EMILIJA takes center stage in this NASTY digital cover story. No stranger to the shadows of the dancefloor, she’s a bold presence in the techno scene, weaving sound, style, and a raw feminine force that refuses to be boxed in. On the launch of her new party series Age of Venera, we tapped into her mindset to uncover the deeper vision behind the project: ritual, rebellion, divine rage, and the sensual chaos of becoming. This isn’t just nightlife. It’s initiation. Paired with an exclusive shoot by the NASTY creative team: Marco Giuliano behind the lens and Anca Macavei on styling, EMILIJA emerges in her raw, neo-Venus element.

Broken glass. Strobe scars. Bass shaking the bones of an abandoned forest. FJAAK came up on raw instinct—hacked gear, illegal raves, no sleep, no plan B. Before the bookings, before the Boiler Rooms, it was just a basement in Spandau and the thrill of noise with nowhere to go but louder. Now they’re closing Berghain for 11 hours, running a label that’s more like a syndicate, and still building everything by hand. This isn’t a nostalgia act. It’s muscle memory. It’s resistance through rhythm. Spandau20, the Berlin-based collective label rooted in underground rave culture, celebrates its 10th VA with 10 tracks from its co-founders—each one a reflection of the label’s raw, percussive, hardware-driven ethos. To mark the occasion, we sat down with FJAAK for a a deep dive.

From underground beginnings to headlining global festivals, Indira Paganotto’s journey through the world of psy-techno has been shaped by a relentless drive to create a space where music transcends and connects people on a deeper level.

The Deborah no one talked about. In this conversation, she offers a unique window into her psyche—revealing the creative highs, the inevitable burnout, and the passion that fuels her. She reflects on the sacrifices she’s made, from time lost to the relentless demands of touring to the personal struggles that have shaped her along the way.