Steve Aoki
Steven "Steve" Hiroyuki Aoki (* thirtieth November 1977 in Miami , Florida ) is an American electro house - DJ and music producer . With his remix for Pursuit of Happiness and the single Boneless, he celebrated two of his greatest hits in the club and festival scene. He made a name for himself commercially with the songs A Light That Never Comes and Just Hold On . Today he is considered one of the most famous and successful DJs and has performed numerous world tours, including appearances at the largest EDM festivals. Together with the Belgian DJ duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike , he occasionally appears as 3 Are Legend.
Life
Until 2009: musical beginnings
Steve Aoki was born in Miami and raised in Newport Beach , California . He is the third of five children of the Japanese-American wrestler and founder of the restaurant chain Benihana Rocky Aoki and Chizuru Kobayashi. He has three younger half-siblings, including model Devon Aoki . Aoki attended the University of California and earned two undergraduate degrees in Feminist Studies and Sociology . At school he made do-it-yourself records and gave underground concerts in the Biko room of his dormitory. This was located in Isla Vista directly at the UCSB. Thanks to the concerts, the apartment was later renamed "The Pickle Patch". Aoki was also involved in UCSB's student activism and was the founder of a revolutionary anti-imperialization process at the university.
In 1996 he founded his own record label " Dim Mak " while still at university , based on the same term used in Chinese martial arts , which refers to his childhood hero Bruce Lee . The label publishes its music and other electro house artists such as MSTRKRFT or The Bloody Beetroots , while Aoki is a DJ around the world. In May 2006, Aoki became a board member for MC5 bassist Michael Davis' Music Is Revolution Foundation , a non-profit that provides music education in public schools. In 2006 the DIM MAK Collection was added as a fashion label . Aoki's debut album Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles was released in January 2008. It can be classified in the mixtape category and reached number eight in the US dance charts.
In the following years, Steve Aoki remixed many musicians and bands, including Duran Duran , Drake , Lenny Kravitz , Bloc Party , Snoop Dogg , Peaches , Kid Cudi and Robin Thicke .
2010 to 2012: commercial breakthrough
Aoki published in March 2010, I'm in the House , a collaboration with Zuper Blahq, a pseudonym of The-Black-Eyed-Peas singer Will.i.am . The song marks Aoki's first commercial success. It peaked at number 29 on the UK singles chart in its first week and later climbed to the top five on the UK dance and UK indie charts. The track was also used in an episode of MTV's Jersey Shore , as well as in the movie Piranha 3D and the trailer for Think Like A Man .
In 2011 he brought out two successful singles first with Turbulence , a collaboration with Lil Jon and Laidback Luke , then with No Beef , a collaboration with Afrojack and Miss Palmer . Both reached a position in the British singles charts. The latter was also able to achieve a placement in other European countries and was part of the album Wonderland as a bonus track . He also worked with Tiësto later that year .
Aoki's first solo album Wonderland was released in January 2012 and features guest contributions from LMFAO , Kid Cudi , Travis Barker and Wynter Gordon, among others . Aoki was nominated for the studio album at the 2013 Grammy Awards in the “Dance / Electronic Album” category. A remix album followed shortly thereafter. In spring 2012 he produced a remix for Kid Cudi's song Pursuit of Happiness . This was released on April 13, 2012 as an iTunes single track. Due to high download numbers, it reached the official single charts in Germany and Austria. Support the remix received in particular by its use in the movie Project X . On December 11, 2012, Aoki released the three-track EP It's the End of the World as We Know It .
2013 to 2014: Neon Future I
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In 2013 he reached the charts of numerous countries with the instrumental piece Boneless , including the upper half of the chart in Germany and Austria. The track was created in collaboration with Chris Lake and Tujamo . A few months later, a vocal version of the song with the American rapper Kid Ink was released , which brought the song back into the charts and also made it into the US Hot 100. The lyrics were written together with the Canadian singer-songwriter Jenson Vaughan .
Another success was the song A Light That Never Comes , which he produced together with the rock band Linkin Park . With the piece he reached the top 10 in Germany for the first time and the US single charts for the first time. The song was also heard in the movie The Expendables 3 . At the same time, a follow-up was announced. A remix EP contained remixes by Coone , Twoloud and Vicetone , among others . Shortly thereafter, Aoki reached sixth place in the “America's Best DJs” votes by DJ Times Magazine and Pioneer DJ.
According to the Forbes 2013 list, Aoki is one of the highest-paid DJs in the world. In 2013, Aoki came 8th in the DJ magazine ranking . Aoki made a cameo in the US series Arrow in 2013 .
As part of the Winter Music Conference 2014 in Miami , Steve Aoki and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike had their first joint appearance on March 28, 2014 under the pseudonym 3 Are Legend. As a trio, they performed at Tomorrowland , Creamfields 2014 and Ultra 2015 , among others . They used their common track We Are Legend as an intro song, but due to the lack of vocals they decided not to consider a release in advance. Instead, in May 2016 they released a collaboration with Ummet Ozcan under the title Melody , which had already become a big festival hit in advance.
