Our guest tonight is a Grammy-nominated producer
and DJ, who's currently on tour
for his latest album, Kolony.
Please welcome Steve Aoki.
(cheering and applause)
Welcome to the show.
-I'm happy to be here. -So good to have you here.
I see you everywhere in the world traveling all the time.
Is it true that you are considered probably
one of the most traveled musicians in the world?
I-I definitely feel that way.
I mean, I literally just landed from Germany,
and, uh, I've only been here for a couple hours,
and, you know, it's just how it is.
Every day I'm flying off somewhere else.
Yeah, but in-in Germany, you also weren't just flying.
You were... You went to Germany
-to do a zero gravity DJ set. -A zero... Yeah.
Exactly. First ever DJ set in zero gravity,
-which is... mind-boggling. -Why?
-(cheering and applause) -Why not? Why not?
Well, e-explain that to me.
So, what's-what's hap... How are you in zero gravity?
Okay, so, you know those planes that go...
-That do... that do this? -Right.
-I forgot what it's... -Oh, Malaysian Airlines. Yeah, yeah.
(laughter)
So, it wasn't-it wasn't Malaysian Airlines this time.
-Right, right. So, you've got the plane that... -But yeah.
-And then, yeah, you've got the no... -Yeah, that's right.
-So you float. -You float in the air,
and the whole time there's a full-on party
in the-in the airplane. I'm DJing.
I got a DJ rig up there.
And there's, like, 50 lucky people.
(laughs) I don't know if they're lucky, but...
there's 50 people that get stuck in there with me,
and then we just raged.
-Like, it... -Yeah, but then... But how do you dance
when you're floating? Like, where do you...
How do you ground yourself? Or you just do it in the air?
-Well... -I've never danced in the air before.
-I don't know. -Yeah, yeah.
Well, I mean, you have 22 seconds to-to float.
-And then all of a sudden, boom. -Wow.
Like, I-I remember I was sitting on the ceiling
thinking I was on the floor,
and then-- and then they're like, "Yo, turn your head.
You're gonna, like, you're gonna drop."
And all of a sudden the gravity hits me,
and I'm, like, falling through this... the plane.
And I, like, you know, I-I ducked.
And, you know, like, it's padded everywhere, so...
-Right. -And then I got back up,
and I was mixing the next song, and they're like,
"Time to get back down again. We're about to go up."
And I'm, like, mixing quickly the next song.
Get down, lay down,
and then they're like-like, "Injection time."
And all of a sudden my body starts floating.
I started, like, spinning around.
This is how every single day should be in our lives.
-Just, like, us floating up. -(laughs)
That sounds amazing. I'm...
You-you don't just DJ in zero gravity.
You're embarking on a tour right now.
Um, you really go on extensive tours.
What, 250 dates?
Yeah, about 250 shows around the world, and...
-Uh, but this... -How did EDM get this big?
I-I want to know that, honestly.
The music itself is international, so it's...
People are just humming to the beat.
I could be playing in Romania.
-I could be playing in Japan, in Australia. -Right.
It doesn't matter if it's spoken in English or if it's not.
Now, if-if most people were DJs who were as successful...
as successful as Steve Aoki,
they would live in Vegas. They would party all day.
Ride in zero gravity and not care about anybody else.
But, like, you-you do a lot for other people.
I was surprised to find that out about you as a human being.
You have a foundation, and, um, you take, for instance,
you take a dollar out of every single ticket
that you sell on tour, which is a lot of tickets.
And you-you have a foundation that works on many things,
including fighting degenerative brain conditions.
-Right. -And you help with disaster relief.
Like, the "why" of that seems obvious,
but why was it important for you?
Uh, I... You know, I-I have a platform,
and I'm-I'm talking to a lot of people through my music,
but, look, there's nothing better than help...
than to help people, you know.
-And I-I feel like... Thank you. -(cheering and applause)
I mean, everyone has the opportunity to help.
-Right. -So this is my way of-of not only helping
but informing the-the people that come to my shows,
you know, what I'm working on.
And I'm lucky enough to be sitting in
with some of the scientists
that we're raising money towards
-Wow. -or some of the researchers
doing incredible discoveries
and development in brain degenerative science
and our science leading... that hopefully can eradicate
all brain illnesses
and, uh, open up our brain to more creativity.
And it's incredible information.
So I love to be able to bring that back
to-to my... constituents.
-(laughs) I like that. -To my...
-EDM constituents. -Yeah, to my-- to my people.
-You know, the people that party with me. -Right.
And, uh, it's really exciting stuff, so...
I like the idea that you, like,
have your policy speeches before each set.
-(laughs) -Like, you're up there,
and you're like, "Before the music,
"I'm going to be doing this for the brain,
and we're going to help bring disaster relief, and..."
(imitating EDM music)
"Steve Aoki!"
Dude, thank you so much for being on the show, man.
-Thank you, man. -Congratulations
on everything you do.
The Kolony U.S. tour kicks off February 10 in Washington, D.C.
To purchase tickets, go to steveaoki.com.
Steve Aoki, everybody.