In Session: Veronica Vasicka

In August last year, Dekmantel Festival in Amsterdam welcomed people from every corner of Europe and beyond to its wooded wonderland on the outskirts of the city. The Boiler Room stage, as has become accustom to proceedings now, welcomed a plethora of talent to the small and intimate tin can in the corner of the site and one of our favourite sets from the weekend came from New York mastermind Veronica Vasicka.

The selector, producer and label-head weaved through dusty electro and techno that harks back to times gone by and the synths that made these tracks so popular reverberated around the sun-flecked patch of the festival. Her constant bob and head sway was matched by high-octane, razor-sharp jams that understandably sent the clued-up crowd into meltdown.

As someone growing up in New York City in the 80s and 90s, Veronica Vasicka was exposed to a wild array of musical genres. With a fond love for new wave, dancehall and experimental electronica, Vasicka would sneak into clubs at the age of 15 and 16, where she experienced first-hand the sort of music that she would come to represent and showcase to the world.

Minimal Wave was launched in 2005 and Vasicka dedicated her time to her new imprint, one that unearthed lost gems prominent in the 1980s and in doing so, offered them up to a new audience that was pining for that sort of sound. With cassette tracks being the main source of output, EPs from the likes of In Aeternam Vale, Martin Dupont and Blancmange brought a style drenched in nostalgia to the ears of millennial ravers.

If Minimal Wave is the label that pays homage to the songs that typified a former generation then the sub-label Cititrax, that was started in 2008, is the imprint that's grounded firmly in the now. While the hellfire electro and techno that's sent out via Cititrax undoubtedly takes inspiration from the industrial, experimental style of the 80s and 90s, it's music for a new dawn and artists like The KVB, Silent Servant and Michel Amato (The Hacker) have kept dancefloors in a state of organised panic with their tracks.

Through her extensive label work and establishing herself via the New York radio station she co-founded, East Village Radio, Vasicka's worldwide gig bookings began to pick up and she's now a highly-regarded DJ around the globe. Her upcoming gig schedule will see her travel to festivals in San Francisco, Ireland, Barcelona and Sweden and you can expect her to stay true to her sound at each event. Veronica has always been a risk-taker and someone who's dedicated a career to making sure that a wealth of incredible music is heard by the people who desire it the most.

Her ability to find, curate and promote outstanding music from the past, present and future is second to none and that's what makes her a perfect person to join our In Session ranks. Her mix is, as expected, a high-energy display of music designed to make you dance in disarray. We've waited a long time for this and we're thrilled to welcome a true definition of crate-digger into the fold.

Veronica plays at Sonar on June 17, check out Minimal Wave here

Funster is Mixmag's Deputy Digital Editor, follow him on Twitter here

[Photo Credit: Tal Azulay]