ULTRA SUNN: Writing the future of darkwave
from Brussels to the world
In the heart of Brussels, a city where centuries of history coexist with a restless underground pulse, ULTRA SUNN emerged as one of the most vital voices of the new darkwave generation.
Formed in late 2019 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sam Huge
and keyboardist/producer Gaelle Souflet, the duo quickly carved their own space between heritage and modernity, between the shadows of Belgium’s electronic legacy and the urgent light
of the present moment.
From the very beginning, their story was charged with paradoxes. Sam came from classical arts and archaeology, Gaelle from fashion design, worlds far removed from club basements.
Yet what united them was a vision: electronic music not just as entertainment, but as catharsis,
as community, as resistance. When they released their debut single Keep Your Eyes Peeled in 2020, it was more than a track, it was a manifesto. A pulsating anthem of vigilance and resilience, it spread like wildfire, from underground dance floors to TikTok feeds, accumulating more than 40 million streams
and echoing far beyond the city that birthed it.
ULTRA SUNN’s sound draws from the DNA of the Sound of Belgium, the industrial rigor of EBM,
the strangeness of New Beat, the nocturnal melancholy of Coldwave. Yet they refuse nostalgia. Instead, they distill these elements into sharp, modern anthems, carried by Sam’s commanding baritone voice and Gaelle’s hypnotic synth textures. Their music is both vulnerable and defiant, embedding themes of mental health, identity, and empowerment within luminous melodies and pounding beats.
This rare duality, strength and fragility, underground grit and pop immediacy, propelled them onto stages alongside Front 242, DAF, and collaborations with Front Line Assembly, as well as
newer torchbearers like Twin Tribes and Kontravoid. Their reputation grew not only as musicians,
but as performers who transform every show into ritual: bodies moving as one in the shadows,
a communion of lights, voices, and vulnerability.
Their rise was meteoric. A trilogy of EPs established their name worldwide, followed in 2023
by a multi-album deal with Artoffact Records. In 2024, their first LP US confirmed the promise, celebrated with a sold-out release at Brussels’ legendary Botanique,
then carried across the USA, Canada, Europe and Latin America,
with appearances at Sick New World (Las Vegas), Substance Festival (Los Angeles),
Sanctum Festival (Chicago), Verboden Festival (Vancouver), Øya Festival (Oslo),
Grauzone Festival (Den Haag) and Dour Festival (Belgium).
Later that year, they were crowned Band of the Year at the Octave de la Musique,
one of Belgium’s highest cultural honors.
But ULTRA SUNN never paused. At the dawn of 2025, they retreated to Los Angeles,
immersing themselves in the city’s haze and contrasts to write their most ambitious statement yet.
On October 3rd, 2025, they unveiled The Beast in You, a ten-track album infused with the encounters, travels, and experiences collected throughout their tours. Instantly hailed by critics as a defining work of the new darkwave movement, the record confronts inner demons and collective anxieties while offering liberation through rhythm and voice.
The project also expanded their creative language into visuals. For the single LA Drags, ULTRA SUNN joined forces with international drag icon Violet Chachki in a video shot in Los Angeles,
where Sam and Gaelle perform and lip-sync alongside the star, merging the worlds of darkwave and drag in a celebration of identity and performance. Soon after, they unveiled a second video for the album’s title track The Beast in You, filmed in a Hollywood studio,
capturing the duo in stark, cinematic light.
Two silhouettes channeling both intensity and grace.
Today, ULTRA SUNN are not just a band but a phenomenon. Their music is fiercely physical and emotionally raw, uniting club kids, punks, ravers, and romantics under the same strobe lights.
They embody the promise of a generation that looks backward only to leap forward, transforming EBM and coldwave into something urgent, global, and alive.
Step into their world, and you’ll find not only beats and melodies, but a movement.
ULTRA SUNN is writing the future of darkwave.
One song, one stage, one communion at a time.
