The Stickmen Project – Rise to Fame, Live Drumming & New Music

Funktasy Spotlight presents an exclusive interview with The Stickmen Project, DJ duo and TikTok sensation.

The Stickmen Project - Alright

With over 250 million total streams and 2.4 million monthly listeners, The Stickmen Project has taken the EDM scene by storm. Known for performing in LED tracksuits, their innovative approach to DJing and energetic performances have captivated audiences worldwide. They’ve taken the stage at prominent festivals such as Reading & Leeds Festival UK and Airbeat One Germany. Whether mixing their own tracks or creating mashups on TikTok, their talent for live drumming shines through. Over the years, they’ve released hits such as “Tears In Ibiza” featuring AR/CO and more recently, “I Wish I Was.” And they’re far from finished. 

Download & Stream “Alright” by The Stickmen Project Here.

Congratulations on your new single “Alright!” How did the collaboration with Izzy Bizu, who has been featured on tracks with artists like David Guetta and Robin Schulz, come about?

First of all we’d like to thank you for doing an interview with us. We love Funktasy, so it’s an honour to be asked to be a apart of it and tell our story.

How did the collaboration with Izzy come about? Well, we had been working on “Alright” for a while, and we hadn’t found the right vocalist for the song. These things always take time. Then while we were doing a writing session with a producer called Loek, he was showing us his finished songs. One of his tracks had Izzy on it. While the track was playing we both looked at each other with excitement and we were both thinking the same thing, that Izzy would be perfect for “Alright.” So later that day we sent her the track on Instagram and asked if she’d like to do a demo, and she smashed it.

“Alright” sends an uplifting message. What is the inspiration behind it? 

We are all about positivity. Everybody has a time in their life when things feel tough and this song is just a message to anyone feeling low, that everything will be ok again. You just have to keep going.

How did The Stickmen Project come together as a DJ duo? What strengths do each of you bring to this partnership?

We started working together in a club. One as the DJ, and the other as a percussionist. We worked really well together from the first time and eventually we came up with the concept of The Stickmen Project, and it’s just evolved bit by bit over time. As people we are completely opposite, we both have strengths and weaknesses, like anyone. But together we can do anything if we put our minds to it.

How did the decision to keep your identities a secret come about?

It was a conscious decision as we don’t want to be famous. We have seen how ‘being famous’ can affect people’s private lives, and we didn’t want that to happen to us. We also love performing on big stages. So we wear the masks so we can have the best of both worlds, play on big stages, and keep our private lives separate.

How do you navigate creative differences or decisions when performing or producing music together?

It’s not as bad as you’d think. We usually just make 2 different versions of the song, and then we listen back to both versions in our own time, and then we usually agree on which is the best way to go after sleeping on it. We just want what’s best for the music, rather than letting our egos get in the way.

What does a typical studio session look like for you? Do you work in the box or analog? Do you mix and master your tracks?

It depends if we are writing or producing. When we are writing, it’s very much a laid back approach. We just jam some chords and see where it takes us. When producing, it’s very much trial and error. The finished track is usually the 25th version or something like that.We work in the box, everything is on our laptops. We don’t mix and master our tracks, we have tried, but it’s never quite as good as the professionals can get it sounding, so we tend to leave it to them.

You have worked with notable artists such as Felix Jaehn and Armin van Buuren. Who is your dream artist to collaborate with, and why?

Daft Punk are the producers we look up to the most. They have their own unique style and have been a huge inspiration to us. If we had to choose someone who is still working today, then we’d probably pick someone like Calvin Harris or Marshmello. Those guys just keep delivering quality pop/dance tracks time after time.

You have over 8 million followers on TikTok. This is a significant achievement. How has the platform impacted your careers? What strategies do you find most effective in engaging such a large audience?

As far as we are aware, we are the fourth biggest electronic music act on TikTok. So having a good following on social media has definitely helped us along the way. We have played some huge shows all over the world and been on TV as a result. So it has opened doors for us. But really it’s been the music running alongside the social media that has really pushed things forward.

The Stickmen Project

How does the live drum aspect of your performances contribute to the dynamic energy of your shows? What inspired you to integrate live drums into your performances and social media content?

You have DJs, and you have bands, we sit somewhere in the middle of the two. The live drums really do add an extra layer to our performances. The fact that the drums light up shows people what we are doing and that we are playing it live. They flash in time with the music, and at some sections in our set they are the stars of the show. 

When we started working together, that’s what we were doing at the time. A DJ and a drummer. So it was just a case of evolving. Instead of playing percussion on the drums, we had the idea to play the synth parts on the drums. This involved remaking or editing a lot of songs, so we could remove the synth parts out of the songs, and then load those parts onto the drums. 

As far as social media goes, during Covid, we couldn’t get a videographer to film us. So we had the idea of one of us filming and the other performing. We posted a few on TikTok and they started getting crazy views. So we just kept doing it.

Many artists have rituals or pre-show routines to get into the right mindset before performing. Do you have any specific rituals or habits you follow before going on stage?

It gets hot in our masks, so our ritual would usually be to drink a lot of water before we go out, and to make sure everything is plugged in, and charged up ready for the show. We don’t usually have much time to do anything else.

Can you share any upcoming projects, collaborations, or future goals? 

We have a few tracks that we are currently working on, but we don’t want to give too much away just yet…

As far as future goals go, we just want to play as many shows as humanly possible. The dream goal would probably be a residency in Las Vegas.

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