraqi-Syrian origin. Originally studying biomedicine at university, she began to write songs to escape its monotony. Her breakthrough hit ...

's "Flowers and Superpowers" (2019), and produced music for musicians such as Mabel,

Jorja Smith Jorja Alice Smith (born 11 June 1997) is an English singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Walsall, West Midlands, she has been writing songs since the age of 11. In 2012, Smith's friend uploaded her cover of Labrinth's "Earthquake" to YouTube, ...

Banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

and Ruel, and in 2019 was nominated for the Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year (Los Angeles) at the 2020 Global APRA Music Awards. Between 2011 and 2014, Lebbing released music as a part of the duo Kito & Reija Lee, as well as a collaborative EP with

Feadz Feadz (born Fabien Pianta) is a French music producer, DJ and songwriter currently signed by French music label Ed Banger Records. He combines the genres of hip hop, electronic, techno and French house in his music and frequently collaborates w ...

entitled ''Electric Empire'' (2012). She has had her productions sampled and used in songs by America rap artists

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, T.I. and

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Biography

Lebbing grew up in the small town of

Denmark, Western Australia Denmark is a coastal town located on Wilson Inlet in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-south-east of the state capital of Perth. At the 2016 census, Denmark had a population of 2,558; however, the population can be ...

, and first began producing music as a teenager using

FruityLoops FL Studio (previously known as FruityLoops before 2003) is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. FL Studio features a graphical user interface with a pattern-based music sequencer. The program is availa ...

. At 17, Lebbing moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

to study fashion, however soon quit and began working at a record store while studying music for a year at TAFE. Lebbing began working as a DJ at nightclubs in Perth, and in 2006 travelled to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

for a year, which led her to develop a love of

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

and inspired her to become a full-time musician. In 2008, she debuted her first releases through

's Disfigured Dubz label. Lebbing later sent demos of hers which she had created with friend and vocalist Reija Lee to producer Diplo on MySpace, which caused him to sign them to his label

Mad Decent Mad Decent is an American record label founded by Diplo. The label has helped introduce Brazilian baile funk and Angolan kuduro to clubs around the world. Recently, it has popularized moombahton, a genre of electronic dance music created by D ...

as a duo. Kito & Reija Lee relocated to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 2011, releasing their debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

''Sweet Talk'' in the same year, as well as remixing Beyoncé's "

". Lebbing collaborated with

in 2012 on the EP ''Electric Empire'', and in 2013, rapper

sampled the group's song "Run for Cover" for his song "Females Welcomed", which was also later used as a sample for

, T.I. and

' song "King Shit". The group released a second EP in 2014, ''II'', however disbanded in 2015. Lebbing remained in London and worked as a producer, creating songs for musicians such as Mabel, and worked on

's 2018 debut album '' Lost & Found''. After a break-up in 2017, Lebbing moved back to her hometown in Western Australia, and recorded her second solo EP, ''Haani''. The EP, released in the following year, featured collaborations with musicians such as

Elley Duhé Elley Duhé (born February 14, 1992) is an American singer. Born in Mobile, Alabama, she is best known for her 2018 single "Happy Now" with Zedd, which was certified platinum in the United States, and her 2020 single "Middle of the Night" which ...

and

Hudson Mohawke Ross Matthew Birchard (born 11 February 1986), better known by the stage name Hudson Mohawke, is a Scottish-American producer, composer, and DJ from Glasgow. He is known for his influential work in 21st century hip-hop and electronic music. A ...

. She soon relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and after signing to Astralwerks/

EMI Music Australia EMI Recorded Music Australia Pty Ltd (called EMI Music Australia until May 2013) is an Australian imprint of Universal Music Australia, formerly a subsidiary label of EMI Recordings Ltd and, between 1979 and 1996, that of Thorn EMI. It is Austra ...

released "Wild Girl", a collaboration with

, soon followed by "Alone with You" featuring

. In 2019, Kito was nominated for the Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year (Los Angeles) at the 2020 Global APRA Music Awards. In September 2022, Kito released "Sad Girl Music" featuring

Artistry

Lebbing was influenced by her mother's love of

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...

as a child, as well as

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sh ...

's '' Endtroducing.....'' (1996) and

Dr. Octagon Dr. Octagon is a persona created and used by United States, American rapping, rapper Keith Matthew Thornton, better known as Kool Keith. First appearing on Thornton's 1996 debut solo album, ''Dr. Octagonecologyst''. The album examines the impers ...

's ''

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'' (1996) which were introduced to her by her sister. As a teenager, Lebbing primarily listened to drum and bass and hip hop, and cites Burial as one of the dubstep musicians who influenced her love of the genre.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Remixes

Guest appearances and production credits

References

External links

Official Website

Kito
at

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

Kito
at Facebook {{DEFAULTSORT:Kito Living people 21st-century Australian women musicians 21st-century Australian musicians Australian electronic musicians Australian DJs Australian record producers Australian women in electronic music Drum and bass musicians Dubstep musicians Electro musicians Electronic dance music DJs People from Denmark, Western Australia Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Year of birth missing (living people) Remixers