Born in Prilep, Macedonia on 24 January 1957, he started playing guitar at the age of 13. Stefanovski was one of the founding members of Leb i sol with whom he recorded 13 albums between 1978 and 1991. He currently splits his time playing with his VS Trio, in an acoustic partnership with Miroslav Tadić or composing for film and theatre. Dramatist Goran Stefanovski was his older brother.
Stefanovski began to achieve fame in the Yugoslavian rock scene during his time with Leb i Sol, his third band. The band's first 1977 single Devetka/Nie Cetvoricata already showcased his guitar prowess, while Vlatko was still only 19 years old. They played their first major concert as an opening act for Bijelo Dugme, commonly regarded as Yugoslavia's most popular band. While the band was then virtually unknown, legend has it that the audience and Bijelo Dugme were both blown away by their performance of 'Kokoška'