It was back in my freshman year of college that I first heard Stööki Sound. My friend Maddy showed me their track “W2L” with Troyboi. I remember being so taken back by the way it sounded unlike anything I’d ever heard before, especially with the signature “Stööki Sound” audio byte cleverly inserted into their tracks.
I saw the UK-based duo open up for Keys N Krates in February last year at Concord Music Hall. From the get go, DJ Lukey and Jelacee riled the crowd up with their incredible energy.
When I saw that they were coming back to Chicago to play The Chop Shop, I knew I had to preview their show.
Check them out at The Chop Shop this Thursday, May 18!
Cat: How would you guys describe your style?
Stööki Sound: We take influences from grime music, trap music, from world music, like Asian and African and South American music. I would say people would put us into trap because it’s the easiest place to place us. But then if you listen to what trap has become compared to the stuff that we’re making, then it’s a bit more difficult to put into words.
C: Ok, but if you had to put it into words?
SS: UK, grimey trap beats.
C: With so many people just copying each other’s production styles, how do you guys keep things original?
SS: We’ve never really jumped on a certain sound because that’s popular or that’s what’s mainstream. We take our influences from a whole range of different places and our main focus is developing our own sound.
C: So you were on tour with Keys N Krates last year as an opener. What’s it like headlining shows now?
SS: When we were on tour with Keys N Krates, we were playing support and going to a lot of towns in America that we’ve never been to before. I think not everyone, before they came to the show, were aware of us, so it was cool to play to new crowds and for people to leave and say like, ‘I like what you guys are doing.’
We’re still learning. You know how it is in the music industry with regards to music, shows and stuff. It’s very much so based upon hype. It’s based upon, is everyone else going to see it? Is everyone else listening to that kind of person right now? That’s why you’re getting a lot of people who aren’t able to replicate other artists.
This time around, in our Off the Endz tour, we’re bringing more of a live element to our performances, with Jelacee performing tracks on the mic.
We’ve noticed a lot of the real followers, the real music heads that actually genuinely fuck with our stuff. A lot of people that have come to our shows have been genuine Stööki heads, as I would say.
C: What’s next for you guys?
SS: We’ve got an EP on the way. We’ve also got Sonar Festival in Barcelona, What The Fest in Oregon, and a few that haven’t been announced. But we’ve mainly been focusing on music.
C: What are some of your favorite artists at the moment?
SS: Kendrick’s new album, J Hus from the UK, Mura Masa, Sam Gellaitry’s “Escapism III”, Gravez, Promnite, our boy Troy, G JONES, MssingNo, Circadian Rhythms Recs, and BLACKWAX.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Stööki Sound & Joker with support: Fowl, Nave
Thursday – May 18, 2017
Buy tickets through Ticketfly for $15
1st Ward at Chop Shop
2033 W. North Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
Cat Zhang 
What an awesome interview! I love music and interviewing a favorite band or artist would be incredible.
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Thanks! So glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, it’s simpler than you’d think – a lot of artists list their manager’s email address on their public profiles.
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Cool! I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks!
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