Heart, emotion and passion instead of pure functionality: these are Tama Sumo's DJ characteristics in a nutshell.
Tama got her start DJing in 1993 at Berlin / Kreuzberg's legendary Drama Bar, which was one of the first bars to ever feature DJs on the weekend, quickly establishing the space as an important pre-club hang out for the emergent Berlin scene. Drama was one of the few venues playing house music at a time when techno was dominating most of the other clubs and bars and Tama became known for playing New York style vocal house and quickly became a regular DJ behind the decks at the gay Saturdays at Café Moskau as well. In early 1994 she began to play often at the legendary Club Globus/Tresor where she was a resident DJ for the next decade. At that time, Tama began to integrate different electronic music genres into her house sets, a mixture, she constantly improved on over the years & which still plays a significant role in her current sets.
Since 2001 Tama Sumo played frequently at the Dance With The Aliens party at OstGut, Berghain's predecessor club, which eventually opened the door to a residency at the new Panorama Bar & Berghain shortly after the new club opened. She developed a varied style ranging from House, Disco, Techno, a smidgeon of Detroit Electro and Pop. “Music for me is something very subjective and I always attempt to
approach it with my intuition & heart,” Tama Sumo comments. “To be a DJ for me means to be in touch with the audience without words and to interact with the crowd and give them what they need whilst staying true to myself at the same time. It’s also fundamental to my work that I succeed at letting the music, the crowd and myself run freely. I have to turn off my head and go with the flow. I love to create and play with different moods and atmospheres. And I’m still fascinated by the fact that music can release a huge amount of energy and fun.”
At the beginning of 2008, she released her first record, a collaboration with Prosumer for the Ostgut label. In 2012 she remixed South Sudanese singer & activist Mary Boyoi's “Zooz” (Su?d Electronic) and together with Lakuti & The Neighbourhood Character she formed Tarantism and remixed the Knife's “Ready To Lose” (Rabid Records, 2014). In 2021 Tama Sumo and Lakuti released "An Ode to Audre“ as part of the "Fuenfzehn + 1“ Compilation on OstGut Ton. The duo also did a remix for Barbie Bertisch’s "Fertile Garden (Emerge)“ on New York’s Love Injection Records in 2022.
2013 saw Tama Sumo and Lakuti curating a number of Friday nights at Berghain’s Panorama Bar, and in 2015 the couple started their Your Love events in London. Your Love now also happens in Panorama Bar once every quarter. The nights focus strongly on the idea of a community coming together and celebrating the rich tapestry of music. We are now as likely to see Tama Sumo on the line-ups for the best international festivals as we are at Panorama Bar because her thoughtful and empathic approach to the dance floor has resonated throughout the world.
