Steve Aoki

Steve Aoki was born on November 30, 1977 in Miami, Florida and grew up in Newport Beach, California. He is an American electro house DJ, musician and music producer. He celebrated his greatest successes in the club and festival scene with his remix of “Pursuit of Happiness” and the single “Boneless”. He made a name for himself commercially with the songs A Light That Never Comes and Just Hold On. He occasionally performs as 3 Are Legend together with the Belgian DJ duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike on stage.

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Career

In March 2010, Aoki presented his masterpiece “I’m in the House”. It is a collaboration with Zuper Blahq, the alias of the frontman of the Black Eyed Peas, Will.i.am. This sonic stroke of genius marks Aoki’s brilliant entry into the sphere of commercial success. In its opening week, the song reached number 29 in the British singles charts. It later went on to become a triumphant top five hit in both the UK dance and UK indie charts. Its sonic power also found its way into an episode of MTV’s Jersey Shore as well as the acoustic backdrop to feature film Piranha 3D and the trailer for Think Like A Man.

In 2011, Aoki continued his creative flight of fancy. He released two chart-toppers: ‘Turbulence’, a collaboration with Lil Jon and Laidback Luke, and ‘No Beef’, a groundbreaking fusion with Afrojack and Miss Palmer. Both singles conquered the British charts. ‘No Beef’ even achieved international fame and found a place in various European countries. This track was immortalized as an exclusive bonus on the album ‘Wonderland’. In the same year, Aoki forged sonic bonds with Tiësto.

His solo debut “Wonderland”, which was released in January 2012, is a testament to Aoki’s versatility and features artistic contributions from the likes of LMFAO, Kid Cudi, Travis Barker and Wynter Gordon. The outstanding quality of this studio album was recognized at the 2013 Grammy Awards with a nomination in the “Dance/Electronic Album” category. This was immediately followed by a remix album and in spring 2012, Aoki’s remix of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” conquered the official single charts in Germany and Austria with impressive download figures. The remix received further support through its use in the film Project X. On December 11, 2012, Aoki presented the visionary 3-track EP “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”.

Album: Neon Future I

In 2013, Steve Aoki conquered the international charts with his instrumental track “Boneless”, which was created in collaboration with Chris Lake and Tujamo. The song reached the top half of the charts in Germany and Austria. Aoki later released a vocal version of the song together with US rapper Kid Ink, which brought him further chart success, including a place in the US Hot 100. The lyrics were written in collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter Jenson Vaughan.

Another highlight in Aoki’s career was the song “A Light That Never Comes”, which he produced together with the rock band Linkin Park. The song not only made it into the top 10 of the German and US single charts, but also onto the soundtrack of the movie “The Expendables 3”. At the same time, Aoki announced a follow-up and released a remix EP with contributions from Coone, Twoloud and Vicetone. These successes earned Aoki sixth place in the “America’s Best DJs” polls by DJ Times Magazine and Pioneer DJ.

Steve Aoki has not only been able to hold his own artistically, but also financially: according to Forbes, he was one of the best-paid DJs in the world in 2013 and came eighth in DJ Magazine’s 2013 ranking. In the same year, Aoki even made a cameo appearance in the US series Arrow. The transition to 2014 was marked by a groundbreaking collaboration with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike under the pseudonym “3 Are Legend”, while the studio album “Neon Future I” was released in October 2014. This featured impressive collaborations with artists such as Fall Out Boy, will.i.am and Machine Gun Kelly and cemented Aoki’s position in the album charts in Austria, Switzerland and the USA.

Until the release of the second part of the album, Aoki released further independent singles, including “Born to Get Wild” with Will.i.am, “Back to Earth” with Fall Out Boy, “Afroki” with Afrojack and “Neon Future” with Empire of the Sun.

Album: Neon Future II

On January 7, 2015, Steve Aoki presented the track “Cake Face” on SoundCloud, which is based on his idiosyncratic trend of throwing cake in the faces of several fans during live performances. This bizarre staging gave his performances a unique touch.

The album “Neon Future II” followed on May 12, 2015 with groundbreaking collaborations with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Walk Off the Earth and Linkin Park. The second collaboration with the latter, “Darker Than Blood”, was released on April 14, 2015. Despite positive feedback, the song was unable to match the success of its predecessor. This was followed by further singles such as “I Love It When You Cry (Moxoki)” with Moxi Raia, “Lightning Strikes” with Tony Junior and Nervo, “Home We’ll Go (Take My Hand)” with Walk Off the Earth and “Youth Dem (Turn Up)” with Snoop Dogg.

In May 2015, Aoki faced a lawsuit for allegedly breaking a fan’s neck during a concert when he jumped into an inflatable boat that was being held up by the crowd to stage dive. The ensuing legal dispute cast a shadow over Aoki’s stage show. Tracks from Aoki’s studio album “Neon Future” were integrated into the soundtrack of the science fiction film “The Hive”, which was released in September 2015.

On October 2, 2015, Aoki released the song “Power of Now” together with Headhunterz, a fascinating fusion of his big room sound with the hardstyle sounds of Heady. Despite high expectations, success on platforms such as Beatport failed to materialize. A vocal version called “Feel”, which was used as the soundtrack for the film “Point Break”, also failed to make the impact he had hoped for. The song found its place on the Neon Future Special Edition “Odyssey”, which combines all the tracks from the two album versions as well as additional recordings outside the albums. In December 2015, Aoki sealed his long-term relationship by marrying his girlfriend Tiernan Cowling in Hawaii.

