Exclusive: Steve Aoki on 'Neon Future,' Working With Fall Out Boy & Trying to Live Forever

When you're Steve Aoki -- one of the planet's highest-paid, hardest-working DJs -- life is understandably quite busy. But unlike many other workaholic musicians, it's not because of a "life is too short to waste time" mentality. Actually, Aoki thinks it's possible he'll live forever.

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While chatting with Billboard from a balcony in Ibiza, where he's currently finishing work on the second album in his Neon Future project, Aoki tells us about the futurist concepts that inspired his new album, from doctors working to end aging to society nearing the so-called technological singularity.

Aoki also tells us about working with Fall Out Boy for Neon Future I, out Sept. 30, teaming up with Guitar Center for its Greatest Feeling on Earth campaign, and creating music videos for all 16 proper songs on his Neon Future project.

Where are you on Neon Future -- you've finished the first one, right?

I finished Neon Future part 1 here in Ibiza, and now I'm working on part 2, which is a whole 'nother complex project that needs a lot of tidying up.

Is Neon Future II very different from I, or is it more a continuation?

It is a continuation, but when you hear both bodies of work, they're very different musically and emotionally. On I, there's a lot more party songs, club records -- I is introducing people into this world, inviting them into it. On II, you're deeper in the psyche of what Neon Future is. So I put songs that have more emotional content and deeper context in part 2. There are party songs on part 2 as well -- the song I do with Tinie Tempah is really upbeat -- but the rest of it is a little bit darker.

What does the phrase "Neon Future" mean?

Neon Future is, in short, a positive outlook on human progress and technology, looking forward to a bright, colorful utopia. It's embracing the future, and looking toward the future in a more optimistic way. I like looking at a future where we're expanding our creativity and brightening our lives. I believe that eventually we'll get to a point where we'll be able to live indefinitely through our technology. That concept of futurism is underlying the full process of the album.

See the rest here:

Exclusive: Steve Aoki on 'Neon Future,' Working With Fall Out Boy & Trying to Live Forever

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