Acraze is on a bit of a hot streak. The rising DJ born Charlie Duncker in Staten Island, New York, made a major breakthrough two years ago with “Do It to It,” a thumping evolution of R&B girl group Cherish’s 2006 hit. (You definitely know it—“Bounce with it, drop with it, lean with it, rock with it.”)
The track’s prominence in clubs across the country helped Acraze book his first Vegas residency at Hakkasan, and then he dropped deep house anthem “Believe,” crafted with production duo Goodboys, along with an infectious remix of the Sam Smith-Kim Petras smash “Unholy.”
Acraze has continued to step it up this year with a new residency at Wynn—including two sets this week at Encore Beach Club—and another sticky single with “Take Me Away,” also built on an incredibly familiar pop refrain.
“I probably started working on that record two years ago, listening to the Natasha Bedingfield song ‘Pocketful of Sunshine,’ and I heard that part ‘Take me away’ and just thought it could sound crazy as a [dance song],” Acraze tells the Weekly. “I just couldn’t figure out the actual structure for it, so I gave up on it for a bit and it sat on my computer for a year.”
He polished the track and showcased it as his opener during an epic set last year at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris with DJ Snake, “and it absolutely went off. Then everyone was asking for it, so I finished it up but couldn’t get [samples] cleared for a while, because we couldn’t get in touch with Natasha.”
When Team Acraze finally connected with the U.K. singer and songwriter, she didn’t just clear it, she wanted to get involved. Bedingfield performed her original song during Acraze’s Hollywood Palladium show in January. “It was really cool and super iconic, because everyone knows that record,” he says. “We did my version, and it was just super cool to see both her and the universe of music she comes from, and how that works in the dance world.”
That kind of musical moment-making that has boosted Acraze into the upper echelon of EDM. That sensibility also makes him perfect for Vegas.
“Honestly, it was never my goal to have a residency in Vegas. I thought that was out of my reach,” he says. “But once I started, it felt awesome … and I feel like my shows do well at venues where you’re selling tables and bottles. Just going from my own small shows to ticketed shows to doing stuff in Vegas, it doesn’t feel too different; it doesn’t feel out of reach.”
Acraze plans to keep the Strip dancing all year long by releasing a half-dozen more new tracks, and he’s booking more performances around the world this year than ever before, including a trip to Australia and some first-time festivals.
“I’m still tweaking those tracks, and I’m definitely dabbling in different sounds,” he says, “but when it all comes together, it will feel like me.”
ACRAZE April 23, noon, Encore Beach Club; April 26, 10:30 p.m., EBC at Night; $20-$30, wynnsocial.com.
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