Inside Zuma Dionys’ world: roots, rhythm, and rituals
Zuma Dionys is not just another name on the downtempo circuit. His sound sits at the crossroads of ritual and rave, pulling in the textures of deserts, forests, and oceans, and turning them into hypnotic rhythms that belong as much to a sunrise on a beach as to a peak-time dancefloor in Berlin. What began as intuitive experiments with ethnic instruments and electronic grooves has evolved into a global language, one that connects tradition with modernity and intimacy with vastness.
From Scorpios in Mykonos to Savaya in Bali and Envision Festival in Costa Rica, his sets have become more than performances, they feel like shared ceremonies, where bodies move and spirits align. At the heart of it all is a philosophy of connection: through music, through his ZUMA DOMA label, and through a mission to create spaces that transcend borders.
With a Latin American tour on the horizon and new releases ready to push his sound even further, Zuma Dionys is stepping into his most defining chapter yet. His vision is clear: to guide organic and downtempo house from the niche corners of the scene into its rightful place on the global stage, while keeping the soul intact.
The Zuma Dionys project was never about chasing trends. It was born out of a need to reconcile two worlds: the timeless pull of tradition and the forward drive of modern electronic culture. He remembers those first experiments as almost instinctive, layering ancient rhythms and acoustic textures over electronic beats until something clicked. That’s when he realized this wasn’t just a sound, it was a path.
“Zuma Dionys was born from a vision to unite two worlds, tradition and modernity. On one hand, I’ve always been influenced by ethnic music: voices, ancient rhythms, and acoustic instruments I encountered across cultures during my travels. On the other, the electronic scene gave me a language to transform those impressions into a universal sound. My first experiments were almost intuitive: layering organic sounds over electronic grooves until I realized that this blend was my path. Music stopped being just a genre, it became a space where past and future converge, where intimacy grows into vastness. I can say the project truly began the moment I understood that my sound had to be an honest reflection of the experiences I had been collecting for years, and a bridge connecting people across cultures and beyond borders.”
Travel has always been central to how he collects those experiences. For him, geography isn’t just backdrop, it’s a living archive that seeps into the sound. Deserts, beaches, and forests aren’t metaphors, they’re sonic building blocks, each one leaving its mark on his compositions.
“For me, traveling is not just about geography, but about experiences that transform into sound. Deserts teach silence and vastness, giving birth to deep, meditative textures. Beaches and the ocean carry the rhythm of breath and a sense of flow, which come through in soft percussion and smooth transitions. Forests bring a feeling of organic connection to the roots, from there comes my love for ethnic instruments and live sounds. My tracks become a kind of diary of these places: each composition holds the imprint of the cultures and people. I think that’s why my music resonates universally, it gathers fragments of the world and turns them into a single language, understood on dancefloors anywhere on the planet.”
Every artist has those nights where things shift, where the music stops being local and suddenly belongs to the world. For Zuma Dionys, those moments came when his tracks began moving beyond his own scene, finding listeners in corners of the globe he had never stepped into. Touring followed, and with it came the realization that his sound had graduated from intimate beginnings to something that could hold down festival stages.
“My journey has been shaped by a series of turning points. The first came when my tracks began to be played beyond my local scene, that’s when I realized music could live its own life and find listeners in places I had never been. Gradually, this led me to touring, from Europe to Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The Envision Festival in Costa Rica, along with performances at Scorpios in Mykonos and Savaya in Bali, solidified this transition: it was there that I understood my sets had evolved from the underground into part of the global stage.”
He often talks about his releases as chapters in a book, and listening through his catalog it’s easy to hear why. Each track carries the imprint of a place, a mood, a revelation, like diary entries that capture the essence of fleeting moments.
“Looking back, certain tracks became moments where new horizons opened up for me, each of them reflecting the explorations that shaped my sound. ‘To Ne Vecher’ is about transitions and change, a bright nostalgia that at the same time calls to move forward. ‘Gazel’ was born under the influence of Indian motifs, carrying a meditative rhythm and a mystical energy, where an ancient spirit meets contemporary electronic sound. ‘As Time Goes By’ reflects my fascination with the passage of time itself, it’s both introspective and expansive, a meditation on how moments slip away yet remain present in memory through sound. My remix of Sting’s ‘Desert Rose’ became a dialogue across time. In my youth, that song was a symbol of dreams, and today I emphasized its Eastern undertones and added my own sound, turning it into a bridge between generations and cultures. And the remix of Omerar Nanda’s ‘Hebele Hubulu’ is a chapter about the power of community, it carries the energy of kindred spirits gathered around a fire, where music becomes a shared spark. All these tracks are different, yet they are united by one thing, they tell my story, where personal experiences transform into a universal language understood anywhere in the world. For me, each of these tracks is more than music. They are chapters of a story still being written, and the most important pages are yet to come.”
For an artist like Zuma, who has taken organic and downtempo sounds from underground corners to global stages, the question of authenticity versus reach is always hanging in the air. How do you stay true to your vision while finding yourself on Beatport charts and Spotify playlists? His answer is almost disarmingly simple.
