“When I perform, I don’t think about the haters, the Internet trolls, or anyone else. I care about giving the person in front of me something they won’t forget. And that’s why I bring the cake and raft out.”
– Steve Aoki
Throughout the past years, Dim Mak label head and expert cake thrower Steve Aoki has garnered a fair amount of attention for his far from ordinary performances. From trolls to haters, the producer and DJ has dealt with a fair share of criticism for his on-stage antics, and as a result, the raver rafting performer decided to speak out via lengthy editorial featured on The Daily Beast.
Throughout the piece, Steve decided to explain as well as defend himself against the harsh EDM audience. Some of the most common attacks that the artist has been subjected to are those aimed directly at his inability to DJ and that his sets are pre-recorded. To which Steve replies:
“For the record, I’ve never played a mix CD or faked DJing, in fact I started out on turntables and records, then learned Serato, CDJs, Serato video for my visual show and now often will use memory cards plugged into CDJs when I’m playing back to back with friends.”
And finally, Steve Aoki closes out his piece with the following:
When I perform, I don’t think about the haters, the trolls on the Internet or anyone anywhere else in the world. All I care about is the person in front of me, and I want to make that moment important…something special. I want to make that connection so powerful, something that will never be forgotten. And that’s why I bring the cake out or the raft out. When I see the person who was begging for the cake then get covered in frosting as the crowd roars, smiling from ear to ear, it’s a unique and incredibly exciting feeling for myself, for them and for the crowd. I love being part of that energy, being part of that feeling. The haters and Internet trolls don’t get it. There is no context because they don’t understand where I’m coming from.
So this is why I wrote this. I wanted to give context to what I do. I wanted to share my feelings with my fans and my haters. When it comes down to it, I plan on caking people as long as people want it. My choice is to cake.
You can read the full editorial here: To Cake or Not To Cake by Steve Aoki
Source: inthemix
I honestly don’t care if he does play a pre-recorded set. If I wanted really good live mixing, I wouldn’t go to an Aoki show. However, if I wanted a bloody good party then yeah, I’d go to an Aoki show. He’s really a party DJ, and someone who you know that you’re going to have an absolute blast seeing. That’s why he brings out the cake and the raft. It’s a place where you can just let loose and go crazy for an hour or so. Does it really matter if it’s pre-recorded if you’re still having a good time?
I’m there for the fun. He’s 100% right about that.