Interviews

Lady Gaga, Pogo Sticks, and Glitter: Interview with VNSSA

VNSSA

Catching Up with House Music Queen, VNSSA at Audiotistic SoCal

Southern California native VNSSA has caught our attention with her groovy performances, and we simply can’t get enough of her! Best known for her songs “Rave Grave” and “Word” with Walker & Royce, VNSSA surely knows how to wow a crowd. She has also had dozens of songs released on Black Book, Dim Mak, HotBoi Records, Dirty Bird, and many more. We recently caught up with her at Audiotistic San Diego, we were able to have a quick chat with VNSSA before her performance.

EDM Maniac: Hey, Vanessa! How are you doing today?

VNSSA: I’m doing good. How are you?

EDM Maniac: I’m doing great! Thanks for asking! You’re just about to perform on stage here at Audiotistic. Are you ready? What can we expect from your set today?

VNSSA: Yeah, I’m ready. I’m not really sure what to expect! I’m just going to get up there and feel the vibe and go from there. I have a song that I might use for the intro, but it depends if the crowd wants it wild. Then I’m going to go a little harder.

EDM Maniac: Okay, sweet. I look forward to it!

VNSSA: Yeah, I’ll probably play a little techno and maybe some disco. But definitely techno and mixing some house.

VNSSA by @juju.psd_

EDM Maniac: Yes! Gotta have some techno. Do you do anything special before your set to prep or do you just go up there and wing it?

VNSSA: Usually, I come to my trailer and take a few minutes to breathe, gather my things, grab some water, make sure I have everything before I go up there. I take a moment for myself to just chill and yeah!

EDM Maniac: The calm before the storm! You’ve also been really busy performing at the Black Book Block Party, EDC Las Vegas, and now here! What has been your favorite festival/event memory this year?

VNSSA: I think probably at Dirty Bird Camp Out. We were doing the family set. I was mixing in and it just started pouring. The CDJs were all getting wet and they had to pull it while I was mixing in. But they had these crazy lasers and lights going, so it looked like it was raining glitter. And I dropped my new song that just came out and it was raining glitter and it was a moment. It was really cool.

VNSSA by DJ Minimize at DirtyBird

EDM Maniac: That’s so cool! What a vibe! You also just came out with a unique music collab called “Splits 001” with Walker & Royce, Lenny Kaier, and more. Can you tell us about that?

VNSSA: Yeah! Well, it’s Walker & Royce’s new label, so they’re starting to put out these Splits EPs where it’s a track from 2 different artists. They compliment each other but are also 2 different vibes. So, this is the first one that they did. The “A” side was Walker & Royce and Ardalan. They have a group together called Escapade. It was their song “Animals”.

The “B” side was me, Lenny Kaiser, and my friend, Neon Super Black. Our song is called “When Will I See You”. I think they’re going to put [parts of the Splits series] out every month? I don’t know how many they have, but the artwork looks so cool!

EDM Maniac: I saw the artwork! I loved it. You also came out with a few songs with artists like Walker & Royce. If you could collab with anyone, who would it be?

VNSSA: That’s a tough question. I want to work with everyone. I think it would be very fun to make some disco with Lady Gaga. But in the electronic world, I think I would want to work with The Blessed Madonna or Claude Von Stroke. Or Chris Lake, Green Velvet, Anna Lunoe — I want to work with everyone *laughs*.

VNSSA with Claude Von Stroke & J. Worra at North Coast Music Festival

EDM Maniac: If you produced a song with Green Velvet, what would that sound like?

VNSSA: Oh, man. It will have to have his vocals, for sure. I really don’t know *laughs*.

EDM Maniac: Well, let’s manifest it *laughs*! Do you have any new projects that you are working on right now?

VNSSA: Uhm, I currently just finished this remix that I did for this DJ called Quarter. She is from New York and just put out an album, so I am remixing that right now.

EDM Maniac: Can’t wait to hear it! What are 3 fun facts about yourself that you don’t think your fans know?

VNSSA: Let’s see. I don’t have any pets. I wish I did, but I don’t.

EDM Maniac: If you had a pet, what would it be?

VNSSA: I mean I really want a dog, but I also really want a turtle right now. I don’t want to neglect an animal and I don’t really have that much time, so not now. I’m going to wait until I have more time in the future. Hm, what else?

I used to be on a surf team and I used to want to be a pro surfer. I also used to have a pogo stick that I loved and I wanted to become the world record pogo sticker.

VNSSA

EDM Maniac: What?! And why did that dream not happen?

VNSSA: I found surfing!

EDM Maniac: And why aren’t you catching waves for a living right now?!

VNSSA: Because I found music *laughs*!

EDM Maniac: Well you are doing amazingly at this dream right here. We love you here *laughs*!

VNSSA: I think I like this one the best *laughs*!

EDM Maniac: I think this is the one too. Lastly, what is one thing you want to say to your fans right now?

VNSSA: Uhm, I think if you have a dream or a passion, you should do whatever you can to pursue it. Make your dreams come true.

Be sure to keep up with this dancing queen on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Check out all of VNSSA’s top tracks on Spotify below!

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