The Straikerz Give Us the Lowdown on Their Origin Story

The Straikerz stopped by to dive deep into their origins, recent milestones, the project’s future, and more!

If you’ve been to any hard dance event in recent times, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ve heard music from rawstyle act The Straikerz. The duo has been releasing music since 2015, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that they lit the scene on fire with viral tracks like “FUNKY” and “Incoming” with Adjuzt, alongside electrifying performances that highlight their unique energy and passion for the harder styles.

To better understand their journey from passionate fans to superstar DJs, it’s best to start at the beginning, when they were two guys in Spain with big dreams. “We each discovered the harder styles in our own way,” they said. “Xavier (Mr. Black) first got into [the harder styles] through a legendary club near Barcelona called Pont Aeri, where they used to throw hardcore and mákina events.” Later, Xavier found himself attending major events like Dominator and Q-BASE, where he truly discovered hardstyle and raw.

On the other hand, Guille (Mr. Red) started by listening to hardcore and mákina. His older brother exposed Guille to hardstyle on YouTube through iconic events like Qlimax, sparking his interest in producing the genre. Over time, both Xavier and Guille grew closer to each other through mutual friends, which led to them attending the now-defunct Freaqshow NYE party by Q-dance in 2014.

Right before entering the Ziggo Dome, we shook hands and promised to meet the following week to try making some beats together. After that moment… everything else is history!
The Straikerz

Needless to say, The Straikerz kept their promise to each other, and they set off on a trajectory that led them to stardom just 10 years later. Besides banging music, much of The Straikerz’s success can be attributed to an easily recognizable brand that fans have fallen in love with — gambling. This branding has helped them bring big ideas to life, such as independent events, live performances, and new collaborations.

Many fans will remember their Jackpot Casino Heist event, an ambitious project that showcased what The Straikerz is all about. At this event, they introduced a casino slot machine that revealed the timetable throughout the night. After the critical acclaim that The Straikerz received from fans and colleagues, they wanted to bring the slot machine concept to a live performance. Of course, this led to their latest live set, 777 LIVE, where they used the slot machine to premiere brand-new collaborations with different artists in the scene.

In the first 777 LIVE, the slot machine revealed our collaborations. The question now is… what will it reveal next time? Maybe something more than just collabs? We’re already working on the next 777 LIVE show, so we hope everyone is ready for it!
The Straikerz

Photo Credit: @wanyama_photo

While branding is a key part of any artist’s success, The Straikerz also pride themselves on having a style that is uniquely theirs. From their biggest hits, fans will instantly recognize that it’s The Straikerz, based on their signature sound that features PVC kicks. Now and then, however, The Straikerz will surprise fans with new elements that push the boundaries, like one of their latest tunes, “Bring It Back.”

“Bring It Back” is a great example of our mindset in the studio. We love experimenting, pushing boundaries, and finding new ways to surprise both ourselves and the crowd — in this case, by using reverse bass PVC kicks. One of the reasons we fell in love with the harder styles is that they’re constantly evolving, and that keeps us inspired.
The Straikerz

Of course, fans know to look for the PVC kicks in The Straikerz productions, but that’s not all that this duo should be known for. “When we work on new music, we don’t limit ourselves to any rules. We focus on creating something that makes people smile, dance, and feel good,” they said. “If a beat, vocal, kick, or sound gives us that energy in the studio, then we know we’re on the right track.”

With on-point branding and stellar music, The Straikerz have benefited at the highest level, resulting in unforgettable moments in their career. For example, Mr. Red and Mr. Black had the privilege of joining the iconic POWER HOUR at Defqon.1 Weekend Festival to play their hit record, “Kickroll Is Not A Crime.” Reflecting on this track, The Straikerz said, “Every time we play this track, see — and hear — the crowd kickrolling, it’s a feeling like no other.”

Being on stage during POWER HOUR to play this record was undoubtedly a career highlight, but it was always a part of the plan. “From the moment we came up with the idea for the track, our main goal was to create something that truly represented our sound while perfectly fitting the POWER HOUR vibe,” they shared.

Performing “Kickroll Is Not A Crime” during POWER HOUR was something else. Working with POWER HOUR Records from Q-dance Music on both the release and the videoclip was a lot of fun. Seeing everything come together exactly how we imagined it from the start felt amazing.
The Straikerz

With everything that The Straikerz are accomplishing in the scene, it’s no surprise that they’re also catching the attention of mainstream EDM artists such as Timmy Trumpet, who recently played “Kickroll Is Not A Crime” during his PAROOKAVILLE set. Expressing their gratitude, The Straikerz say that Timmy Trumpet is showing the world that there are no boundaries in music, and every style has a good fit depending on the moment or situation, which is a way of thinking that they love.

“WTF!” was the first thought that came to our minds when we saw it! We have a lot of respect for Timmy Trumpet and feel really grateful that such a big EDM artist like him is enjoying and supporting our music!
The Straikerz

Photo Credit: @wanyama_photo

Today, there’s no doubt that The Straikerz are legit artists that the scene holds in high regard, but at the end of the day, they’re human and they like to get silly sometimes. For example, one of their running gags right now is THE JAR… Do we know what it is? Absolutely not. Do we want to know? Yes… I think. All we know right now is that THE JAR has an unidentified liquid inside that’s been terrorizing the scene this festival season.

If you ask any artist that’s interacted with THE JAR, they might say that it’s their worst nightmare. Of course, this meant that we had to do some investigating. Although we couldn’t get to the bottom of this, The Straikerz were able to share some more information to keep us satisfied for a little longer.

The power of THE JAR! We actually just filmed a goofy little documentary about its story, so make sure to watch it on our Instagram. What can we say… We love doing random and funny things like this, and it’s amazing to see how people get into our nonsense humor. The real question is… will THE JAR have more episodes in The Straikerz’s history? We’ll see!

The Straikerz

With an eventful 2025 already in the books, fans are starting to look toward the future of The Straikerz and what they will bring. Luckily, The Straikerz gave us an inside look at what they have planned for the rest of the year. “First of all — lots of new music! We expect 2025 to be the year with the most releases from The Straikerz so far,” they said.

“On top of that, we have two 777 LIVE shows announced where we want to bring new things to the table.” The Straikerz are also working on something special to reward their most loyal fans, along with a few other projects they can’t reveal just yet. They just urge fans to keep their eyes open and stay tuned in.

The Straikerz have a truly inspiring story beginning in Spain, where the harder styles were not as prominent as in other European countries, such as the Netherlands. Nevertheless, The Straikerz persisted. Through hard work and dedication to their craft, they have become one of the most successful acts today. Of course, they never forget their roots, and they concluded our conversation by offering advice to other artists who are looking to build a career just as they have.

“For anyone starting their career or who might see us as a reference, I’d say there’s no exact formula for success,” they said. “Just work hard, don’t put limits on yourself, and create your own luck! Be respectful of other people’s work, and always try to be unique. Most importantly, bring positive vibes. Life is already too serious, so stay positive and work hard, and good things will come.”

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