{"id":1984298,"date":"2026-06-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1984298"},"modified":"2026-06-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:00:00","slug":"wonderland-226","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1984298","title":{"rendered":"Wonderland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\tVTSS IS PAST CHEAP TEQUILA HANGOVERS<\/span>
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Martyna Maja talks law school dropouts, teenage heroes, fashion week and her dream collab with Korn, in between shows during her A\/V tour through Europe and North America.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"VTSS
All photography by Connor Baker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Martyna Maja, better known as VTSS, answered our questions from somewhere between cities. For the past few months, she\u2019s been in multiple countries, venues and time zones. Such is life when you\u2019re VTSS: the Polish-born and NYC based DJ, producer, singer and songwriter, currently on the final leg of her tour that took her new A\/V show developed alongside longtime collaborator Freeka Tet across Europe, the UK and North America.<\/p>\n

First emerging from Warsaw\u2019s underground scene in the late 2010s, VTSS built her reputation on high-intensity, maximalist club sets. Uninterested in dark, monotonic sounds, she actively pushed the boundaries of techno. Since leaving Poland at age 24, she\u2019s lived across Europe\u2019s club capitals, from Berlin to London, where she had a breakout moment with her Boiler Room<\/a> set in 2019, before landing in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the past decade, that refusal to stay in one lane, making VTSS a 360 project, has been Martyna\u2019s defining characteristic. While she first made her name through her maximalist productions and sets, her current A\/V tour feels like the clearest expression yet of how far her creative world has expanded. Developed alongside longtime collaborator Freeka Tet, the show combines music and visuals into a special fully realised universe that sits somewhere between a club set, live performance and multimedia project. <\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t stop there: In recent years, VTSS has become a familiar face on runways for labels including Ottolinger and Dilara Findikoglu while continuing to challenge expectations around what a techno artist can be. Earlier this year she released \u201cThe Lobby\u201d alongside Hudson Mohawke and LSDXOXO, a collaboration that further pushed her sound beyond traditional club music, and she\u2019s also set to make her acting debut in Boy Harsher\u2019s upcoming horror film The Lonely Woman<\/em> alongside FKA twigs<\/a> and Chlo\u00eb Sevigny<\/a> later this year.<\/p>\n

\"VTSS<\/figure>\n

Below, she talks about dropping out of law school after discovering Unsound Festival, collaborating with artists she grew up listening to, the realities of life on tour, and why Korn remains at the top of her collaboration wishlist.<\/p>\n

Do you remember the first club night or set that made you feel like you\u2019d found your world?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been going clubbing since my (inappropriately) young teenage years, but it was the first Unsound Festival I attended that changed my life (to be dramatic!). I was in uni, studying law in Krakow, and one of my friends dragged me to this obscure festival at an old communist hotel. That was the exact moment I first thought about dropping out to pursue music. I sat on the idea for an extra year, but eventually, I did drop out of law school, went to study sound engineering, and told my parents the phrase every parent dreams of hearing: \u201cI\u2019m going to be a DJ.\u201d<\/p>\n

In what ways did the Warsaw club scene shape your sound and your attitude towards rave culture? How does it differ from the scene in Berlin or London?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everyone asks me about this, and every year I have less and less to say. I moved out of Warsaw almost 10 years ago, so my knowledge on the topic fades with time \u2013 and visiting biannually doesn\u2019t make me an expert by any means. The scene that shaped me back then, though, was very DIY, distorted, pretentious, loud, gatekeep-y, passionate, and offline. I bet it\u2019s completely different right now.<\/p>\n

\"VTSS<\/figure>\n

How did your relationship with fashion begin, and when did it become part of the VTSS language?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was always interested in fashion, but I didn\u2019t quite have the balls to follow my instincts (or the wallet\u2026). Over time, that relationship tightened up, partly due to my spending habits, but also because the rave world has become increasingly welcomed at fashion weeks and referenced in collections. It just felt very natural to me.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve walked for Dilara Findikoglu, Diesel, Kim Shui and Ottolinger and modelled for KNWLS, how does being on a runway or in front of the camera compare to being on a stage?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Performing as a DJ really helped me get comfortable with the idea of being perceived and judged. DJing is exciting because the smallest movement you make on your headphones might seem minor, but in the room, everyone can hear your mistakes or mishaps. That\u2019s a very thrilling idea for me. I\u2019m an adrenaline freak, so things that are safe and too rehearsed have never been appealing to me. I always need to do something risky to keep myself entertained.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same with walking in shows, or my recent experience acting in my first horror movie \u2013 it was exhilarating to relinquish the control I usually have and perform in a totally different setting. I do think all the DJing \u2013 which these days, fortunately or unfortunately, is very much a performance \u2013 helped build my confidence and shamelessness.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your fashion holy grail?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My absolute fashion grail is that Sex and the City<\/em> Christian Dior newspaper dress that Carrie wore. It was Autumn\/Winter 2000 by John Galliano, I think. They go for something like $50k right now\u2026<\/p>\n

