SONOS CLUB : ŌKAMI
Named after the Japanese word for wolf, ŌKAMI is the side project of artist Kamī; a space where she channels her fundamental belief that sound is a sacred vessel through which we can find our oneness and liberation.
While ŌKAMI has a deep affinity for the atmospheric and sub-heavy frequencies of dubstep, grime, drill and jungle, you can often find her playfully switching gear into rich global club sounds such as dancehall, bhangra, gqom, Asian dance sub-genres, baile funk and ballroom with plenty of attitude. Occasionally she also dips into her love for jazz and ambient, seeing no limits to the beauty and medicinal quality of sonic expression.
Named one of Mixmag Asia’s ‘artists exciting us in 2025’, her mixes have been featured on the likes of NTS, Foundation FM, Radio Alhara, Reprezent Radio and beyond. A vibrant performer with plenty of raw energy on the decks, she has found her footing spinning across the UK at the likes of The Cause, Corsica Studios, Body Movements, Coalesce Festival and Planet Wax.
The first half of 2026 sees ŌKAMI blazing through sets at London's Phonox and Palais ahead of a string of summer dates in Japan, as well as independent festivals in the UK.
INTERVIEW
What first drew you to DJing, and how has your sound evolved over time?
ŌKAMI: I come from a family of music hoarders so the concept of digging, archiving and curating music has come quite naturally to me, and I spent a lot of time in my younger years burning mix CDs and making themed playlists.
Learning to produce and release music has allowed me to grow into sharing my inner world and more recently learning how to DJ has been a way to connect with audiences in a different, more immediate way. I’ve dipped into pretty much all of my favourite genres and sounds, ranging from folk music to grime to jazz to baile funk, depending on the event and/or phase I’m going through. I think my evolution has been more on the technical side, I’ve developed my phrasing, got used to adding different FX and chopping the faders a bit more.
How would you describe the emotions or energy you try to bring to your sets?
ŌKAMI: I’m very big on contrasting moments of deep, immersive atmospherics with moments of explosive, in-your-face energy. Both pull you into the present in different ways so I love to play and explore the sensations that come up throughout a set.
Are there any particular artists, cultures, or experiences that have shaped your musical identity?
ŌKAMI: There’s so many.. my love of storytelling, ambient/nature-mirroring soundscapes and organic traditional instruments comes from growing up partly in a rural area of Japan.
And then growing up in Croydon from the mid-2000s, I would go to raves in forests and warehouses, which is where I first got to experience the soundsystem. I’d hear everything from drum & bass to psytrance to dancehall on them massive rigs. Croydon is also of course a heritage town for dub and dubstep, as well as being a very multicultural place generally, so I'm grateful to have been exposed to music from loads of different cultures while there.
What’s your approach to curating a mix - do you follow structure, or is it more instinctive?
ŌKAMI: It's usually very instinctive. I normally dump a bunch of tracks that I feel would work into a folder and let my subconscious drive and see what story comes out of it in the moment. I love that about DJing, you basically have the spontaneity and freedom to really switch gear on the spot, which is so different to live performance where you're following a planned setlist that you've rehearsed for weeks. Occasionally though I do like to create a mix that I've planned out to say something specific, or as a contemplation on a particular sound or theme.
How do you balance playing what you love versus what the crowd expects?
ŌKAMI: Having an expansive library that you can dip into is really important, as well as being able to read the room and seeing how the crowd responds to what you’re playing. Getting to a place of oneness with the crowd is magical. It’s ultimately a synergetic exchange, so the more open and perceptive you are in the dance, the easier it is to find that balance.
The music industry can be intense. How do you take care of your mental and emotional well-being?
ŌKAMI: Reminding myself of why I started, and how that's not related to the 'industry' side of things at all, helps me to stay detached from outcomes & weird energy. Having strong boundaries and a timer on the internet/screen time is vital. Sobriety has built a lot of internal stability as it forces you to face your shadow and not avoid or numb yourself. And then combining that with all my self-care practices, which includes lots of silence, grounding time in nature, prayer, space to process life and return to myself.
What keeps you inspired and motivated when you hit creative or personal challenges
ŌKAMI: Again it's remembering my why. There's a very special person who passed away from the physical realm who I hold in my heart always, it's him that I do all this music stuff for. Sometimes I can feel him encouraging me when I feel a bit lost.
When I hit a wall, exploring other forms of creativity helps a lot, whether it's poetry, dancing, drawing or reading books and deep diving into one of my million random interests. I had a period of writers block recently and have been fixing a teapot I broke using kintsugi, things like that bring out so much creative joy and can unlock that stuckness.
Have you faced any challenges in the industry that shaped the way you approach your craft?
ŌKAMI: As an Asian womxn we are often hyper-sexualised or infantilised (sometimes both - swear down if I hear the word ‘cute’ again..) and we’re expected to be desirable/submissive in a specific way. I’ve come across people again and again who will project those ideas onto me and are shocked when I talk back and challenge them. It sucks but it’s the society we live in, and from young I’ve learned to be confrontational and ready to protect myself. I’m here to share my art, not to be objectified or walked over.
Do you think electronic music is becoming more inclusive? What progress do you hope to see
ŌKAMI: It felt like it was progressing for a few years and then took a big step backwards. I would love to see it become the norm for people of the global majority, as well as gender minorities, to have as much space on lineups as white and hetero musicians and DJs. In some spaces we're getting there, in others it's a bait tick-box situation, and then in others they're not even trying.. so there's a lot of work to do.
There's many artists and collectives like Sisu Crew who are pushing to be heard with everything we've got, but it's now up to those that enjoy the most privilege (i.e. male, white and cis-gendered promoters and artists) to be dismantling the systems that they’re a part of and move things forward in an authentic and permanent way.
How do you navigate spaces where you might feel underrepresented or overlooked
ŌKAMI: I approach them with curiosity. Why does the space look and feel like this? What can I do with the agency that I have so that the next person can feel more comfortable?
And then talking about it. It's important to have them uncomfortable conversations. If we don't use our voices and point out what needs to change, how do we expect the needle to move, you know?
If you could create your dream lineup for an event, who would be on it?
ŌKAMI: Lady Shaka, Black Coffee, DJ Flight, Sama Abdullahi, DJ Krush, Jyoty, Takuya Nakamura, KARABA, Coki.. and of course all my homies.
What’s a festival, venue, or city you dream of performing at and why?
ŌKAMI: I'd love to perform at Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, Primavera in Spain, Nyege Nyege Festival in Uganda, Wonderfruit in Thailand. The values that these festivals represent feel in alignment as well as the care that they put into the experience, the sound and curation. I’d also love to explore the scenes in Melbourne, Lisbon, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, Brazil, New Zealand, of course Jamaica as the home of soundsystem culture, and I've heard amazing things about Senegal.. honestly the list goes on!
SONOS CLUB is an initiative from Sounds of Craft Records, designed to highlight the eclectic electronic music scene through the perspectives of the BIPOC diaspora and marginalized communities, while being open to all.
