(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WARP 1.9")
THE BLOODY BEETROOTS AND STEVE AOKI: (Singing) Whoop, whoop.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Steve Aoki is more than a genre-defining musician with years of EDM hits. This is a man whose touring gear is in the Smithsonian. He's in the "Guinness Book Of World Records" as most-traveled musician in one year. And alongside his fashion line, memoir, charitable foundation and more, Steve Aoki is still churning out enormous hits, working with some of the biggest artists around. His latest album is called "HiROQUEST 3: Paragon."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FORGET TONIGHT")
TYLER HUBBARD: (Singing) I thought it was going to be just a two-beer Tuesday night.
ARI SHAPIRO: Just about every song on this album is a collaboration, and with artists from a huge variety of genres - Nile Rodgers, the Brazilian singer Ludmilla. One of the main singles is this pop country song with Tyler Hubbard.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FORGET TONIGHT")
TYLER HUBBARD: (Singing) And I said, we won't forget tonight. The way you laughed when I, I spilled my whiskey. I can't believe I asked. You said, shut up and kiss me.
ARI SHAPIRO: I asked Steve Aoki how he corrals such a wide array of genres into a, quote-unquote, "EDM sound."
STEVE AOKI: In the beginning, it was - a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was in LA. People just come to LA, you get in the studio, and you just - you know, you could work. But since then, since I have left LA and I've been touring about 200-plus shows a year, I take that as a way to be able to experience and explore different genres and meet different artists from different genres. Sometimes it doesn't go anywhere. Sometimes it ends up becoming something really unique that sits between EDM and that other genre.
ARI SHAPIRO: Yeah. Was there one style of music that you thought to yourself, I don't know if this is going to work with what I do, but let's give it a try, and you were pleased with how it turned out?
AOKI: I mean, I remember, like, even, like, 15 years ago, when I started working with hip-hop artists, I was getting a lot of hate, a lot of, like, people that just were not down with that.
ARI SHAPIRO: Like, stay in your own lane kind of hate?
AOKI: Yeah. Just, like, I - you know, anytime you do something outside of the space that you're supposed to be in, you're going to get some criticism. But, I mean, that worked, obviously.
ARI SHAPIRO: Yeah. I mean, at this point, the hybridization between hip-hop and EDM feels so completely integrated that it's not even a question.
AOKI: Yeah. You know, it's - at the end of the day, like, electronic music, EDM, is like the instrumental of a vocalist.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (STEVE AOKI REMIX)")
KID CUDI: (Singing) Tell me what you know about dreams, dreams. Tell me what you know about night terrors. Nothing. You don't really care about the trials of tomorrow. Rather lay awake in the bed full of sorrow.
ARI SHAPIRO: You have now been in the EDM scene for so many years, through the kind of rise and fall of dance music, and it feels like right now we're in a boom time. There are more electronic acts at music festivals, fewer rock acts. Digital platforms like Boiler Room are huge. How do you see the state of electronic music right now?
AOKI: Yeah, I agree with you. I think - you know, I've seen the wave from the early 2000s to now, and it's absolutely peaking. You know, from a cultural standpoint, you know, when you see the multi-genre festivals like you're talking about, where it's - the artists that are viral are the artists that are being talked about more at the Coachellas or the EDM acts.
ARI SHAPIRO: And the pace moves so much more quickly now, when social media allows somebody to trend on TikTok, and you've never heard of them before. And then the next day, it's someone else after that.
AOKI: It's true.
ARI SHAPIRO: How has that...
AOKI: It's true.
ARI SHAPIRO: ...Changed the landscape not just for new artists, but for you working to remain relevant after all this time?
AOKI: It - you have to think differently about how you release a song. At the same time...
ARI SHAPIRO: Wait, you're still releasing a 20-track album, which nobody does anymore (laughter), especially...
AOKI: Yeah.
ARI SHAPIRO: ...Not in EDM.
AOKI: Yeah. So I definitely have always thought differently in this space. I am one of the few people in the EDM space that care about dropping albums. A lot of my friends, they're like, we don't ever have to drop an album. We just have to drop a single. And you're like, shouldn't I do that? Should I just focus on one song versus a project? And I veer towards the project. It would hurt my soul to just have to hold back these other ideas, even if they're smaller.
(SOUNDBITE OF STEVE AOKI AND JAMIS SONG, "THANKS TO YOU (FEAT. BONN)")
ARI SHAPIRO: From this latest batch of, like, 20-some new tracks, is there one that you're like, I know this is not going to be the one that's constantly getting radio play, but I love it, and I need it to be in the world?
AOKI: "Thanks To You," I think, is a song I really hope has a huge impact for my world - at least for the EDM world.
ARI SHAPIRO: This is featuring Bonn.
AOKI: Yeah. It just has a really great vocal resonance. The lyrics are meaningful. That's kind of, like, going to be an underdog for the album for sure.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THANKS TO YOU")
BONN: (Singing) Complicated feelings going on (ph). Look at what my [inaudible]. I'm brand new thanks to you.
ARI SHAPIRO: You're constantly on the road playing shows, along with so many other projects that you juggle. and I have a sense of what your fans are chasing when they buy a ticket to a Steve Aoki show. What are you chasing by keeping up the pace that you do?
AOKI: Well, I love it. You know, that's, like, first and foremost. I love playing shows. And the fact that I get to play to different crowds from all different parts of the world, going to these different countries and meeting different producers and different cultures and sounds - it expands my music. Yeah, I have to say the fans make the biggest impact to me on if I'm going to work with artists in that region.
ARI SHAPIRO: That's interesting 'cause when I see you perform, the fans look like a mass of thousands of people. The idea that you connect with individuals when you're in and out of those countries in a day is something I wouldn't have expected.
AOKI: It's also the aftereffect. You know, you see it on social media. You know, like, whenever I play Romania, it's - I mean, the crowd's crazy everywhere, but then when I leave, I just keep seeing Romanian fans, like, just making sure they're heard and seen. Then I want to work with Romanian artists. I'm like, I - you know...
ARI SHAPIRO: Have you collaborated with a Romanian artist?
AOKI: I did. I was being driven to the show, and I asked the driver. I'm like, I want to work with some Romanian artists, but I need some fresh takes on it. So I was like, can you play me some records out here that are big? So he played me this song "Dudadu."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DUDADU")
IRINA RIMES: (Singing in non-English language).
AOKI: And I immediately DM'd the artist while I was listening to the song, like, this song is so good. And I DM'd her...
ARI SHAPIRO: Irina Rimes, right?
AOKI: Irina Rimes, yeah. And she sent me the stems, and I got it done in, like, seven days.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DUDADU (STEVE AOKI REMIX)")
RIMES: (Singing in non-English language).
AOKI: And I played it at the festival and people went crazy 'cause I'm - you know, I'm remixing a Romanian song. You know, and then it just makes me feel, like, just happy that I'm able to be of service to a world of people that show me so much love.
(SOUNDBITE OF IRINA RIMES SONG, "DUDADU (STEVE AOKI REMIX)")")
ARI SHAPIRO: Steve Aoki, thank you so much for talking with us about your career and your music.
AOKI: Thank you.
ARI SHAPIRO: His new album is called "HiROQUEST 3: Paragon."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ON OFF")
TAKIS: (Singing) I lost my friends. I don't know (ph). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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