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\"VTSS<\/figure>\n
\"VTSS<\/figure>\n
\"VTSS<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

What inspires the visual world around VTSS? How do you find creatives to work with you on your visuals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

All my favourite visual collaborations have always been with people I was already close with \u2013 people who truly get<\/em> me, rather than just relying on what they find online about who VTSS is. My recent collaborator, Freeka Tet, who has been a very close friend for about four or five years now, first designed my Coachella show and is now doing my A\/V headline tour. There are ups and downs to working with friends, but it\u2019s hard to feel as deeply understood by strangers who are just pitching something based on their \u201cidea\u201d of you.<\/p>\n

How does your show prep differ between a huge festival stage like Coachella and your own headline club show?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The size of the venue never changes my approach \u2013 I feel the exact same about a 500-cap club as I do about a 30k festival stage. However, if it\u2019s an A\/V show, it operates almost like live touring, so there is absolutely no partying before (or after), haha. For standard DJ sets, which are very plug-and-play, it always feels like a party. There is beauty in both!<\/p>\n

What was it like working with artists like Hudson Mohawke and Boys Noize? What did you learn from them?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

I listened to both of these gentlemen religiously when I was in high school. I remember seeing TNGHT (Hudmo + Lunice) as a teenager in some basement back in Warsaw, and I saw Boys Noize at my first strictly electronic music festival, \u2018Selector\u2019, right after graduating. It feels like a massive full-circle moment getting to be close friends and collaborators with both of them.<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t just see me as a techno DJ; they actively supported my more obscure productions and ambitions . Hudmo even wanted to release one of the weirdest songs I made, \u201cTrust Me.\u201d They were both incredibly encouraging of my decision to make non-typical releases, rather than just dropping standard techno EPs to stay relevant in the DJ booking circuit. I think all my artistic growth over the last few years came from making non-techno music with them (and others). We actually made like 20+ songs that are waiting for the right time. Now, I\u2019m really excited to translate that knowledge into finally getting back to producing and releasing some straight-up techno again after a few years\u2019 hiatus.<\/p>\n

\"VTSS<\/figure>\n

Who would you love to collaborate with next that might surprise people?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Korn.<\/p>\n

What are your must-haves for a perfect night in a club or festival?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clase Azul (sorry!). I\u2019m too old for a cheap tequila hangover.<\/p>\n

When a show is over, how do you come back to yourself after performing at that intensity?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

It took me many years to find a balance and bring all that excitement down enough to actually sleep. Sometimes, even when you\u2019re fully sober, it\u2019s incredibly hard to be alone and fall asleep after all that adrenaline. Meditation helps, and so does reminding yourself that you\u2019re \u2018not all that\u2019. At the end of the day, performing is beautiful and incredible, but it\u2019s not real life and doesn\u2019t show your true value as a human. Real life for me is my routine, my friends, my family, and my dog, and how I treat all of the above.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When people leave this A\/V show, what do you hope lingers with them?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

That it is cool to care! It is cool to be proud of your work, to do things differently, and to invest your energy in art \u2013 even if it feels risky and doesn\u2019t come with an immediate payout.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Catch VTSS on the final date of her A\/V tour: 12th June: Avalon, Los Angeles<\/em> or 13th June: The Regency Ballroom, San Francisco<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tWent to Brixton and Saw Lily Allen Operate the Millennial Cure<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonderland VTSS IS PAST CHEAP TEQUILA HANGOVERS Martyna Maja talks law school dropouts, teenage heroes, fashion week and her dream collab with Korn, in between shows during her A\/V tour through Europe and North America. All photography by Connor Baker. Martyna Maja, better known as VTSS, answered our questions from somewhere between cities. For the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,257],"class_list":["post-1984298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-wonderlandmagazine-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1984298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984298\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1984298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1984298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1984298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}