“For me, balance always begins with authenticity. If music comes from the heart and reflects my inner path, it finds its listener, whether it’s a small community in Berlin or a global audience on Spotify. I never think about genre boundaries or whether a track is ‘fit for the charts.’ I think about the emotion it carries. Sometimes it’s deep downtempo, resonating with a more intimate audience. Other times, it’s a more energetic track that finds its place on big festival stages. But in both cases, it remains part of my story and my vision. I believe it is honesty in music that opens doors to different audiences. When you create not for trends but from within, people feel it, and that’s when your sound can be both niche and global at the same time.”
That sense of freedom is exactly why he built his own label, ZUMA DOMA. It’s not just an outlet for his own projects, but a home for artists looking to experiment, blend cultures, and push boundaries without worrying about gatekeepers.
“For me, ZUMA DOMA is not just a label, but a creative space where music can be born freely, without boundaries. At its core lies a philosophy of connection: between cultures, artists, and emotions. I founded it not only to release my own work, but also to give space to artists who share the same spirit and are searching for new forms of expression. On big labels, the boundaries and requirements can sometimes feel too rigid; here, I can allow myself and others to experiment, blending ethnic sounds with electronics, creating unexpected remixes, working with live instruments and voices. ZUMA DOMA is a home where music can exist beyond trends and genre constraints. For me, it’s important that the label is not just about releases, but about a community that grows together and inspires each other.”
Zuma´s sets are often described less as DJ performances and more as collective rituals. He doesn’t see himself standing above a crowd, but inside it, moving with the same current.
“I don’t see a set as a performance for the crowd, but as a shared experience with them. It’s a dialogue, where the audience inspires me just as much as I inspire them. On the dancefloor, an energy arises that feels almost like a ritual: people let go of everything unnecessary and become part of something greater. In that moment, music stops being just sound, it becomes a guide, connecting us with each other and with the space around us. That’s why every set I play is unique. I never repeat it exactly, because the energy of the room creates something new each time. For me, the most important thing is to be fully present and to let the music lead us to where we’re meant to go, right here, right now.”
That balance between spirit and body is at the heart of his mission. His tracks don’t just work in headphones or on desert stages because they refuse to choose between emotional weight and physical drive.
“I’ve always believed that music is a bridge between the soul and the body. On one hand, I put into it the emotions, stories, and meanings that are born within me. That’s the spiritual side, the part that allows a listener to feel depth and live through something personal. On the other hand, the dance floor demands energy, movement, and physical involvement. For me, the key is not to separate these sides, but to bring them together. A track can be rhythmic and dynamic, yet still carry an emotion or a light that someone feels on a more subtle level. I believe that’s where the magic is born: music becomes a universal language, giving the body freedom to move and the soul a space to feel.”
Right now, Zuma Dionys is standing at a threshold. His upcoming Latin American tour feels like both a new frontier and a homecoming, bringing his music to audiences that thrive on emotion and connection.
“I feel that a new chapter is opening for me now. Everything I’ve done so far, the releases, the tours, the creation of the label, has been the foundation. And now that foundation feels strong enough to move further from international presence to a global movement. The upcoming Latin America tour is symbolic for me: these are regions where people feel music deeply with their hearts, and I want to share my story with them. At the same time, I’m preparing new releases that reflect my next musical turn is bolder and more open to experimentation. My goal for 2025 and 2026 is to step onto new stages and to grow ZUMA DOMA into a platform that brings together artists from all over the world. I want not only to perform, but to shape a movement around this sound.”
That vision expands beyond his own career. Organic and downtempo sounds are no longer just a niche alternative, they are climbing into the heart of global club culture, carried by a new demand for music that feels rooted, emotional, and timeless. Zuma Dionys sees his role in that shift not just as a performer, but as a guide.
“I see organic and downtempo house moving beyond being a niche alternative and becoming a full part of global club culture. More and more festivals and top venues are embracing this sound in their programs because it speaks to the spirit of the time: people are looking not just for rhythm, but for music with depth, with roots, with emotion. At the same time, I believe the future of the scene lies in even greater diversity and cultural fusion. More artists will integrate traditional instruments, vocals, and ritual elements into the electronic context, creating a new sound of global music. For me, it’s important that this growth doesn’t strip the scene of its authenticity. Scale should not take away its soul. I would like to play the role of a guide in this process, an artist who connects intimacy with vastness, tradition with modernity, showing that music can be a truly universal language. Through my performances and through the ZUMA DOMA label, I want to support artists who share this philosophy, and together shape the scene of the future; one where organic sound is no longer seen as a niche, but as one of the voices of tomorrow’s electronic music.”
Watching where Dionys is heading now, especially with Latin America on the horizon, it feels like the perfect match. That part of the world has always lived music with the heart first, and Zuma’s sound was made for that. I imagine those crowds hearing his blend of ritual, rhythm, and emotion, and I know it’s going to feel like a homecoming for him, even if he’s never played there before.
And that’s why he matters. Because he’s not just another name on a lineup, he’s shaping a movement. A reminder that electronic music can still feel human, still feel rooted, and still push forward at the same time. If the future of the scene is going to have more soul in it, then Zuma Dionys is one of the reasons why.
