"I was at Electric Daisy Carnival yesterday," Sumiko Iwamuro says as she takes her sunglasses off. Wearing bright red lipstick, shimmery eyeshadow, and a leopard print T-shirt, Sumiko is sitting in the meeting space of a DJ school in Tokyo that she attended four years ago. "I listened to Afrojack on the beach with a glass of champagne," she continues with a smile. "The seabreeze felt so good that I fell asleep! It was a little embarrassing."Considering Sumiko is 82 years old, the fact that she spent a weekend at a massive EDM festival, which took place last month in Japan, is impressive to say the least. Her embodiment of my #GrandmaGoals made me wonder if I should be disappointed in myself for bailing on club nights and binge watching TV on Fridays at 23.Sumiko, who goes by the DJ name Sumirock, has probably popped up on your timeline more than once this past month after her story as an octogenarian Japanese dumpling maker-turned-DJ went viral in the international media. Her amazing life as an octogenarian DJ and restaurateur has caught the attention of local media for several years now, landing her dozens of Japanese interviews and a TV commercial deal with cell phone carrier Y!Mobile in 2014."I started going to my friend's monthly party Tokyo Decadance about 12 years ago," Sumiko says about how she got into dance music. "I'd been to concerts before, but I'd never been exposed to club music. Everyone who came to Tokyo Decadance was so free and stylish—I thought the parties were so fun."Before long, Sumiko was ready to take on the decks herself. "Four years ago, my friend asked me if I wanted to DJ," she says. "I didn't hesitate for a second. That's when I started taking lessons [at this DJ school] and learned how to use a CDJ."Read the full story on Thump.
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