Tama Sumo is the performing name of German tech-house producer Kerstin Egert. She works mainly in house and techno, and her style also includes acid, electro and occasional Italo disco. Her sets often focus on bass, melody and a shifting range of moods rather than a strict divide between house and techno.

Career

She begins DJing in Kreuzberg at a bar called Drama, a venue that becomes important to the local scene and is among the first bars in the area to host its own DJs at weekends. At the time, it is one of the few places in Berlin where house music is played, while techno dominates many other clubs and bars.

She starts with soulful vocal house and then becomes a resident at Globus/Tresor. She also holds a residency at the gay Saturdays at Café Moskau.

From 1997, as a resident at Globus/Tresor, she broadens her style and moves beyond a fixed house-versus-techno approach. From 2001, she regularly plays at the gay and lesbian Dance with the Aliens parties at the old OstGut. At the end of 2004, she becomes a resident at the new Panorama Bar and later at Berghain.

Style

Her DJ work is described as depending on communication, energy and spontaneity. She presents music as a way of creating different atmospheres and of building a shared flow between DJ and crowd. Her sets aim to move freely through contrasting directions, with optimism, swing and a strong low end as recurring elements.