Steve Aoki and 3LAU Announce PUNX Supergroup

2x-Grammy-nominated artist Steve Aoki and world-renowned chart-topper 3LAU announce their new project PUNX, the world’s first DJs associated with CryptoPunks NFT characters. Led by two of the music industry’s most successful web3 entrepreneurs, Aoki and 3LAU join forces to create an innovative audio-visual IRL-meets-metaverse supergroup. PUNX marks the first time Aoki and 3LAU are coming together as a duo to build off the sonic chemistry they established on their recent audio/visual NFT collaboration “Jenny.”

“I am so excited to announce my new project with 3LAU, PUNX,” Steve Aoki says. “PUNX is a forward-thinking, conceptual musical art project with a nod to the music we love and the music that shaped who we are today. Though we’ve been friends for 10 years, it was our shared passion for web3 that inspired this collab. Using our own Cryptopunks in the visual imagery is just the start of how we plan on bringing the incredible web3 community into this project. I can’t wait to share what we have created with the world.”

“So excited to announce the beginning of a new musical journey with one of my best friends, Steve Aoki,” states 3LAU. “Over the last few years we’ve navigated the insane world of web3 together and have been wanting to combine our passion for music with that space in an even bigger way, and we’re doing that as PUNX. We can’t wait to share with the world a new sound and all of the crazy ideas we’ve been cooking up in the studio.”

PUNX sits at the intersection of music and web3, drawing on Aoki and 3LAU’s collective experience. 3LAU famously released the NFT series, Ultraviolet, last year which broke all existing NFT sales records and quickly followed that with the launch of Royal, a web3 company he co-founded that allows fans to co-own music with their favorite artists. Around the same time, Aoki launched his record-breaking Dream Catcher NFT collection and Dominion X, the first episodic series to launch on the blockchain. Since then, the two have emerged as leading voices in the space, pushing music and digital communities forward through layered storytelling and immersive projects. Aoki and 3LAU’s shared love for bloghouse and electro music along with their passion for CryptoPunks’ pixelated cyberpunk world led them to create their brand new PUNX IP. The supergroup plans to release music and tour in 2023.

ABOUT PUNX

PUNX is a music collaboration created by world-renowned DJs Steve Aoki and 3LAU aka Justin Blau. As innovators who have encouraged the merging of genres in pursuit of new sonic experiences, it is both fitting and exciting that they join forces to launch a next-gen, electronic music duo fueled by community, layered storytelling and world-class art. With PUNX, Aoki and 3LAU become the first DJs to utilize the CryptoPunks IP following the updated CryptoPunks licensing agreement. PUNX pushes the boundaries of EDM sonically and blazes a new trail of innovation for the legacy IP, paving the way for a veritable flood of brands, artists, and creators who will follow in their footsteps.

Twitter: @ItsThePunx

Instagram: @ItsThePunx

ABOUT Steve Aoki

Boasting a 77 million average monthly reach across all his platforms and nearly 4 billion streams to his name, 2x-Grammy-nominated music producer, artist, fashion designer, entrepreneur, and NFT visionary Steve Aoki is one of the most successful cross-genre artists in the world. The DJ/Producer and Dim Mak Records founder holds the world record for Most Traveled Musician in a Single Calendar Year and has been described by Billboard as “one of the most in-demand entertainers in the world.” As a long-time collector and “an unabashed futurist” (Fortune), Aoki has been at the forefront with his NFT collaborations, generating over $4 million with the launch of his first NFT, the Dream Catcher series. He also co-created the first blockchain-based episodic series with Dominion X, partnered with Sotheby’s on their Contemporary Curated series, and recently partnered with comic book legend Todd McFarlane to create OddKey, an NFT marketplace on the Solana blockchain for comic artists to freely showcase and sell their original digital artwork. Most recently, Aoki created the A0K1VERSE, an NFT membership community, powered by the Passport, that welcomes his fans to both virtual and real-world experiences. In whatever space he enters, Aoki offers a community for those who need it most.

Twitter: @SteveAoki

Instagram: @SteveAoki

ABOUT Justin Blau

Justin Blau aka 3LAU is a world-renowned musician, producer, and CEO of Royal. 3LAU’s music career started small at college fraternity parties and he quickly rose to fame, performing at sold-out shows around the world and amassing over 1 billion music streams across Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, and other platforms. Outside of the studio, 3LAU is a must-see live performer, and has appeared at major festivals such as EDC Vegas/Korea/Orlando, Ultra, Electric Zoo, Lollapalooza, and Life Is Beautiful. An early crypto adopter, Justin has been an open advocate for building the investable layer of music on blockchains since 2017. He has seen great success experimenting with tokenizing his own music — to date, he has sold over $20M in primary sales from his NFT drops. After those experiments and navigating complex copyright laws and industry inequities, Justin felt moved to co-found Royal with the goal of empowering every artist to share their music with fans and give people around the world a chance to partner with the artists they want to see thrive. Royal launched in January 2022 with legendary hip hop artist Nas sharing ownership in his music, followed by releases with Diplo and The Chainsmokers.

Twitter: @3LAU

Instagram: @3LAU

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Tags: Justin Blau, PUNX, Steve Aoki

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.