One of the top DJs in the world and the owner of Dim Mak Records, Steve Aoki gained fame not only for his EDM beats but also for his wild shows that include crowd-surfing in a raft and his signature move, throwing whole cakes into the crowd. Aoki also belongs to a group of elite DJs with residencies at Hakkasan at MGM Grand; his next performance is Nov. 24. Aoki checked in from Montreal, one of the stops on his current Aokify America Tour, to talk to Kiko Miyasato.
Q: How has the tour been going?
A: It’s been amazing! This is my favorite tour that I’ve ever done. It’s such an interesting lineup with Waka Flocka, Borgore, a rotating lineup of Dim Mak artists opening the show and Pharrell as well. … This show is a little more sophisticated than the cakes and rafts.
Q: And how has your Hakkasan residency gone?
A: Definitely one of the best clubs I’ve played in the world. To me, there’s two parts to it. First, the dance floor has to be big enough to feel like you’re playing at a venue and not a club. I get energy from the crowd, and you can only get energy from tables so much. Tables are important for clubs, but for me, I get the energy from the people that are in the pit dancing. That’s a big part of it, and Hakkasan has the largest dance floor in a club in Vegas. Two, even in that opulent environment of what Hakkasan is, they still let me do what I do.
Q: How is performing for a Vegas crowd?
A: You have to get so dressed up, dressed to the nines (in Vegas). The first time I performed at Hakkasan, it was opening night and people were dressed up even more. And I was like, I can’t do the caking; I was concerned. I’m not going to cake people that don’t want it. By the second time I performed, I was comfortable. I brought the cake out. There were two people in the crowd that really wanted it. But, by the fourth cake, the people that were shrinking back were on top of people’s shoulders wanting to get caked.
Q: What are you working on musically right now?
A:My next album is my big project. It’s called Neon Future and it’s coming out next year. Every song, I have a different producer or vocalist. There’s some producer collaborations on there with Flux Pavilion. I have vocalists like Waka Flocka, Machine Gun Kelly, will.i.am, Snoop Dogg, Linkin Park. Linkin Park is not just singing on the record—they wrote the record with me. Working with them was incredible. Conceptually, the album is about the neon future.
