Steve Aoki is certainly one of the busiest men in the music industry. Label head, producer, remixer, DJ, owner of a successful clothing line and entrepreneur, you never know what this Club Cirque talent is going to do next. We just know that when this madman takes the stage, expect to see some thrown cakes, inflatable rafts over the crowd and most of all, expect to see a lot of sweating.
Steve Aoki first started putting in work as a DJ when he was a student at the University of California in Santa Barbara. Performing under the name Kid Millionaire, Steve began producing records and hosting concerts in his living room, calling the makeshift venue, the Pickle Patch. “… And the legendary house, the 6542 Sabado Tarde house. That’s where the Pickle Patch was founded. It eventually moved around, but we had At The Drive-In, !!!, The Rapture – the Pickle Patch had over 450 bands playing at all the different incarnations. We stayed there for a couple years then we moved into a frat house. We didn’t become a frat but we brought 16 kids in there, we built out a space and did shows there. Then we moved to the Biko House and we did shows there. We made the garage into a place where we could have shows.”
In 1996, now in his early 20s, Steve created the now world-famous label Dim Mak Records. Dim Mak is the Chinese form of martial arts also known as the “Death Touch.” Still pounding out releases 17 years after its inception, Dim Mak is still going on strong and known for its over-the-top showmanship, “My roots are in hardcore and punk. Before dance music I was writing for punk bands and screaming punk songs. 10 years ago, I was screaming to kids at hardcore shows and a little after that, I started to DJ. When you DJ and play others’ records, you create a story for your audience and that’s part of your job and the art of being a DJ. When I produced tunes, I brought in that aggressive nature from my earlier punk years along with showmanship. There’s a difference between producing an actual song, and making a club edit. It’s the song that I get more into when it plays live. When I play shows, its second nature to scream in the crowd and let off all that energy.”
As a producer, Steve has created a series of popular underground mix albums and tracks that have scored him success on charts around the world as well as awards from BPM Magazine and Billboard. His work as a remixer spans from names like the Jackson 5 and Lenny Kravitz, to Kanye West, Eminem and Snoop Dogg. And with his aptitude for collaborations, Steve has appeared on releases with artists like Kid Cudi, will.i.am, Afrojack, and Armand Van Helden, just to name a few.
Getting ready to bring his Aokify America Tour to Tampa on Saturday, October 19th, we’re not sure what goodies he’ll bring for his performance at Club Cirque, but what we do know is that the best way to see Steve is in person. So, have you bought your tickets yet?
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