We sat down with party monster Steve Aoki and photographer Cobrasnake (Mark Hunter) at Zouk's Readyset Glo Anniversary.

AO: So, how annoyed do you get when people bug you about your hot sister, Devon (Aoki, model and actress)?
SA: Never annoyed. She’s beautiful and deserves whatever love comes her way, even through me by other people.

AO: I heard you were quite involved in Asian-American politics back in college. What was that like, were you involved in grassroots movements and such?
SA: Yes, it was inspiring and led me to become more aware of myself and the world around me. Still affects me every day.

AO: Was it difficult for you to reconcile your interest in sociopolitical issues with your DJing/high-flying social lifestyle?
SA: Never. It’s always a part of me. I’m still the same person, but now working as a DJ and running my label and clothing line. Same beliefs I had in college I have to day, except that I eat meat now.

AO: Ah, but you’re still a Prius owner. Got anything to say for the Escalade-driving, wagyu-chomping set?
SA: Escalades are too big anyways! The Prius is just a cooler car, even for the vain. Just get one with all the amenities. And I eat meat now, sorry veggies… I love you though. I was vegetarian for 15 years, but travelling made me lazy and I slowly broke down and started eating meat.

AO: As someone coming from a punk background, what do you think about the experience of going to shows today? Do you think it’s changed? Because I think going to shows today, people are kind of like, babied a little bit.
SA: Well, if you’re talking about punk shows, I haven’t been to a punk show in like, ten years…

AO: I really loved how you had Refused on Pillowface.
SA: Yeah, I mean that’s like, one of the more mainstream things I listen to. Originally I wanted to put in this band called Born Against.

AO: Born Against is kind of mainstream too, isn’t it?
SA: No it’s not.

AO: Yeah they are. A lot of people listen to them. Oh, I was thinking of Against Me!. Never mind.
SA: Yeah, I don’t even know what Against Me! sounds like.

AO: They’re bad.
SA: Okay, but there are other groups. Like my favourite other groups are Tragedy, who I’ve played with many times, Envy – my favourite Japanese band, we did two tours with them – we did a split single – with my band This Machine Kills – we did a split CD – we did two Japanese tours with them. I put out their record in America, one of their records.

AO: Do you like Boris?
SA: Yeah, I like Boris too. I mean I like all that stuff, all the Japanese hardcore, Ruins – that two piece. Melt-Banana…

AO: Melt-Banana! Are they still putting stuff out?
SA: I don’t know, this was all ten years ago for me. It’s like I have a time capsule, I know that era of music really well, I don’t really know much about what’s going on today. Like if you ask me anything about straight-edge hardcore back then, I can tell you about members of bands, what colour vinyl, how many pressings there were, what number on the record label it came out on. I’m a vinyl collector, I have over 15,000 records including hardcore records.

AO: As a vinyl collector, how do you feel about this new trend of music being distributed online?
SA: It’s so, like, etched into our world now. If you asked me this three years ago, I’d have a different take on it. But now, it’s like I am completely with it. I am rolling the ball with it. I am actually – we just released MSTRKRFT’s new single off their new album (that Dim Mak is going to release) – ‘Bounce’ with Noreaga (now known as N.O.R.E.). We actually sold it on iTunes, and at the same time we brought it on iTunes to sell. We also gave it away on our website.

AO: [Mildly embarrassed] Yeah, I actually downloaded a pirated version of it.
SA: Yeah, on recordlabel.com we have a Dim Mak thing. So we gave it away on the same day that we sold it. The thing is that music will always be available, and if you don’t go with the flow, you can’t really fight that, you know? People are going to buy it anyways, I mean, Radiohead is a great example. They gave their album away but they also made like, over a million dollars in, uh, proceeds.

AO: That’s true, but they’re still releasing it on CD.
SA: On CD, yeah well that’s because CDs will always exist. Digital music, the way it is, you know, Nine Inch Nails just gave their album away free.

AO: Yeah, Trent Reznor, he just keeps releasing stuff on the sly.
SA: Yeah, but he’s also selling records, with donations, and they’re making money. It’s just that there’s other ways that record labels can thrive – you just have to be creative and innovative with doing it, and also be very current with how people are getting music. The MSTRKRFT issue for us was a new thing – we were like, what are we gonna do? We planned and planned and discussed and talked with my partners and Downtown Records, and the team at Dim Mak records, and we did great sales on iTunes. So people buy the songs as well, you know? Like, even me, I go buy shit and I also get shit for free, you know?

