Steve Aoki: Hipster, Fanboy, Caveman, Academician, Badass DJ

By Aizyl Azlee  •  in Interview
Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

Like all Steve Aoki concerts, his performance at Club Neverland KL left us weak in the knees and trembling, wanting more. JUICE sat down with the superstar DJ and cornered him with our pressing questions about being a hipster, plans for the future, and the secret behind that oh so silky hair.

You seem to return to this part of Asia often. What keeps you coming back here?
I love Asia. Since the first time I played out here ‘til my most recent visit, it’s always been memorable because the crowds are so amazing with the energy they give. I’ve been making these tour videos and the last one has some clips from my Asian club shows… check it out here.

How did you end up collaborating with Rivers Cuomo? Don’t get us wrong, we love him, but his name seems to stick out from the list of collaborators on Wonderland.
Pinkerton is one of my favorite albums ever. He’s been a big influence to me since I was a tween, so to work with a legend was incredible. I remixed a Weezer song that he really liked then we did a show together and talked about doing a song for my album. And that’s how the story started.

We read about you having B.A.s in both Sociology and Women’s Studies. Did your parents say anything about your choice to go into music?
They were a bit worried for my future hoping I’d get a real job at some point but I’m too dedicated to my craft for anyone to really stop me from doing what I love. Eventually they accepted it.

Why’d you drop the Kid Millionaire moniker?
Cause I was happy with just using my name.

How do you feel about the “hipster” label being pushed onto you?
The hipster label really was pushed on me years back, when I do admit, I was part of that culture. But hipsterism has evolved away from me, or more or less, I have evolved away from that world. Either way, it doesn’t bother me at all.

Do you still play badminton? When was the last time you held a racquet?
When I was 17 after leaving highschool.

What’s your secret to such long silky hair?
Asian genes. Cuz I treat my hair like a caveman.

DJs are really breaking through to a larger mainstream audience these days, how would you compare the scene to when you first started?
It’s becoming larger underground more than it is becoming mainstream. You don’t hear it on the radio so much as you are noticing that this music is playing to larger and larger audiences at festivals and clubs.

Planning to ever go back to your roots of being in a hardcore band? Maybe a musical shift to mixing more hardcore stuff? Or maybe singing?
Check out RIFOKI. That is me and Bob Rifo from bloody beetroots hardcore project we did with congorock. who knows i may go back to doing something again.

Being the boss of everything Dim Mak, you’ve got a lot on your plate. Fashion… music… parties… at what point do you think you’ll stop expanding?
When my heart isn’t in it anymore.

So what does Steve Aoki do in his free time?
Sleep.

Sleep? Can’t blame you, what not with your touring schedule and all. What can we be expecting in the near future from Steve Aoki and Dim Mak?
Check dimmak.com for more details. We have an expansive roster of artists from Infected Mushroom, Bloody Beetroots, Datsik, Felix Cartal, my singles and releases, and more. As for what’s to come with my music, I have collaborations with Diplo, Knife Party, Angger Dimas and a whole slew of other stuff that will creep in to this year when the time comes. And I’m still releasing singles off my album Wonderland with remix packages on pretty much every release.

Steve Aoki performed at Club Neverland KL on 30 May. You can check out more on Steve at www.steveaoki.com and www.dimmak.com. For details on Club Neverland, go to www.clubneverland.com.