MaJa.
Fully in the moment.
MaJa on three decks, genre-fluid journeys and the positive resonance of a night’s final tracks.
MaJa · Zürich
MaJa knew Zürich’s clubs as a dancer long before she began mixing herself during lockdown. Behind the decks, she discovered another kind of intensity: feeling completely herself while connected to everyone in the room. We talk about careful preparation and open sidetracks, familiar tunes at the right moment and a closing set that gives people time to say goodbye.
MaJa is a Zürich DJ. She describes her musical journeys as “genre-fluid” and prefers to work with at least three decks. We received her answers to our five questions on 29 October 2026.
Three decks, fully in the moment
You had been going to raves for a long time before you started mixing during lockdown. What surprised you behind the decks that you had never noticed as a dancer?
That DJing takes me into a heavenly state that’s even more intoxicating than dancing. I create something by surrendering completely to the music. I feel the phrases and the build-up of each track and do something I call “live sound editing”. I find that easier and more comfortable with more than two decks, which is why having at least three decks available is the greatest thing for me. DJing brings me so completely into the present, probably also because I can fully indulge my desire for autonomy. It feels fantastic. At the same time, I feel connected to everyone in the room, sensing the energy being released and flowing back to me. That fills me with joy and strength, making it easy to play for five hours sometimes.
Familiarity and surprise
In your description for Heldenbar, you talk about balancing familiarity and surprise. When you’re playing, how do you know it’s time for an unexpected track?
I see and feel it through the shifts in energy in the room and the tiny movements in the crowd. And I also just get bored quickly myself, lol. The tracks and the occasion have to fit together. There are clubs where I play more house-oriented or more “techy” music, or where Madonna, for example, would never be an option. The music absolutely needs a certain volume for the bass to work and the crowd to immerse themselves. If I play completely unfamiliar tracks, or almost exclusively new ones, it can sometimes be harder for the dancers to get into it. Something familiar is good for the ears then. But playing nothing but bangers wears thin. It’s important to embed the tracks in the mood of each moment.
Good sets are a give and take and depend heavily on interaction with the dancers.
Prepared, but not fixed
You prepare your gigs very carefully. How much of a prepared set remains open once you see the people in front of you?
Because I know the clubs very well as a clubgoer and know which sounds work where, I can generally rely on my track selection. I also always have various “sidetracks” up my sleeve if I notice that certain parts of my musical journey, which I like to call “genre-fluid”, are going down better. I find it easy to stay a little longer with what the crowd is enjoying at that moment. And yet I want to show my music, because to my ears all those tracks are little discoveries. Good sets are a give and take and depend heavily on interaction with the dancers. I also want to keep things varied, and I like returning to the direction I originally had in mind, which doesn’t fit into any box. My gig at Château Festival in France, for example, which is on my SoundCloud, turned into a four-hour set. Three quarters of it wasn’t prepared at all, and it contributed a lot to my development as a DJ.
A goodbye that stays with you
In your Tonfall interview, you clearly chose the closing slot. What do you want to leave people with through the last tracks of a night?
With the last tracks, I show the dancers that the party is now over. I prepare them for a transition. It’s a way of accompanying a goodbye, acknowledging the journey we’ve just taken while also preparing people for inevitably being sent back into everyday life. I deliberately choose tracks that leave a positive resonance, so the dancers can let go of what has just happened. Behind that is my wish to make them look forward to future parties and my gigs, and to leave something positive that people enjoy remembering.
Openness on the dance floor
At which places to dance in Zürich do you feel people are particularly open to each other and to the music?
In principle, I’d name all the places where I’ve played. Even so, especially in public spaces, there’s always a little unwelcome “bycatch”. In that sense, it’s probably down to the organisers, or the door selection, which people feel drawn to a place, how open they are to the music and to others, and how respectfully they treat one another. Unfortunately, someone’s mindset isn’t always immediately visible at the door.
A balanced gender mix contributes a lot to a good atmosphere. The time of day also determines who is still in the club and how much substance use is a factor. I also play at lots of small private raves and parties that aren’t commercial at all. I feel much more openness and community there than at public events.
MaJa
Interview by email · Editorial and image art direction: SCENE:ID. @beatiq.ch