A-ok

Steve Aoki is in your house. As a producer, DJ, fashion designer and owner of Dim Mak Records, no man has more influence over the modern club scene. Just don’t call him a hipster.

“I definitely don't consider myself in that regard at all, so I can't even begin to answer that,” the LA icon laughs. “As far as being part of a hipster 'movement' … the hipsters don't want to be part of a movement. That's the thing. From what I understand, hipsters are very judgmental people.

“They hate consuming even though they consume. They don't want to be defined as part of a consumer culture, but they all buy American Apparel. You know, they want to be underground and different, but they're really all the same ... there are a lot of dichotomies in the hipster culture.”

If winning over the hipsters isn't the goal of Aoki's Dim Mak empire, what is? What does the man whose signees have included Bloody Beetroots, MSTRKRFT, Armand Van Helden, Bloc Party, Gossip, Datarock and The Kills look for, and how does he know when he's found it?

“They're all so unique and different,” he explains. “That's what it is. I'm looking for artists who have something about them that makes you gravitate towards them … with The Bloody Beetroots, you know, the remixes were always bang on, always ten out of ten. And I just believed in (Beetroots mastermind) Bob (Rifo); I believed in what he wanted to do.

“I believe if a label signs you, they should just give you artistic freedom, especially if you have a really concrete direction. A lot of artists don't have that direction. A lot of artists just go with the vibe of what management tells them. But some artists are just… they know what they want. They know what they want! You've just got to let them do it! The Bloody Beetroots? They know what they want. Bob knows what he wants. I might give him some advice here and there, but at the end of the day, it's all him.

“Bob's like my brother, you know? Working with someone you love so much and care about so much is different. He's not just an artist to me. He's like family.”

Aoki’s bond with Rifo led to the former's appearance on monster Beetroots hit 'Warp ', and the pair's forthcoming live collaboration, Rifoki (their debut EP is due later this month). But it's the young entrepreneur's collaboration with the mysterious Zuper Blahq - who bears an uncanny resemblance to will.i.am - on smash single ‘I’m In The House’ that's earning him raves as a producer.

“It's funny because when I first got the track done with Zuper Blahq, no one knew who he was. He had no profile. We just shot the video together and were like, ‘okay, let's see where this can go’… Some of my favourite labels passed on it! I didn't know what was going to happen. It just shows that if you hang in there and you stick it out

“It's just great to get this record out. It's the start of my album. I want to get the album released this year. I've got about nine features (featured artists) on it so far; I'm trying to get two more features and then I can close the book on it … I've got Rivers Cuomo from Weezer, Lil Jon, Kid Cudi, Sky Ferreira, Romanthony and a few others I don't want to name yet because they haven't actually done the tracks. But when it's done, oh god, it's going to be so good.”

Steve Aoki may not be a hipster, but there's no denying his résumé. From the hit tunes to the clothes (sometimes designed with his sister, actress Devon Aoki) to the restaurant (LA hotspot Shin, co-owned with Julian Casablancas and Mark Ronson) to his friendship with party photographer The Cobrasnake (whom Aoki hopes will follow him to Winter Sound System), Aoki is at the centre of … something

“I'd definitely say Dim Mak is part of something,” he admits, “and I'm part of that thing. I'm on this train that's moving forward with a particular sound. It's hard for me to identify what that sound is, because I don't think it's electro. It's got elements of electro, but it's … it's dance music, you know? It's dance music.” 

Steve Aoki plays Winter Sound System at Doomben Racecourse on Sunday June 13.