Interview by Tegan Jaimie
Featuring VTSS
Hair by Chrissy Hutton
Makeup by Yoi Wan

Polish DJ and producer VTSS, aka Martyna Maja is busy. True to her High-Speed Techno, VTSS isn’t slowing down. LUNCH chats to her before she jets off to the Netherlands and Poland for the weekend. Before checking off France, Germany, and then back to the UK again. However, with the pandemic ultimately stalling live gigs VTSS is excited to be back on the scene again. “Feels good being out, but traveling these days is definitely anxiety-inducing with all the different regulations and travel restrictions in different countries. However, the crowds’ energy is of course so rewarding in every single place I’ve played so far.”

No stranger to the hustle that comes with the lifestyle of a DJ. Checking in for the late flight (if possible) to spend as much time as she can hanging out with her dog before she is on the go again. VTSS expands on her day leading up to a gig at night.”Nothing special no rituals, just trying to stay by myself and focus before having to face so many different people. I’m scrolling through TikTok a lot, this relaxes me. I FaceTime my mom, my friends who dog sit, I write letters in my notes to process stuff – it’s cheaper than therapy.”

With a packed schedule, it’s easy to wonder how she has time to focus on producing new music. Acknowledging the difficulty VTSS explains “I don’t really, I’m still really struggling to figure this out and it’s honestly quite exhausting.” But keen not to inhabit a schedule that leads to her performing 52 weeks of the year for the next 10 years. “I’m not built like that. I’m still in the process of figuring out how to balance my mental health with all the traveling, staying up at night, and being always gone, yet by myself. I’m hoping next year to play more ‘tours’ around releases or projects instead of being gone every single weekend so let’s see if I can pull this off.”

Regardless, VTSS is an unstoppable force in the electronic music scene. Dosing us again and again with the high-octane techno that has seen her perform globally across the DJ touring circuit. How does she do it? “I definitely cannot be hangover (laughs). I need to have a clear mind, a bit of deadline never hurts in my case, clean room, no people around, no one wanting anything from me. But most of all just a mental place where I feel I can do what I want and not what’s expected for this project, by the label etc or whoever is a part of this project.”

Including a previous LUNCH journal favourite – TAAHLIAH on her playlist, VTSS also lists Koreless, KAVARI, the Lady Gaga remixes, Phatrax, Anz, Loraine James, NKC, BATU as her current go-to’s. LUNCH was also keen to find out more from VTSS about her relationship with fashion and designers. Out with her staple sweats, she sites Berlin-based Ottolinger as one of her favourite brands, as well as British-Indian designer Supriya Lele. “For more clubwear, I’m working on a project now with A Better Mistake from Milan which I’m a big fan of. I do love fashion a lot, can’t obviously afford much but being a performer can come with perks. Being invited to work in different ways on fun projects with brands, designers – even photoshoots for magazines.” Promoting slow and sustainable style here at LUNCH, VTSS also reflects this in her own style. “I try to thrift as much as I can. I do like vintage designer stuff and it’s a good balance by not supporting fast fashion but still being affordable. Especially in London, there’s a lot of great shops like that and opportunity to support more independent smaller brands.”

And finally, when a gig is over, how does VTSS feel? “It really depends how each gig went, whether I’ve built a connection with the crowd and whether I was satisfied with my work. Performing like that is a really special thing, especially to people who struggle with social interactions like myself. It makes you feel like you’re a part of something bigger, that you’re not by yourself, and all that without having to use words, however cliche it sounds.”