SISSY MISFIT: The Bone-Shaking Force Behind “EXXXOSKELETON”

An interview taken from our new digital issue. We caught up with Istanbul-born, London-based musician SISSY MISFIT as she teases the release of 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 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 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 cooked and I used 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. The music video reflects all these ideas. With my music, I 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, and aliases before becoming SISSY MISFIT and crafting 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 and pushing 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 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 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 enjoying the isolation I experience here in London that much even though I have some nice and cool friends who inspire me every day. 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 make me write and produce songs differently. 

Read the full interview here

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