This year at Dekmantel, at exactly 20:00 on Sunday in the carved out tin tunnel of the Boiler Room stage, Polish DJ, producer, and singer-songwriter VTSS took us to a Central European rave in the middle of Amsterdamse Bos. Her set, sticky with eurodance, acerbic rave, and hooky pop samples. It was partly unexpected, but completely on brand. VTSS has always existed on the fringe of the worlds she occupies. First gaining recognition for her left-field mutations of club music, VTSS somehow became known as a techno act. Though this classification pigeon holes the scope of what she creates. While her early work is undeniably rooted in techno, VTSS has always pushed the boundaries of form and genre by pulling from an array of influences to formulate her own distinct sound. Her upcoming EP and Ninja Tune debut shows signs of being the most succinct distillation of the multitude of parts that make up VTSS to date, with particular focus on her innate pop sensibilities.
Download and stream Body Mind Hell here
Earlier singles Make You Scream and Incredibly Annoying were our first introduction to VTSS the pop star, both growers which proved themselves to be formidable earworms. But still, there was a sense that both tracks felt remarkably straightforward for someone as rebellious as VTSS. Body Mind Hell feels like a more successful integration of VTSS’s new vocal driven direction with the sort of slippery electronica that she’s best known for. The ping-ponging arpeggios and claustrophobic pads feel closer to the VTSS of Going Nuts, except here it’s her voice rather than LSDXOXO at the fore. Perhaps this is the most significant factor when considering VTSS’s current work; for the first time, she’s showing us all of her, all at once.
Watch the music video for Body Mind Hell below
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