His second studio album Neon Future I was released in October 2014 . It included songs with Fall Out Boy , will.i.am and Machine Gun Kelly , among others . Rage the Night Away was released on April 22, 2014 with Waka Flocka Flame as the first single. Free the Madness with Machine Gun Kelly was released in June 2014 and Get Me Outta Here in September 2014 as further precursors. Neon Future I was able to place itself in the album charts in Austria, Switzerland and the USA. Until the release of the second part, 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 were also released as independent singles.
2015: Neon Future II
On January 7, 2015, Aoki released the song Cake Face on SoundCloud . This is based on his trend of throwing cakes in the faces of several fans at all live performances .
Neon Future II followed on May 12, 2015 . On this album there are collaborations with Snoop Dogg , Walk off the Earth and Linkin Park, among others . The meanwhile second recording with the band around Mike Shinoda was released on April 14, 2015 under the title Darker Than Blood . Although the song received very positive feedback, it could not come close to the success of its predecessor and it did not get any chart placement. With I Love It When You Cry (Moxoki) together 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, four follow further single releases.
In May 2015 Aoki was sued by one of his fans, as he her during a performance by jumping into a dinghy to StageDiven , neck broke was held up by the audience. The woman was probably right under the dinghy.
The soundtrack of the science fiction film The Hive , released in September 2015, includes a number of tracks from his studio album Neon Future .
On October 2nd, 2015 he released the song Power of Now together with Headhunterz , which is a crossover between Steve Aoki's big room and Heady's hardstyle sound. But for unknown reasons, even stayed on Beatport , where both land in the top 10 with almost every single, any success. The vocal version Feel , which was used as the soundtrack of the film Point Break , was not very successful either. The song was also found on the Neon Future Special-Edition Odyssey , which contains all songs from both versions as well as other recordings outside of the albums.
In December 2015, he married his long-time friend Tiernan Cowling in Hawaii.
2016: Commercial Singles & Documentation
On March 25, 2016, Steve Aoki released the song Can't Go Home , which was created in collaboration with the German newcomer DJ and producer Felix Jaehn and the British singer Adam Lambert . The song is based on typical Felix Jaehn sounds and the Steve Aoki typical structure as well as distinctive Dirty Dutch elements from his 2011 production No Beef . A few weeks later, the song Back 2 U was released , which was created together with the Australian DJ and producer Boehm. The American indie rock formation Walk the Moon also took part. However, the success fell short of expectations.
Together with the Dutch DJ Don Diablo , the Italian DJ duo Lush & Simon, and the UK musician BullySongs, the song What We Started was released in summer 2016 . The production, strongly influenced by the future bass, received a lot more attention than its predecessor. In the course of the last few months of the year several singles appeared who received less promotion. These included collaborations with Shaun Frank and Deorro .
On 19 August 2016 appeared on Netflix under the title I'll Sleep When I'm Dead ( even sleeping can I, when I'm dead ) a documentary that looks back at the Aoki on his career so far.
In September 2016, Aoki released the song Interstellar as a single as a late release of his studio album, which was released the previous year . Behind the single version is not only Marnik, who also worked on the original version, but also the American crunk rapper Lil Jon . Based on the newly added text, the track has been renamed Supernova .
2017: Kolony
Without You was released as a single in spring 2017 . It is the first release of 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 the summer of 2017 and was based on American hip-hop music with influences from traps, which the collaboration partners, including Gucci Mane , Migos and Yellow Claw, testify to. Both collaborations were later decoupled as singles.
On December 26, 2017, he released the song We Are Legend as a free track, which he produced together with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike , without notice or promo campaign . The song was played for the first time in the summer of 2013, but the release was delayed. The reason they gave in a Q&A was that they would work on the vocals. In the years that followed, the song was occasionally played as the intro to their Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike sets. At Tomorrowland 2017, Aoki announced that they were planning to release the song later that year and played 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 American singer and actress Abigail Breslin is behind the singing .
2018: 5OKI & Neon Future III
On February 2, 2018, Steve Aoki released the song Azukita , which was created in collaboration with the Puerto Rican Latin musicians Daddy Yankee and Elvis Crespo, as well as the American rapper and producer duo Play-N-Skillz . They incorporated both Latin-Pop and Big Room elements into the track.
Aoki announced the release of a new EP for spring 2018. This should have the title 5OKI and consist of five singles. It started with the song Mayhem , which was released on March 21, 2018. This was followed by the songs Pika Pika with Loopers, It's Time with Laidback Luke and Bruce Buffer as well as Anthem with Hardwell and Kris Kiss and also Moshi Moshi with Vini Vici and Mama Aoki, which was released on April 20, 2018. The single covers were designed like movie posters and show all the participating artists. The official music videos are stylistically based on the style of film trailers. The songs contained on the EP could all be classified in the area of the big room.
