EDM satire website Wunderland recently posted an article called “Steve Aoki Shocks EDM community By Admiting He Is Not An Actual DJ.”
“The show and my life as “DJ” Steve Aoki has evolved over the years, ” he explained. “I’ve had to live every waking moment as this guy without ever breaking character. That’s always been the toughest part, seeing myself become this clown and never being able to say ‘Hey guys, it’s not real’.”
“I kept adding more and more unnecessary vulgarity to the show, bright flashing lights, topless performances, silly hair, Indian headdresses, trampolines. I kept thinking that at any moment people would realise that this was no longer dance music but that it was an absurdist pantomine and the game would be up. But no-one has ever even suspected.”
“Even when I started throwing cake into the audience, which I intended as a not-so-subtle reference to the circus that my show had become, the audience just lapped it up. No-one thought to themselves ‘Oh look, he’s started throwing cakes into people’s faces like a fucking clown, surely this can’t be legitimate dance music?”
Wunderland is well-known as a satiric website but apparently a lot of his fans didn’t know it was a satire, leaving Steve to respond to the article by releasing a statement:
“So to set the record straight for my fans. I never said any of this and these quotes are completely untrue. Dance music is my love, is my passion, is my life. I live for my fans and I take my art very seriously.
I’d hate for any up-and-coming artists to see this post, take it to heart and believe it has any shred of truth or legitimacy. Dance music is a serious art form and we’ve been working very hard as an international community to push our voice and message to the masses.
This story does the opposite and in no way should my fans believe it to be true at all. I love you all very much and you’re the reason why I do this for a living. You’re the reason why I push myself to become a better artist and performer and continue to take my show to a higher level.
So Wunderground, nice try, but you’re no Onion. Take a note from the masters and step up your game: http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/08/29/the-onion-greatest-headlines/.”
I caught him live a few years ago in Mexico City and I can definitely say there are moments when he is not playing live. I don’t think it changes anything though. He is still a great producer and performer. What do you guys think? Does Steve Aoki actually DJ? Does it really matter?
You can find the original Wunderland article HERE and Steve Aoki’s official response HERE.