Sumiko “DJ Sunko” Sun
Growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, Sumiko Sun had an undeniable passion for music. Her parents would leave her alone on the floor in the back kitchen to tend the front of the shop where a young Sumiko, even as a toddler, would bang out beats with any surface she could find, always chasing the next sound. Her affinity for tempo only grew with age and they could always find young Sumiko tapping a pencil, a foot, a finger. It didn’t matter if it made a ding, dong, pang, or ping, she would use it to get the sounds in her head out into the world and the faster the pace, the more feverish her commitment and precision of her focus. She had a gift for music, but her humble upbringing prevented opportunities provided to others that shared her talents. That didn’t stop her parents, who saw their daughter as a savant-of-the-beat. They always tried to support her anyway that they could, even if it meant pushing them beyond their meagre means.
Getting expelled from school at 16, Sumiko spent her days working for minimum wage at a local coffee shop and her nights at various clubs, dive bars, weddings, and any other venue available. She honed her craft by taking on any gig she could find, working day and night until she became a known fixture in the New York nightlife scene. As the years spun away, one party after another, Sumiko was on the verge of giving up when, after a last-minute cancellation, they invited her crew to play at the festival taking place that weekend. Seeing this as her last big shot, Sumiko whipped together a special set full of her own remix tracks, put together over the years when she was developing her sound. It was here that she caught the ear of one of her favourite artists and she accepted the invitation to join them on a national tour. With each city they visited, her reputation grew and grew, and soon she was playing in Ibiza and other cities around the world.
Fast track forward several years and the high school dropout from Hell’s Kitchen had become a world-renowned DJ, known for her banging tracks, her wild nights out, and her jet-set lifestyle. No matter where she went, her devil-may-care attitude and fun-loving spirit followed her. On her travels, she took every opportunity to explore new cultures, meet new people, and try new things. On any night, you could find DJ Sunko in a club, surrounded by people from all walks of life, dancing until the sun came up. Loving to entertain, both on and off the stage, from organizing events to bar tending, to hosting after-parties. Sumiko could always find the night scene no matter where in the world she found herself.
Formative – Key Memories 🧠
Learning to DJ in the dark corners of Hell’s Kitchen has been one of the most formative experiences in Sumiko’s young life. Many a time, she found herself in sketchy situations, some of her own doing, some not. One time in particular she was just 18 when a drunk patron tried cornering her after the set, but Sumiko was far from defenceless. Having trained in martial arts since she was a young girl, she easily fought off her attacker and never returned to the venue again. Learning from the experience, Sumiko is careful not to travel alone and is always cautious around those she doesn’t know.
Sumiko will never forget the night she headlined her first sold out show in Ibiza. Looking out at the crowd of fans, glow sticks, and smokey haze, it set the mood for her set perfectly. Remembering how far she’s come since Hell’s Kitchen, and all the potential, and life still to live. Excited for the now and the later all at once her, heart pounded in her chest, threatening to burst all over the equipment. Swallowing hard, she scans the crowd one more time, listening to them chant her name, “Sunko! Sunko! Sunko!”. She puts her fingers into position, closes her eyes and swallows before starting her first track… and just like that, the world melts away and all she can hear is the beat as her hands move across the equipment in a trained frenzy.
There isn’t a party quite like a DJ Sunko party and that’s a fact. Sumiko is renowned for her sick beats and the after parties. We’re talking cannon balls from the roofs into the pool, hundreds of people drinking, screaming, dancing, and otherwise taking the world to the max. Like a modern-day Gatsby, she would spin the night away until the sun came up, sleep, wake, and do it all again. “It’s only a problem till it’s a problem”, was a common phrase she has uttered on more than one occasion after waking in a strange house, bed, and sometimes an entirely different country from where the party started.
Always wanting to see the world, Sumiko has travelled to almost every country accessible by plane that has a club scene. None of this would have been possible without her friend Bekka, a former flight attendant turned travel agent she once met at one of her famous after parties in Paris. Without her, life would be a logistical nightmare, but Bekka knows her stuff and Sumiko never had to worry about a thing. Hotels, venues, flights, rentals, or meals. It didn’t matter; it was always ready to go and Sumiko never needed to do a thing… that is, until Bekka had her kid, and the energy used to support her clients now went to her family. Sumiko now needed to learn to manage these things on her own, a task far harder than it sounds when your nights are spent partying and your days spent recovering.
Interests and Skill
💟[ BMX Biking ] . [ Camping ] . [ Cooking ] . [ Drawing ] . [ Graphic Design ] . [ Hiking ] . [ Hosting After-Parties ] . [ Instagram ] . [ Kundalini Yoga ] . [ Marketing ] . [ Meditation ] . [ Motorbiking ] . [ Mountain Biking ] . [ Music Theory ] . [ Painting ] . [ Philosophy ] . [ Photography ] . [ Poetry ] . [ Politics ] . [ Psychology ] . [ Reading ] . [ Recording ] . [ Rock Climbing ] . [ Skiing ] . [ Social Media ] . [ Sociology ] . [ Spotify ] . [ Travel ] . [ Video Editing ] . [ Writing ] . [ Nightlife Scene ]
🤹[ Airsoft ] . [ Archery ] . [ Bartending ] . [ Chemistry ] . [ Creative Problem Solving ] . [ DJing ] . [ Event Organizing ] . [ First Aid and CPR ] . [ Gymnastics ] . [ Martial Arts ] . [ Music Production ] . [ Networking ] . [ Piano ] . [ Performing Arts ] . [ Remixing ] . [ Self-Defense ] . [ Skateboarding ] . [ Snowboarding ] . [ Socializing ] . [ Sound Engineering ] . [ Surfing ] . [ Swimming ] . [ Poker ]
Growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, Sumiko Sun had an undeniable passion for music. Her parents would leave her alone on the floor in the back kitchen to tend the front of the shop where a young Sumiko, even as a toddler, would bang out beats with any surface she could find, always chasing the next…