caribbean
SUMIA Fire Without a Mask
The first thing you notice about SUMIA is not the bassline, even though it can shake a warehouse to its foundation. It is the fire. Raw, restless, and unapologetic, her energy is impossible to ignore. She does not ease into a set; she sets it ablaze, throwing herself into a sound that feels less like a genre and more like a release.
Her transformation from hypnotic layers into the raw force of complex dance was not a rebrand. It was instinct, born out of chaos, travel, and the intensity of life itself.
“At some point, hypnotic layers just weren’t enough to carry what I wanted to express. The scene, my travels, the chaos of life around me… all of that pushed me toward something more raw and explosive.”
The Istanbul-born artist has become a central figure in hard dance’s new wave, but her story is deeply personal. Every track, every distorted vocal, every kick carries fragments of her own experiences: heartbreak, rage, freedom, rebirth. SUMIA does not hide behind the music. She reveals herself through it.
Her rise has been fierce, marked by appearances at EXIT Festival, ADE, and Amnesia, as well as collaborations with Matrixxman and B2Bs with Indira Paganotto and AIROD. At the same time, her work with Volx and her new tran- ce-focused imprint Kissnbite Records shows that she sees rave culture as more than entertainment. For her, it is activism, a way of creating community, planting trees, raising funds, and proving that music can heal as much as it can overwhelm.
What follows is SUMIA’s story in her own words. The shift that rewired her sound, the vulnerability of using her own voice, the contradictions that shape her productions, and the vision she carries for the future of hard dance. Because SUMIA is not chasing formulas or titles, she is chasing honesty. And that honesty is fire without a mask. Transformation of Sound
SUMIA’s evolution was not born in a single moment. It was a pressure building quietly until it could no longer be contained. The hypnotic layers that once defined her sets and productions eventually felt too restrained for the energy she needed to release. What came next was not a strategic shift, but a raw expression of who she had become.
“It wasn’t one single moment. It was more like an energy that kept building inside me. At some point, hypnotic layers just weren’t enough to carry what I wanted to express. The scene, my travels, the chaos of life around me… all of that pushed me toward something more raw and explosive. It wasn’t a calculated rebrand; it was me listening to my own pulse. Hard dance became the way to let all of that intensity out.”
This new chapter is less about genre than about truth. SUMIA refuses to be boxed in by labels, describing her sound not as a style but as a mirror. For her, tracks are not built from formulas; they are carved out of lived experience.
“My sound is a mirror of my life. Every track is a piece of what I’ve been through: chaos, freedom, heartbreak, energy, rebirth. It doesn’t come from formulas; it comes from who I am and what I carry inside me. That’s why people don’t just hear kicks and synths. They feel my
story, my fire, my contradictions. My sound is me, raw and unfiltered. And honestly, if someone wants to judge my style, they don’t even need to listen to my music. Feeling me is enough.”
This philosophy explains why her performances feel less like shows and more like confrontations with emotion. SUMIA is not just pushing BPMs. She is translating her own contradictions into rhythm, forcing the dancefloor not only to move but to feel.
In a world where most producers rely on synths and sam- ples to speak for them, SUMIA chooses the most vulne- rable instrument of all: her own voice. It cuts through the distortion not as decoration but as confession. Whether robotic, filtered, or raw, her vocals carry the weight of li- ved experience.
“Most of the vocals you hear in my tracks, even the robotic ones, are mine. I write the words and I record them, even if they’re processed with effects. My voice is the most per- sonal instrument I have because it comes straight from my experiences and emotions. Every lyric is tied to something I’ve lived, so recording it feels like leaving a piece of my life inside the track.”
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AUTHOR: SERGIO NIÑO PHOTOGRAPHY: ARTIST COURTESY
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