Steve Aoki and 3LAU Launch PUNX Music Project Using CryptoPunks IP

DJs and NFT enthusiasts Steve Aoki and Justin "3LAU" Blau have teamed up on a conceptual music and art project called PUNX, inspired by their own CryptoPunks non-fungible tokens (NFT).

According to a press release, the project will be "an innovative audio-visual IRL-meets-metaverse supergroup" that uses the duo's CryptoPunks in its visual imagery. The group claims to be the first DJ set associated with CryptoPunks, which released intellectual property rights (IP) to holders in August after being acquired by Yuga Labs.

Blau owns CryptoPunk #6708, which has white hair and wears sunglasses, while Aoki owns six of the 8-bit characters, including CryptoPunk #6748, which wears a purple cap and an eye mask.

“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," Aoki said in a statement. "Though we’ve been friends for 10 years, it was our shared passion for Web3 that inspired this collab."

The group tweeted that sonically, PUNX "will be different from either of our current sounds," opting for a glitchier, choppier techno sound.

3LAU tweeted that the project is "not an NFT" but said that the project may find ways to integrate blockchain technology in the future. The group plans to release music and tour in 2023.

Both Aoki and Blau have been influential in combining NFTs and music through their respective projects. Blau previously released an NFT album series titled "Ultraviolet," which raked in a record $11 million, and launched music royalty platform Royal in May 2021. Aoki has released several successful NFT collections, including the Dream Catcher and launched the A0K1VERSE, an NFT membership community.