DJ Steve Aoki Credit: steveaoki.com

If you haven't yet heard of music tastemaker Steve Aoki, you will. With the inception of his debut mix CD "Pillowface & His Airplane Chronicles" the owner/creator of indie label Dim Mak Records is guaranteed to become a household name with teens looking to shake what their mama gave them. Cleverly mixing the greatest hits of electro (MSTRKRFT, Datarock, Justice) with cheeky voiceovers (from Har Mar Superstar, Mickey Avalon, Spank Rock) Steve has created what could, arguably, be called one of the most stimulating mixed CDs of recent memory. We caught up with Steve in Miami to talk shop about life before DJ-ing, raging dance parties and the contemporary fusing of the electronic and hip hop genres.

TeenMusic: How did you get your start spinning records?

Steve: It was a reason to promote my label. We started throwing these Dim Mak parties in L.A. and I was just playing records. I would have never considered myself a DJ back then. I was inviting bands to come play records. It wasn't even about the DJ then; it was about the party element. It was like 'Oh we have Modest Mouse coming though, Interpol, Yeah Yeahs Yeahs, The Killers'; all these people were coming to DJ even though they weren't DJs. The parties were historical, memorable. So eventually I learned to DJ because I was always doing it. I got obsessed with learning and as our party scene in L.A. grew, I started expanding out as a DJ and it took off on its own.