Issue 21 – In Conversation with .. 10!

We caught up with Istanbul-born, London-based musician SISSY MISFIT as she teases the
release her debut album EXXXOSKELETON with the new single and video for “PUSH THE
NEEDLE”. Known for her electrifying industrial dance and screamo-pop sets, SISSY is also the
mastermind behind the 'CEHENNEM' events spotlighting trans+ producers and artists. With
a unique blend of electronic, industrial, hardcore, and pop music, she draws inspiration from
a diverse range of artists, crafting a captivating sound and live performances that have
gained recognition across the EU and UK. Collaborating with fashion designer Rick Owens
and inspired by a wide array of influences, SISSY's forthcoming album promises to be a dark,
sexy, and fun journey. The title 'EXXXOSKELETON' reflects her fascination with creatures
possessing exoskeletons, symbolising her own evolution and self-presentation. Crafted over
four years in her East London bedroom, the album is a labour of love and a significant
milestone post-transition, celebrating pride, fierceness, and strength.
Can you tell us more about the concept behind
your new single 'PUSH THE NEEDLE' and the
accompanying video, and how it ties into your
upcoming album?
Well sonically I created a sound that would
have all the extravagance, dynamics
and feel of a 2010s pop song mixing it
with more industrial music elements and
experimentation through my own sound
design.
Thematically it is a love letter to the lonely
and lost girl I was. My mom used to put
on Fashion TV while she cooks and I use to
come back from school and sit in front of
the TV wishing to be one of those women
one day. I would go to my room close my
eyes and imagine myself in a campy and
glamorous future with leather jackets, big
lips, strutting down the streets. Of course
that was the bubbly dream world of a little
kid and I don’t see my journey defined by
these material things but the idea is pop, it
is funny and sometimes real. It is all about
creating a fantasy world. The title had a
meaning in my mind of putting the needle on
a record and starting the music as this song
is the opening track of the album while also
pushing the needle deep into my skin giving
me that plastic pump and transforming me in
the ways I want to look. Funnily enough
I have a huge needle and hospital anxiety so
it is also a contradictory song about desires
and unrealistic standards too.
The music video reflects all these ideas. With
my music I really want to push the medium
of music videos more and more. I miss when
music videos were so important and glorious.
I want to try to bring that back with my work
which is all self directed and edited. PUSH
THE NEEDLE will be the opening chapter of
a series of music videos that will accompany
this album and I can’t wait to share it all with
everyone.
Could you share with us the inspiration behind
the title of your debut album, EXXXOSKELETON,
and how it reflects your artistic identity?
I have been making, performing and
producing music for a decade now. It is
my entire life and it always will be, I can’t
breathe without it.
I have had so many previous projects, bands,
aliases before becoming SISSY MISFIT and
crafting myself this sound. EXXXOSKELETON
is almost an industrial pop opera about my
identity, it's the very first record I have done
after starting medically transitioning and
publicly coming out so in a way it is the
shield and the bone structure I have built
around myself. A cocoon, a new body for
the audience to experience. It is a part of
me and I am made of it. It is a metaphor for
my chameleon nature of always wanting to
change, always wanting to look and sound
different, push for the hardest challenges
while wearing my armour.
As an artist who has been actively involved
in both the underground music scene in
Istanbul and the UK, how do you feel your
diverse experiences have shaped your unique
sound and style?
I always say this, I owe everything I am
today to the community I have in Istanbul.
Everything was so hard for us but we made
it happen. The more oppression they
threw in our way the harder we created
and connected. It is a fairly different
community than in London. In Istanbul we
collaborated with each other endlessly,
gave unconditional love towards our craft
and just kept on producing more and more.
Competition was never a big driving factor
in the way we created. Here in London, the
climate is much more relaxed in comparison,
people are more individualistic. You can
definitely feel the burdens of capitalism
much more too. Both scenes have their pros
and cons of course like with everything but
I find myself not really enjoying the isolation
I experience here in London that much
even though I have some really nice and
cool friends who inspire me everyday. I miss
my home and my scene quite a lot. But I was
suffocating during my last years before I left
Istanbul and I had the privilege to make
a way out of there to move to London for
a bit and I don’t hate it, don't get me wrong.
I feel so lucky to be finally able to fully
express myself and have bigger tools and
platforms to show what I can do. The hand
in hand melancholy and joy of the whole
changing countries process do make me write
and produce songs in
a different way.
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