On May 28, 2018, Steve Aoki released the dance-pop song Pretender , which was created in collaboration with the AJR brothers and the American rapper Lil Yachty . Together they presented the track on the television show Good Morning America . A big-room version of the 20th century song Bella Ciao followed in June 2018 . The title received a lot of attention through the Spanish television series Haus des Geldes , which is why various reinterpretations of the track appeared, including one by Aoki and Marnik. Their remix became a festival hit that summer. On June 15, 2018, a collaboration with US producers Deorro , MakJ and Max Styler appeared. The psy-trance production is called Shakalaka and contains a vocal sample of Hopeton Lewis's 1970 track Boom Shaka Laka .
In July 2018, Aoki released the single Lie to Me , which is sung by the Norwegian singer Ina Wroldsen . Stylistically, the song is based on Wroldsen's collaboration with Jax Jones Breathe , with which she celebrated a worldwide success. On September 7, 2018, the song Be Somebody was released , which was created in collaboration with the Dutch producer Nicky Romero and singer Kiiara .
On October 5, 2018, the single Jaleo was released , which was created in collaboration with the US reggaeton singer Nicky Jam . The Latin pop song advanced to number 19 on the US Billboard dance chart. On the same day he also released the big room track Hoovela , a collaboration with the Croatian producer duo Twiig.
The first official collaboration with the South Korean boy group BTS was the song Waste It on Me , which was released on October 25, 2018 . Two successful remixes produced by Aoki had already been released. Waste It on Me reached the singles charts in over 18 countries, including the top 10 four times. His fifth studio album Neon Future III followed on November 9, 2018 . This included a number of previous commercial singles, including Azukita , Pretender and Be Somebody, new collaborations with, among others, blink-182 , Era Istrefi and Mike Posner .
2019: Play It Cool
Together with the South Korean boy band Monsta X, Aoki released the song Play It Cool on February 18, 2019 as part of their album Take.2 We Are Here. An English version followed on March 22, 2019, which Aoki uploaded to his official YouTube channel, among other places.
Others
Steve Aoki is best known in the EDM ( Electronic Dance Music ) scene for his live shows. Regular activities such as throwing a cake at people selected by him in the audience or showering champagne are his trademark and are part of every live show. He regularly uploads episodes of his tour blog "On The Road" to his YouTube channel. An integral part of these videos are excerpts from his live shows in clubs or at festivals. They are underlaid with new music from his label "Dim Mak".
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 2010 | Wonderland | - | - | - | - |
US59 (2 weeks) US |
First published: January 10, 2012
|
| 2014 | Neon Future I. | - |
AT64 (1 week) AT |
CH71 (1 week) CH |
- |
US32  (2 weeks)US |
First published: September 30, 2014
|
| 2015 | Neon Future II | - | - | - | - |
US66 (1 week) US |
First published: May 12, 2015
|
| 2017 | Steve Aoki Presents Kolony | - | - | - | - |
US195 (1 week) US |
First published: July 21, 2017
|
| 2018 | Neon Future III | - | - | - | - |
US153 (1 week) US |
First published: November 9, 2018
|
| 2020 | Neon Future IV | - | - | - | - | - |
First published: April 3, 2020
|
Honourings and prices
- Best DJ of the Year - Paper Magazine (2007)
- Best Set of the Season - Ibiza Awards (2007)
- Best Party Rocker DJ - BPM Magazine (2007)
- Best Mix Album of the Year - Billboard (2008)
swell
- ^ Publication of Pursuit of Happines on iTunes
- ^ Jevon Phillips: 'Arrow': Steve Aoki helps Oliver Queen open his club Verdant. herocomplex.latimes.com, March 20, 2013, accessed April 5, 2015 .
- ↑ 3 Are Legend. Retrieved April 7, 2015 .
- ↑ DIMITRI VEGAS, STEVE AOKI & LIKE MIKE Team for '3 are Legend'. broadwayworld.com, July 3, 2014, accessed April 7, 2015 .
- ↑ Steve Aoki Sued For Allegedly Breaking Woman's Neck At Hard Rock Hotel San Diego. Retrieved May 18, 2015 .
- ↑ Ashley Iasimone: Steve Aoki Marries Tiernan Cowling. billboard.com, December 19, 2015, accessed January 13, 2016 .
- ↑ Leila Cobo: Steve Aoki Enlists Daddy Yankee, Elvis Crespo and Play-N-Skillz for First-Ever Spanish Language Track on " Billboard "
- ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH UK1 UK2 UK3 UK4 US
Web links
- Homepage
- dimmak.com
- Exclusive interview on Annie Thang (German)
- I'll Sleep When I'm Dead on IMDb .com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Aoki, Steve |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Aoki, Steven Hiroyuki (full name); Aoki, Steve Hiroyuki (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American electro house DJ and music producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 30, 1977 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Miami , Florida , United States |