Creators of all kinds rely on the BOSS Loop Station to help generate entire musical worlds. However, for the Stickmen Project, the Loop Station has also helped create a massive social media following. The mysterious EDM duo takes the live DJ concept to the next level by combining it with electronic percussion and a sci-fi-approved light show. The Stickmen Project’s pairing of drums and responsive lighting creates a live music experience that captivates viewers, resulting in eight million TikTok followers. They provide a closer look at their road to success, RC-505mkII use, and why they’re only getting started with the Loop Station.
Social Mediation
Eight million TikTok subscribers is an incredible accomplishment. What did it take to build that following?
We were around years before our real social media explosion, but back before COVID, TikTok had just become a thing and was growing. We knew we had to try it, so we started posting videos. We would always frame them where we’d be next to each other, filling up a landscape screen. Some of them had a few thousand views—not really great.
Then, during COVID, we couldn’t get a videographer to come and help us film, so we suggested that one of us film the other in the studio. That way, we filled up the screen a bit more. It’s easier for people to understand what’s going on when we film it up close. We posted one or two of those. One of them had five million views or something like that. Then we posted another one, which had thirty million views. We were like, “Okay, this is what we’re going to do now from now on.”
"We posted a video which had thirty million views. We were like, 'Okay, this is what we're going to do now from now on.'"
Boots and Cats
You featured the Loop Station in a lot of those videos. How did you first learn about it?
We were starting to release music and thought looping would be a cool way to add some extra elements to our social media to help promote the songs. We borrowed a Loop Station from a local beatboxer and discovered, “Oh, we could do with actually getting one of these.”
We released our first-ever official song, “Boots and Cats,” four years ago. I think that was the first time we used it. It was the RC-505. We had it for about two years, and then BOSS kindly gave us the RC-505mkII. We’ve been using that ever since. We use it all the time.
How do you utilize the RC-505mkII in your setup?
When we first started doing our TikToks, all we could do was play one element of the song at a time. We filmed one element, then another element, and then layered the videos on top of each other.
The Loop Station allowed us to play more of the song by using more loops to build it up. It just opened the door to, “Oh, we can make the song actually sound more like the original version than just an element of it.” Keep an eye out for more Loop Station content on our new single, “I Wish I Was.”
Your Loop Station is all over your social media. Does it ever make it out live?
We still haven’t taken it out a gig, but in the future, I feel the Loop Station will really come into its own there. We’re going to look at using the Loop Station as a way to improvise and maybe expand sections of our set. We could build using the actual samples of our singles and mix off the back of those. It’s inspiring, isn’t it? We’ll definitely bring some more live looping, the 404, and everything else.
@thestickmenproject Here’s how we used the Boss RC505MKII to play a live loop version of our latest single FIESTA @BOSS @Roland #ad #electronicmusic ♬ Fiesta - The Stickmen Project & ALTÉGO
"We're going to look at using the Loop Station as a way to improvise and maybe expand sections of our set."
Gear in Motion
Speaking of the SP-404, what other gear do you use?
We’re using the Roland SPD-SX PRO. That’s where all the samples are stored. When the DJ changes songs, a program change is sent to the SPD-SX PRO. Having a hardware solution is just way more reliable. We also use the BT-1 triggers, which we’ve been using since 2017.
The other thing is the SP-404MKII. We’ve figured out a way to send the MIDI from the effect knobs on the SPD-SX PRO to the SP-404MKII to control extra effects like reverbs and delays. We used it in a recent mix on YouTube called the “House Party Mix.”
Something a Little Different
Tell us what inspires your drum performance, a massive element of your show.
The main goal was to bring something a little bit different from what a normal DJ set is. Not to criticize DJs for what they do—that’s the world we come from. It’s just that some people do that with MIDI controllers to augment a DJ set that’s predominantly playback. We do it using this big, flashy LED drum kit. When we move our arm, we hit something, it flashes, and you hear a sound. You’re receiving that in a different way, aren’t you? It’s our way of blending what you might get from a live band and a DJ set.
Inspiring the Aspiring
You’ve had a lot of success in your career. Do you have any advice for aspiring loopers, artists, or social media creators?
Social media is a huge thing to focus on and spend a lot of time doing. For any musician in 2024, it’s definitely a tool you can use to build your brand and build awareness of your brand. We do think that you still have to have the meat and potatoes building blocks, like songs and a good live show, first, though.
The other piece of advice is if you take one swing and it doesn’t get the views or capture the algorithm or people, try it again. Iterate and try different things. Every time you try is like a fresh slate. Just adapt and take the opportunities where they come.