AO: Yeah it’s kinda sad, iTunes isn’t available here.
SA: That’s weird. iTunes always beat Best Buy, in America. Well they already beat, um, like in just sales in general, it was always Wal-Mart and then Best Buy and then…

AO: They beat Wal-Mart by now, I think, in terms of online retailing.
SA: Yeah but I’m just saying sales – Wal-Mart is just killer. Best Buy is right behind. And then, you know. But it’s important to have the music available, regardless.

AO: What’s your stance on music piracy, like illegal sites, torrent sites and downloading?
SA: I’m not necessarily against them – because that’s just the way the age is, you know? People are going to give away music, and I’m not like, I’m not gonna be…
Cobrasnake (photographer, who up until now has been poring over a magazine): Not Metallica. [Everyone laughs]
SA: Yeah…as long as the music that I’m involved in – as a record-label owner – from my perspective as a label owner, I just want the music that we put out to be accepted. I want it to be popular, I want people to like it. That’s the most important thing for me. The artists that we sign have relevance to these kids, you know? They have some significance to people in that world. That’s the most important thing for us, because there’s other ways we can make money, as a business, besides selling records, you know? So, that’s what we’ve been doing, and we obviously started a fashion line from Dim Mak a couple of years ago.

AO: Are you gonna be selling it over here?
SA: Yeah, actually tomorrow [at the Zouk yard sale] – Cobrasnake [pointing to Cobrasnake] – this is Cobrasnake, we’ll have a bunch of T-shirts.
C: [Points to his shirt, which has the words ‘Bruised Fruit Tour’ with a graphic of him and Steve facing off in boxing gear]: This is for our tour. We do these themed tours, and this is our boxing tour.

AO: Did you go see a fight when you were in Bangkok – a muay thai fight?
C: No, we didn’t. We really wanted to, though. We’re really into fighting. Each other.

AO: Fighting…each other.
SA: Yeah, we spar.
C: People actually think that we’re professional fighters.
SA: Yeah. [Cobrasnake] likes to wear this shirt, and some old man was like, oh wow, you guys are fighters?
C: At first he said he thought we went to that. Like he thought it was some event. [Both laugh]

AO: What’s the worst fight you guys have ever had?
SA: I took a golf club and hit him on the head with it, really hard.

AO: That’s amazing that he’s still alive.
SA: There was this permanent dent. Right here. [Points to Cobrasnake’s face]

AO: Nice.
SA: And he threw this…what’d you throw at me?
C: A cinder block.

AO: That’s…great. You’ve been pretty diplomatic when it comes to the rock vs hip hop debate, ’cause some people are pretty iffy about that. But with the whole current mashup trend, especially with people like Tittsworth and Flosstradamus taking it up a notch, do you think there’s increasingly less distinction between genres?
SA: I’m not really into mashups.

AO: Like Girl Talk and all that?
SA: I mean, if it sounds good – it’s just that most mashups, to me, are really awful. I’m really into the song. Like even rather than remixes of the song – for the most part, 80 per cent of the time the song is better than any other remix. Unless the remix is really well done. But yeah, like Tittsworth and Flosstradamus, they’ve done a great job with the mashups – but mashups are really not my thing. But even though Pillowface is sort of a mashup. It is. Like Does it Offend You, Yeah? and Spank Rock – that’s hip hop and electro. It’s not a mashup but it’s mixing the hip hop and electro.

AO: Right. It’s not as blended as Girl Talk or something like that.
SA: Well Girl Talk, I guess that is a mashup. And with my album I just got 14 or 15 different artists to sing or rap over new hooks.

AO: Yeah, you got Amanda Blank, that was cool.
SA: But yeah, it’s not really my world. I like hip hop – actually, I love hip hop, like I love Lil’ Wayne, I love Usher’s new song, I love – I even love some really cheesy R&B. I love Ginuwine, R Kelly, I love Jay-Z…
C: D’Angelo.
SA: F***ing D’Angelo. I mean I like a lot of stuff. I have no problem with that music. Actually I have no problem playing it too. But I love electro, I love f***ing classics, rock ’n’ roll, you know? You know, f***ing Neil Diamond, Cat Stevens, which I’ve actually played in a club. All kinds. I love Queen, I always think about the fact that he’s [Freddie Mercury] dead, you know he announced that he had AIDS the day before he died.

AO: That’s kind of…creepy.
SA: See, no one knew.
AO: He was part-Asian, you know. His parents were from India. You made Nylon (magazine) a mix tape. Is there any chance we get the same honour?
SA: I never have time for stuff like this. If I had time I’d do them. With Nylon I’m very close friends with Marvin, the chief editor of Nylon, and I’d do anything for him.

AO: Got any good hair tips?
SA: I need a brush. That’s something I say to myself every time I get out of the shower, and still after all these years I use my fingers to comb through my hair.
[At this point I get chased out of the room]