Hits keep on coming with Steve Aoki


His music is undeniably creative. His sounds are made for the dance floor. College students love him. And now, it seems almost everyone in the record business wants to work with him.

Steve Aoki, beat master extraordinaire, has announced that a star-studded array of celebrities will be working with him on his new album, “Wonderland.”

Rivers Cuomo, will.i.am, Travis Barker and LMFAO are just some of the names associated with the album; Cuomo performed with Aoki at the recent IDentity Festival at the Hollywood Palladium. The duo performed Aoki’s new single, “Earthquakey People,” to be released formally in October.

Information concerning the will.i.am collaboration, “Danger,” has also hit the net. The song is supposed to be a follow up to Aoki’s and will.i.am’s previous collaborative effort, “I’m In The House.” Aoki told Rolling Stone working with will.i.am allows his records to generate mass appeal, since basically everything that will.i.am touches turns to Top 40 gold.

So what do these collaborations mean for one of USC’s most beloved DJs? Bringing in a hoard of mainstream artists, especially the likes of LMFAO, could do wonders for improving Aoki’s audience, but what will happen to the music?

As much as Aoki crafts hedonistic dance floor grooves, LMFAO could suck any creativity, artistry and meaningful music out of Aoki’s sound. Let’s face it, “Party Rock Anthem” is a great party tune, but not much else.

As Aoki is preparing to release his new album, which he is billing as a collection of singles, the collegiate world needs to take a few things into consideration. He has worked with will.i.am before, so we can expect a quality track from the two. Rivers Cuomo is an expert songwriter, and it will be interesting to see how Cuomo and Aoki mix the club and pop sounds together.

Barker and Aoki have an incredible track record already, so any work done by the two is sure to be fantastic. But, this LMFAO business — there might be trouble brewing on the horizon.