With nearly 900 million streams, “Do It To It” has propelled Charlie Duncker, aka ACRAZE, into the electronic music stratosphere, cementing his reputation as a genre-blending powerhouse. Since his breakout in 2020, Duncker has carved out a distinct space in the hip-hop house movement, seamlessly fusing the two styles to breathe new life into the tracks that defined a generation.
Beyond the decks, he moves effortlessly between international festival stages and high-fashion runways, all while spearheading Paradox—an emerging music label with a bold vision to curate immersive events and champion the next wave of electronic music innovators.
Duncker sat down with EDM Maniac to offer an exclusive look behind the scenes of his latest music and his relentless pursuit of boundary-pushing creativity outside of the studio.
EDM Maniac: You recently released a song called “Rock My World.” You mentioned that you can’t remember the last time you were this excited about a song coming out, and that it’s very special to you. Can you tell us a little more about that?
ACRAZE: Every time I do something in the hip-hop lane and mesh it together with house, it always works so well for me. Puku is a hip-hop singer, song-writer, vocalist, producer—the guy is insanely talented. We did a lot of hip-hop stuff a while back and I told him I wanted to do some more hip-hop house style stuff.
We worked on some stuff in the studio, and by the end of the session, he’s like, “I got some new songs I want to show you.” “Rock My World” was one of them and I remember thinking to myself, “Yo, this is crazy.” It was so simple, but as a producer, I could really envision a climax and a drop happening.
I ended up actually scrapping everything he did and just took the vocal and made a whole new thing with piano and bass lines. That’s the story of how it came about.
Maniac Magazine: That’s incredible. How was it working with Puku?
ACRAZE: He’s super easy to work with and super inspiring, as well. I’ll play a loop in the studio and he automatically has ideas. He’s a machine.
Maniac Magazine: What’s your history with hip-hop?
ACRAZE: From the jump, when I first started making music, I was making hip-hop beats. I got this program called FL Studio, and usually the first thing people do when they get FL Studio is make hip-hop beats and that’s what I did.
As quarantine started to hit, I made “Do It To It” and later down the road realized it was making more of an impact in my sets. That’s when I found out that this might be a niche for me, because I really like hip-hop in general and my parents grew up on it. It’s always something I’ve been interested in.
Maniac Magazine: Does your creative process normally flow like it did with Puku? Do you hear something hip-hop and find a way to work it into house?
ACRAZE: You know, it’s tough. For people who know rappers and how they act—they don’t really know dance music. You really have to approach it as what they do and then work with it later.
I try to take the approach of making hip-hop stuff with a rapper from scratch and not showing them EDM beats because the pocket is different, the rhythmic side of things is different. It’s easier for me to make hip-hop into house because I already know how I’m going to work it. I can just tell them that I need a chorus or a loop and put it before or after a drop, or chop it up. I feel like I really know how to direct it. I think I’m really starting to get the hang of it now, and it shows, and that’s a really cool feeling.
Maniac Magazine: Do you do any art outside of music?
ACRAZE: No, I’ve tried drawing, but I’m the worst drawer of all time. Nothing outside of, like, fashion. I think that might be my next stint. I’ve really been honing in on design and merch. I’m really big into fashion, my closet is insane.
Maniac Magazine: You are a very stylish man. What is your fashion inspo?
ACRAZE: Thank you. Probably streetwear, that’s really my thing. I really love streetwear. I love things that are just different, you know? If someone is walking down the street, and the person next to me is like, “Ugh, what are they wearing?” I’m probably like, “Oh, that’s sick!” I love when people look an edgy way.
In January, I went to Paris for the first time for fashion week because I was playing an event, and I got to go to some really prestigious fashion shows, and it opened my eyes to how big the fashion world is. I got really inspired and that’s what kind of pushed me to start Paradox right now. And hopefully later I’ll do a fashion line outside of music, stuff that isn’t just merch.
Maniac Magazine: Do you feel like your draw to grunge style resonates anywhere else in your life outside of personal style?
ACRAZE: Yeah, I think that anything I do, really, I try to do outside of the box.
Maniac Magazine: I see this incredible shift in dance music fashion becoming more street-style. Do you see yourself ever dipping your toes in underground street-style festival wear?
ACRAZE: Eventually. I definitely think there’s a market for it. And one thing I do see, is there’s a lot of girl brands but I don’t see a lot of guy brands. So, maybe I could lean into that. That’s actually a really good idea, now that you mention it.
Maniac Magazine: There’s a lot of space for creativity in rave wear, and I think people are looking to go outside of the box and lean into something that is more street-style than we have previously seen.
ACRAZE: The problem with raving, and I’m just going to speak for myself here, but when I would go to raves, I would spend all the money I had that week on a festival ticket. Back in 2015, I remember this specifically, I spent my last $300 on a festival ticket, and I still had bills to pay.
If I’m going to build a clothing brand, it has to be somewhat affordable. It has to be stylish but affordable. People are penny-pinching to go to festivals, and I don’t want to make people go broke more than they already are.
Maniac Magazine: Especially now, more than ever. People want to attend festivals to have fun, but they are struggling to do so. Let’s talk tour life. Do you like being on the road?
ACRAZE: Yeah, I love being on the road. It gets tiring, for sure, but that’s the beauty of it. I wake up every day grateful and I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I think about that a lot when I’m just bored, like “What would I be doing right now if I wasn’t doing music?” And truthfully, I don’t know.
It gets tiring, and every DJ will tell you that, but I’m in a position where I can inspire a lot of people, and that’s something I’ve always wanted.
Maniac Magazine: You’ve said before that the key to success is ambition and drive. Where does your drive come from?
ACRAZE: Hard times and hard moments. I’ve had a lot of moments where I’ve struggled in my life, and that’s where a lot of my drive comes from. I don’t want to go back to that. When they say your destiny is in your own hands, it really is. I wake up every day and just try to put in as much work as I can.
Maniac Magazine: What are three things you can’t leave for a tour without?
ACRAZE: Wait, hold on, let me actually look in my bag. Glasses, for sure. I always need shades. Vitamins, I’ve got a lot of vitamins. Take your vitamins, people! And gum. I get a lot of anxiety, and I don’t always know where it comes from, so gum is a way that I keep my mind moving. If you see me chewing gum, I’m probably nervous.
Maniac Magazine: Does performing on stage make you anxious or is that somewhere that’s comfortable to you?
ACRAZE: It can be nerve-racking at first, but once I play the first song, it all goes away. Then I get into a flow. I mean, I get nervous a lot.
Maniac Magazine: Aw, he’s shy.
ACRAZE: [Laughing] Yeah, I guess I am just a shy guy.
Maniac Magazine: It has been a pleasure talking to you. Anything you want the fans to know?
ACRAZE: Stream “Rock My World.” Hit me up on Instagram if you like it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Featured image credit: Taylor Regulski.
