Specializing in atmospheric sludge metal tinged with poetry, improvisation and drone effects, American-Canadian band Suma (also styled SUMAC) came into being in 2014. Made up of Americans Aaron Turner (vocals, guitar) and Brian Cook (bass) and Canadian Nick Yacyshin (drums, percussion), the supergroup bringing together these names from different bands (Russian Circles, Old Man Gloom or Baptists) together developed a more experimental style that resulted in a first concert in December 2014 in Vancouver, before setting about recording the album The Deal, produced by Mell Dettmer and released in February 2015 on Profound Lore Records. A year later, the trio signed with independent label Thrill Jockey to produce the album What One Becomes (2016), followed by the remix EP Before You I Appear, on which Kevin Drumm, Bleed Turquoise, Samuel Kerridge and Endon officiate. In 2017, Suma collaborated with Japanese experimental multi-instrumentalist Keiji Haino on the album American Dollar Bill - Keep Looking Sideways, You're Too Hideous to Look at Face On, recorded in Tokyo during improvised sessions and released in February 2018. A live radio-captured album, WFMU, follows the same year, as does another with Haino in 2019 and St Vitus in 2020. Meanwhile, studio albums Love in Shadow (2018) and May Be You Held (2020) are released, followed by The Healer in 2024. Released in 2025, The Film is a collaboration with American experimental rap producer Moor Mother.
