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 trance-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.

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 samples to speak for them, SUMIA chooses the most vulnerable 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 lived 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 personal 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.”

This decision is not about convenience or experimentation. It is about exposure. For SUMIA, using her own voice is the act of stripping away the mask, of refusing to hide behind production.

“Using my voice is intimate and daring because it strips away the mask. I’m not just producing sounds, I’m exposing myself. And soon I’ll take it further by singing my own tracks live on stage. That’s the next step for me, turning vulnerability into power in front of people.”

Her voice becomes the bridge between producer and audience, between private experience and collective release. In a scene obsessed with speed and volume, SUMIA dares to place fragility at the center, and that is where the actual fire lies.

For SUMIA, the studio has become a place where emotions take shape as rhythm. She does not enter the room to produce simply. She walks in only when there is something inside her that demands to be released.

“When I go into the studio, it usually starts with something I’ve lived through. I don’t go there just to make a track; I go when I feel like I have something to say. Sometimes it begins with a vocal idea, with a groove, sometimes with a sound that matches the mood.”

Perfection is not the goal. What matters is capturing a spark that feels alive. SUMIA measures the worth of a track not by technical polish but by the moment it resonates beyond herself.

“I know a track is done when I play it for my sister Melissa Dust, she’s also a producer, and we end up dancing to it together in the studio. If it makes us move or laugh or just feel something real, then I know it’s finished. For me, it’s not about perfection, it’s about capturing that spark.”

In this process, music becomes not a product but a dialogue. A track begins as an unspeakable feeling, takes shape in sound, and is validated only when it sparks a shared reaction. That is the cycle SUMIA lives for.

SUMIA’s tracks are more than rhythm. They are messages she never sent, emotions she never voiced, experiences that refused to be silenced. Every layer carries the echo of words left unsaid, translated into energy instead of conversation.

“Lately, my personal relationships have shaped me the most. There are so many things I don’t say out of politeness or because the moment passes, but I don’t keep them inside. They end up in my music. Every unsent message, every word I swallow becomes energy I turn into sound. It’s my way of answering without speaking, of turning silence into rhythm.”

This idea of music as language extends far beyond the dancefloor. With her Volx label and its activist projects, from charity releases for earthquake victims to tree-planting in Amsterdam, SUMIA proved that beats can spark more than movement. They can spark change.

“With Volx, I learned that music’s power goes way beyond the dance floor. Charity releases and projects, such as tree planting, showed me that music can unite people and create real change. That same spirit continues now with Kissnbite Records, our trance label. For me, the true power of music is to connect, to heal, to give something back.”

Her collaborations reflect the same philosophy. Working alongside artists with distinct identities such as Matrixxman, Indira Paganotto, and AIROD has been less about sharing a booth than about sharing conviction. Each encounter sharpened her sense of authenticity, while also exposing the challenges of her own intensity.

“Collaborating with artists like Matrixxman, Indira Paganotto, and AIROD has been about more than just music. It’s also about friendship and inspiration. Each of them has such a strong identity, and being around that energy taught me to trust my own. I realized my strength is in authenticity, in bringing my story into every set and track. It also revealed my weaknesses, such as overthinking or pushing myself too hard, but even those became fuel for growth. Having friends like this reminded me that art isn’t about competing, it’s about lifting each other and evolving together.”

Through silence transformed into rhythm, activism evolved into community, and collaboration blossomed into growth. SUMIA has crafted a vision of artistry that is both personal and collective. Her fire burns brightest not alone, but in connection.

Milestones like EXIT, Amnesia, and ADE could each be considered career-defining, but for SUMIA, the real breakthrough was not tied to a single stage. It was the realization that her most actual power came from stepping into her own identity, unfiltered, and watching a crowd respond with the same intensity she poured into them.

“Playing EXIT, Amnesia, and ADE were all milestones, but the real breakthrough wasn’t one stage. It was the moment I realized I could fully trust my own identity up there. The energy from the crowd showed me that what I was doing was truly connected, and that gave me confidence to keep moving forward.”

That confidence earned her a title she never asked for but now carries with grace: the Princess of Hard Dance. For SUMIA, it is a compliment but not a definition. Her music is in constant motion, a reflection of evolution rather than a fixed crown.

“Being called the Princess of Hard Dance is a beautiful compliment, but I don’t want my journey to fit into one definition. My music keeps evolving, and so do I. What matters most is the energy and connection people feel. That’s the real title for me.”

More than power, what she aims to leave behind after each set is intimacy. SUMIA does not view her audiences as faceless masses but as companions in a shared release.

“Beyond intensity and energy. I want people to leave my sets feeling like we shared something real. On stage, I feel what they feel; we’re connected in that moment. I don’t see them as a crowd; I see every dancer and listener as my companion on this journey. What I hope stays with them is a sense of belonging and release, like we went through something together. In the end, that’s what makes the night unforgettable. The music fades, but the feeling stays.”

This is the paradox of SUMIA’s sets: ferocious in energy, yet rooted in tenderness. Her dancefloors are not just spaces of release, but of recognition.

For SUMIA, the future of her sound is not about following trends, but about dissolving the very walls that try to contain it. Hard dance is her foundation, but she refuses to see it as a cage. Each new track, each new set, is another step toward blurring the edges between genres, emotions, and expectations.

“I see my sound moving more freely, blending hard dance with trance, groove, and unexpected textures that surprise both me and the crowd. For me, boundaries exist to be broken, and I feel there are still untouched spaces in how emotional and raw hard dance can get. I want to keep pushing until it feels limitless.”

Her vision of collaboration reflects the same spirit. She is not chasing names for the sake of status, but seeking real sparks with artists who share her drive for honesty and intensity.

“As for dreams, I want to bring my music to stages I haven’t touched yet, places where energy turns almost spiritual. I’m always open to collaborations, but it has to be real. Sharing that spark with artists I truly connect with is what I’m chasing.”

In this pursuit, SUMIA is carving a path that is not just about harder beats or faster tempos. It is about building experiences that collapse the distance between performer and dancer, between chaos and catharsis. The fire she carries has no mask, no limits, and no intention of burning out.