Steve Aoki

Pillowface and his Airplane Chronicles

As the maestro behind Dim Mak Records and countless L.A. parties, Steve Aoki is an influential figure in the indie-dance movement. For anyone who hasn’t visited a music blog in the past year, Aoki’s Pillowface and his Airplane Chronicles is a tidy little primer. He collects several of the scene’s biggest hits, from Justice’s “Waters of Nazareth” and “D.A.N.C.E.” to Klaxons’ “Gravity’s Rainbow” “and Green Velvet’s “Shake and Pop.” For hipsters all too familiar with these hits, Aoki spins remixed versions of them, adds exclusive guest drops from Santogold, Kid Sister and others, and mixes the results into a flashy, fluorescent cocktail. Guitar riffs and synth squelches crash and clang into happy obliviousness, and the beat keeps stomping like a jackhammer. If life is a party, then Steve Aoki is the lampshade guy, drunk and cleverly disorderly. 4 stars.