Interview with Steve Aoki at Ultra Music Festival

Steve Aoki is an animal. A producer that can never be criticized for a lack of a DJ performance, Aoki is known to make a crowd go wild as he pours champagne onto his audience and floats atop an inflatable raft. He guarantees fun, and that’s why the kids love him. If you’re a fan of the EDM scene, you’ve seen his wild ways before. He’s like the gateway DJ into the EDM world, and whether or not his eclectic punk/ indie-rock/electro sound is your favorite, you can’t deny the unbelievable energy he brings to a crowd, with his uninhibited personality.

Now playing in Orlando several times over the past few years, we figured it was appropriate to finally catch-up with this Energizer Bunny of a DJ, prior to his set Sunday afternoon at the main stage.

Welcome back to Miami! It’s crazy to think you’ve gone back and forth between here and Puerto Vallerta within only a week’s period. Can you tell me about the craziness of your past few days?

Thank you! I’m glad to be back. I started the week in Mexico playing the Puerto Valleta Electro Beach parties, headed to Miami Tuesday for Dim Mak’s party at Mansion, headed back to Mexico, finally had a day off Thursday, played a party last night and here I am today.

You are out of control. When do you rest? I don’t, usually. I DJ, make music, rock multiple businesses and play 250 shows per year. I did however, go deep-sea fishing in Cabo on Thursday. I didn’t catch any fish but I had a nice massage.

I read in Elektro Magazine that you’re a huge poker player. Have you had any time to play this week/are there any DJs you’re hoping to play against?

I love poker but it’s not something I seek out. I usually just play against whoever, whenever. The last crazy card game I played was with Afrojack in the studio. It was our goal to play a game after each song we made. Whoever won the game, had to think of the idea for the next song. We did this for three days without sleeping. For 72 hours, we played poker and made music.

It seems like you’re constantly living through great adventures. During the best moment of your life, what song is playing in your head?

“Fool’s on Parade”

Being in the industry for 14 years, you’re clearly a music extraordinaire. If you were to organize a festival, what bands would headline it?

Oh, wow…. way too many artists to choose from. I’d have a lot of rage at it. I love rage. I’d definitely bring Beethoven and his crazy orchestras back to life. Definitely Queen and Nirvana–they’re two of my favorite bands. I’d have G.G. Allen make an appearance cause he’s a psychopath. The Beatles are just so legendary, so they’d need to be there, too…. and then the whole Ultra line up… Yup that sounds about right.

As Miami Music Week comes to an end, what can we hope from you next?
My album, Wonderland, came out in January, so I’ll be releasing videos for it soon. I have tons of collaborations coming up throughout the year. I’m currently finishing one up with Knife Party, and I have other collaborations coming up soon with Diplo and another one with Chris Lake, as well as one with Tiesto.