Munich-based producer STVW (Steve Witzlsperger) cuts across pop-punk, emo, and high-impact electronic production with precision.
With PUNK RAVE, what began as a rework concept has now evolved into a full live ecosystem, backed by the very bands that shaped his sound.
The new release captures that identity at full throttle, distorted guitars meeting precision low-end, nostalgia rewired for big-room systems, and a live energy closer to a rock show than a DJ set.
Backed by approvals from blink-182, Simple Plan, and Boys Like Girls and fresh collaborations on the horizon; STVW is pushing PUNK RAVE beyond mashup culture into original territory with intent.
In this FM PRO conversation, he breaks down genre fusion without compromise, the mechanics behind balancing guitars and sub on large systems, and why community, not numbers, defines success for the next phase of the project.
A lot of people from our community grew up on Emo and Pop-Punk and later got into EDM just like me.
PUNK RAVE is now a whole ecosystem. What version of STVW does this new release capture?
It’s truly who I am as a person. As a teenager I fell in love with Emo and Pop-Punk, listening to bands like blink-182, Sum 41, My Chemical Romance, Simple Plan etc. and later on I got into EDM. So at some point I just started blending the two genres for my own productions. Everything came together pretty organically, because the clothes I like to wear, the way I present myself on social media, the show production, and the music I make as STVW are basically just reflections of what I enjoy privately and who I am as a person. For me, there’s no specific role I have to step into and no character I have to play.
You fuse pop-punk, emo, and electronic without compromise. What did this unlock compared to earlier releases?
I think nowadays it’s really hard for artists in the electronic scene to stand out because everybody wants to sound like somebody else and a lot of things have been done already. Back in the days it was easier to create “your own sound“ but nowadays everybody uses the same sounds, the same arrangement and the same overall ideas. So I thought if I really want to stand out I have to create my own thing and maybe do something nobody has ever done before. So when the PUNK RAVE sound started to gain traction it just opened so many doors because a lot of people all of a sudden got interested in the project because it’s fresh, unique and completely different from all the other DJs/Artists in the electronic scene.
blink-182, Simple Plan, and All Time Low have backed your reworks. Did that validation add freedom, or pressure, when writing originals?
I think both in some way. It’s a huge motivation to get validation from those artists you look up to and have been such a big influence for your own music but at the same time it sets the bar really high for my original music. I want people to feel the same kind of joy and excitement with my original music and that’s not easy if you have reworked some of the best songs of our generation. But at the end of the day you can’t force having a hit song, so I always try my best in the studio and hope it translates to the listeners through the music.
Your productions hit hard but stay emotional. What’s at the core of your current setup?
When starting a song I treat the production more like a rock songs at first. For me it’s just easier writing songs that way. At a later stage when you have the overall idea for the song already I start to switch out certain elements to give it that high-energy EDM feeling. Most of the time it’s obviously that kick and the bass. But I always try to keep as much of the real instruments as possible and just add the electronic parts to support and give it that energy that you can’t get from acoustic drums for example.
PUNK RAVE (LIVE) feels like a rock show, not a DJ set. How does this translate live with guitar and drums?
The idea for the PUNK RAVE LIVE concept was already in my head when I first started working on the early PUNK RAVE songs. I always wanted the live performance to stand out just as much as the music itself. The vision was to create a small band with me as the guitarist and “DJ,” and my drummer Martin — so we could perform these high-energy PUNK RAVE tracks live, while still keeping that rave feeling which I’ve never seen before. Basically, it’s a rave with a Punk-Rock band – The response from the community and promoters has been amazing, and it’s honestly still unreal to me that we’re now able to do our own tours with this concept .
How do you balance distorted guitars with EDM low-end without losing punch on big systems?
We have put a lot of time and practice into getting the sound right for live shows. It’s definitely a challenge to add the instruments live to these high-energy songs where so much is already happening in the mix. But we found a way to make it work and it all comes down to keeping the low end clean so the kick and bassline from the songs don’t have to fight with the frequencies from the instruments.
Your fanbase spans scenes. What do you think they connect with most; nostalgia, energy, or attitude?
Actually I think it’s a combination of all three. A lot of people from our community grew up on Emo and Pop-Punk and later got into EDM just like me. So the fans are Pop-Punk and Emo kids at heart but at the same time they want the high-energy electronic beats to go crazy to at the shows and just forget about all the worries and struggles in their life for 2 hours. If you sneak in the nostalgia aspect with the PUNK RAVE versions of the songs we all love, you have all the three things combined which I think makes a PUNK RAVE show an unforgettable experience and a safe space for the whole community.
With collabs coming with Kellin Quinn, 408, and Boys Like Girls, how do you collaborate without losing identity?
I always look for artists or bands that I like a lot personally and think could be a great fit to work together. Most of the people I work with genuinely connect to the pop-punk/emo and electronic crossover, or they come from a place of real curiosity and respect for it. That’s when collaborations actually expand the project instead of watering it down. I’m also very hands-on creatively. I stay involved in the songwriting, the sound design, and the overall vision, so even when someone brings a very different background—whether that’s electronic, pop, or rock—it still ends up sounding like STVW. I’m not trying to disappear into collaborations; I want them to feel like different perspectives entering the same world.
What does success look like for this project—numbers, chaos on stage, or pushing PUNK RAVE further out of the margins?
At the end of the day, I just want to keep building the best community in the world and give back with my music for all the amazing support. It’s not about big numbers or releasing as many commercial hit songs as possible. For me, it’s about the people who enjoy PUNK RAVE as much as I do. I want to give them the best live show experience possible, create a space where they can fully be themselves, and make this whole project a part of their lives for a very long time — because they are the reason I get to do this every day. So I hope to see you on tour this year and can’t wait to party together!
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