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At a time when most EDM DJs were happy to hide behind their laptops, Steve Aoki became a wild, hyperactive party-starter, known for leading festival and club crowds into boisterous pogo-ing masses, crowd-surfing in a raft and smothering his fans' faces with cake. The son of millionaire entrepreneur Rocky Aoki (who founded the restaurant chain Benihana), Steve grew up in Newport Beach, California but shunned his trust fund privilege and was determined to make it on his own. While studying at the University of California he grew from an awkward misfit into an outgoing, straight edge, vegan punk rocker, and led his band This Machine Kills whilst putting on gigs for over 450 other acts and launching the DIY label Dim Mak Records. By 2003 he had moved from the hardcore punk community into the Los Angeles dance scene and built his reputation remixing indie groups such as Gossip, Bloc Party and The Kills and playing over 250 shows a year. His breakthrough single 'I'm in the House' made the top 30 in the UK in 2010 and albums 'Wonderland' and 'Neon Future I' came alongside residencies at the world's biggest clubs and a non-stop touring schedule. His showmanship, work rate and a boundless lust for life produced cross-genre collaborations with rapper Kid Ink, Fifth Harmony's Lauren Jauregui and nu-metal thrashers Linkin Park, and in 2016 he worked on Louis Tomlinson's debut single 'Just Hold On', which reached number two in the UK charts. Also holding a keen interest in science, he interviewed futurist Ray Kurzweil and comic book creator Stan Lee for technology magazine Wired and worked with scientist Bill Nye before returning in 2017 with his fourth studio album 'Steve Aoki Presents Kolony' featuring 2 Chainz, T-Pain and Gucci Man.
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