EDM Master Steve Aoki Misses Playing Small Venues – Names Tomorrowland as a ‘Surreal Experience’ [Exclusive]
The name DJ Steve Aoki has become synonymous with house and EDM and his popularity exploded beyond being able to accommodate fans in small clubs – something he truly misses.
“When you play in these smaller shows, you really have a more intimate experience with your fans and the people that come see you. And I try to do that. Even at the bigger shows,” Aoki shared with Showbiz Cheat Sheet.
“I look at the fans in the front row and the people that are really engaged with the set, instead of glazing over a lot of people. I think it all boils down to the people that really care,” he said. “And the smaller shows, you really get to zone in on that. So the intimate shows are really important. I still play smaller clubs and in those environments, I get to not necessarily play just my hits. I get to go into deeper cuts and try out brand-new music and experiment more and be more free-flowing. So as an artist, it allows you to be more fluid.”
Steve Aoki shouts out the Tomorrowland Festival as being the most surreal
Aoki has played some pretty wild and surreal venues. But he said the Tomorrowland Festival was the most surreal experience.
“I’ll shout out Tomorrowland because it really is an incredible experience,” he recalled. “It’s definitely the best experience for someone to go into a festival and feel like they’re transported into a different world.”
“Being on stage when you look out, I just love looking out main stage and you see everyone’s flags pop up from all different parts of the world and see everyone coming together for music,” Aoki said. “And it’s just a beautiful moment and you can really look at like 70 or 80 different countries of flags all around the world, maybe over 100. But it’s so colorful. So it’s such a beautiful moment.”
He names up-and-coming cultural music disrupters
Who does Aoki consider to be influencers in the EDM space? “I gotta shout it out to John Summit. I mean, he is massive already,” Aoki said. “And Fred Again, he just came onto the scene a few years ago and he’s doing I think six or eight shrines in L.A. It’s like 4,000 people, 4,000 or 5,000 a day sell out.”
“If he’s doing six, that’s like 30,000 people,” he exclaimed. “And Fred Again, he’s just blown up and it’s incredible to see. And it’s just like John Summits playing Petco Park down in San Diego. 15,000 people. Talk about music disrupting culture. This new sound of house is absolutely taking over America.”
“In every country and every territory is a different artist that is really big. In America there’s a very specific kind of sound that’s like blown up a specific kind of dance sound,” Aoki explained. “And in Europe, it’s different. That’s the interesting thing about traveling and touring around the world, you get to really experience what that country absolutely loves. And it might not transcend over to the other countries.”
Steve Aoki played a venue for a good cause
Aoki recently played the Smirnoff ICE Relaunch Tour in LA on Thursday 6/22 and all ticket sales throughout the tour directly benefited Women In Music – a nonprofit advancing equity, visibility, and opportunities for women in music.
“I love that they do these kinds of events and bring in people together through music, working with great orgs. So I love working with them because they do that and I think they’re great. And I’ve been working with them on and off for a while. A great organization, great people.”
The Smirnoff ICE Relaunch Tour is continuing its summer run and hitting six additional cities across the country – LA, Dallas, Indianapolis, ATL, Lake of the Ozarks, and Charlotte to make this the summer of Smirnoff ICE.
