Artists [S.U.M.O.]

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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Who are S.U.M.O.?
Combo and Alf Tumble.

So, who’s Combo and who’s Alf?
Combo was born in 1976, astro Sagittarius, in a kitchen (his mother was a chef in a cross-over restaurant in Stockholm). His father being a musician, Combos appetite for music eventually started to grow. With a saxophone he began exploring the world of music, a curiousness that he brought with him into the studio when he teamed up with Alf in 1999.

Alf, nick name Tumble, was born in 1978, astro unknown. He started out as a very ambitious dj in elementary school, striving to get the girls attention. Ten years later, when he met this jazz dude Combo, he realized that you could also earn a buck on music, not only fast love. Together they formed S.U.M.O. and since then Alf has been spinning all over the map, on his own or with Combo, but always in a true tumblin’ style.

And the name S.U.M.O.?
Swedish Underfed Music Operators. The abreviation underlines that they are too skinny to actually call themselves real sumos, even though they both enjoy food.Describe their sound?
They don’t really have one sound. Their curiousness has led them to worlds of afro, jazz and latin, each giving every new production a different sound than the former.

So that’s why their music is supported by a wide range of djs, like Martin Solveig, Rainer Trüby, Roger Sanchez and Gilles Peterson?
That’s possible.

S.U.M.O. don’t sound typical Scandinavian…
That’s right. But they’re truly based in the heart of Sweden. Today there are several talented producers from Scandinavia with alternative perspectives on dance music. So hopefully the idea of the Scandinavian sound is changing. S.U.M.O. are doing their best to help.

So who or what are their main influences?
Since the food that you eat eventually becomes a part of you, they think that food greatly influences what kind of music they produce.

How do they work together?
They don’t actually. In the studio they always work in shifts, never at the same time. It benefits the productions. The song takes a different direction each shift and even though one of them have a clear idea when he starts he can never be sure of the final outcome. This way of working is like starting (or finishing) something new everyday.

S.U.M.O. SESSIONS, what’s that?
Besides dj’ing they have put together a live set together with their favourite Swedish musicians. The composition varies from time to time. Last time the major theme of the set was “Africa”. They always try to make their performances suitable for clubs, which is the best place for people to consume their music.

What are S.U.M.O. doing in five years?
They have always been on the search for the perfect groove. If they have found it by then the world will be dancing. If not, they’ll still be searching.

HISTORY

1999. Combo and Alf meet during a recording session. Sharing the same view on dance music they decide to start working together. Their first production is a remix of Taxi’s “Living on the wire” on the German label Infracom. It is released under the moniker Tumble & Combo.

2000. The guys split up; Combo moves to New York and Alf heads for London. Back in Stockholm 7 months later they decide to pick up where they left things. The result is signed to the NYC-label Trackmode. The name of the record is “S.U.M.O. EP1” and in that moment S.U.M.O. is born.

2001. S.U.M.O. team up with Los Angeles based label Seasons. This is the beginning of a long time relationship which will result in numerous EP’s and the album “S.U.M.O. Workout”. S.U.M.O. move to their first own studio which they call HEYA (Japanese for the house where sumos live, eat and practice).

2002. Inspired by Alf’s success as a dj, Combo joins the game himself. S.U.M.O. get their first big hit, ”Wintersong” featuring Karime Kendra, released on the French label Africanism/Yellow. During the spring of 2002 the guys put together a live act called S.U.M.O. SESSIONS. With Alf on the decks, Combo on the saxophone, their favourite percussionist Thomas Eby (who you can hear on many of their productions) and the multi talanted Rasmus Faber on keys they tour all over Scandinavia.

2003. S.U.M.O. go on a 2 weeks long dj-tour in the States. This years edition of S.U.M.O. SESSIONS features the Ugandan singer and bassplayer Sammy Kasule. The latin explosion ”Samba Consumo” featuring Simone Moreno reaches the number 1 spot in DJ Magazine’s Hype Chart. S.U.M.O. also receive two awards at the Scandinavian Music Conference, one for best act/artist and one for best 12” (Wintersong).

2004. S.U.M.O. go on their second dj-tour in the States ending up at WMC in Miami, where one of the hottest tunes is S.U.M.O.’s own ”Supra Sumo”. It reaches nr 1 at DJ-Mags Hype Chart later in the spring. They also take their S.U.M.O. Sessions to London (UK) and give a performance at the Trans Europe Express Festival. In time for the fall the boys shut the door to HEYA Studios and start working on their remix album to be released on their own label HEYA HIFI early 2005.

S.U.M.O. available at B-KING