Album: Kolony

Without You was released as a single in spring 2017. It is the first single from his upcoming album and was created in collaboration with the Canadian DJ duo Dvbbs and the US rapper 2 Chainz. The studio album Kolony was released in summer 2017 and is inspired by American hip hop with trap influences, as the collaborations with Gucci Mane, Migos and Yellow Claw show. Both collaborations were later released as singles.

On December 26, 2017, he released the song We Are Legend, produced together with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, as a free track without prior notice or promotion. The song was first played in the summer of 2013, but the release was delayed. The reason given in a Q&A was that they were still working on the vocals. In the following years, the song was occasionally played as an intro to their Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike sets.

At Tomorrowland 2017, Aoki then announced that they would be releasing the song later that year and performed a vocal version of the song for the first time, sung by singer-songwriter Matthew Koma. The Belgian brothers, on the other hand, presented a version with female vocals, which also turned out to be the final version. The vocals were provided by the American singer and actress Abigail Breslin.

Album: Neon Future III

On February 2, 2018, Steve Aoki presented the sonic masterpiece “Azukita”, a collaboration with the Puerto Rican Latin musicians Daddy Yankee and Elvis Crespo as well as the US rapper and producer duo Play-N-Skillz. The song skillfully combines Latin pop and big room elements and marks an impressive fusion of different musical influences.

In spring 2018, Aoki announced the release of a new EP called “5OKI”, which consists of five singles. It kicked off with the energetic “Mayhem”, followed by “Pika Pika” with Loopers, “It’s Time” with Laidback Luke and Bruce Buffer and “Anthem” with Hardwell and Kris Kiss. “Moshi Moshi” with Vini Vici and Mama Aoki is also on the EP, released on April 20, 2018. The covers of the singles were designed in the style of movie posters, while the official music videos are in the style of movie trailers. The entire EP showcased an impressive range in the big room genre.

On May 28, 2018, Aoki released the rousing dance-pop song “Pretender” in collaboration with the brothers AJR and the American rapper Lil Yachty. The track was featured on the TV show Good Morning America. This was followed in June 2018 by a big-room version of the 20th century classic “Bella Ciao”, which gained particular attention from the Spanish TV series “House of Money”. Aoki’s remix with Marnik became a festival hit in the summer. Another notable production was the collaboration with Deorro, MakJ and Max Styler, which was released on June 15, 2018 and is entitled “Shakalaka”, a psy-trance production with a vocal sample of the track “Boom Shaka Laka” by Hopeton Lewis from 1970.

In July 2018, Aoki surprised everyone with the single “Lie to Me”, sung by Norwegian singer Ina Wroldsen. The song is stylistically based on Wroldsen’s previous, internationally successful collaboration with Jax Jones “Breathe”. On September 7, 2018, “Be Somebody” was released, another collaboration, this time with Dutch producer Nicky Romero and singer Kiiara.

On October 5, 2018, Aoki released the Latin pop gem “Jaleo” together with American reggaeton singer Nicky Jam, which made it to number 19 on the American Billboard Dance Charts. At the same time, he released the powerful big-room track “Hoovela”, a collaboration with Croatian producer duo Twiig.

A groundbreaking collaboration manifested itself on October 25, 2018 in the form of the song “Waste It on Me”, Aoki’s first official collaboration with the South Korean boy band BTS. The song conquered the singles charts in more than 18 countries and reached the top 10 four times. On November 9, 2018, Aoki crowned his impressive creative period with the release of his fifth studio album “Neon Future III”. The album contains well-known commercial singles such as “Azukita”, “Pretender” and “Be Somebody” as well as new collaborations with artists such as blink-182, Era Istrefi and Mike Posner.

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Life

Steve was born the third of five children of the Japanese-American wrestler and founder of the Benihana restaurant chain, Rocky Aoki and Chizuru Kobayashi. He has three younger half-siblings, including model Devon Aoki. Aoki studied at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he earned two bachelor’s degrees in feminist studies and sociology. During his studies, he produced do-it-yourself records and organized underground concerts in the biko room of his dorm room. The apartment was located in Isla Vista, right next to UCSB. It was later named “The Pickle Patch” because of the concerts. Aoki was also involved in student activism at UCSB and founded a revolutionary anti-imperialism process at the university.

In 1996, he founded his own record label “Dim Mak” at university, which is based on the same Chinese martial arts term used by his childhood hero Bruce Lee. The label releases music by electro house artists such as MSTRKRFT and The Bloody Beetroots. Steve Aoki is active as a DJ worldwide. In May 2006, he became a board member of MC5 bassist Michael Davis’ Music Is Revolution Foundation. The non-profit organization offers music lessons in public schools. In 2006, the DIM MAK Collection was added as a fashion label. In January 2008, Aoki released his debut album Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles, which can be categorized as a mixtape and reached number eight in the US dance charts.

Steve Aoki remixed many musicians and bands in the following years, including Duran Duran, Drake, Lenny Kravitz, Bloc Party, Snoop Dogg, Peaches, Kid Cudi and Robin Thicke.

Studio albums

• 2010 Wonderland
• 2014 Neon Future I
• 2015 Neon Future II
• 2017 Colony
• 2018 Neon Future III
• 2020 Neon Future IV
• 2022 HiROQUEST: Genesis