Steve Aoki – Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles
Dim Mak/Thrive Records (1/22/08)
Electronic / Dance / Electroclash
Electroclash started it, but Steve Aoki took the line that was being blurred between indie kids and club kids and punched a hole right through it. With the sway that he holds in the SoCal nightlife scene, he’s become one of the premier producers and event organizers, and it’s only a matter of time before he’s banging Paris Hilton, if it hasn’t happened already. Who am I kidding… he’s friends with Joel Madden—I’m sure it’s happened multiple times. But in any event, Aoki’s also been one of the people responsible for the rise of bands like Bloc Party and The Klaxons, both of whom are signed to his Dim Mak Records imprint. Amid all of this, he brings us a dance mix that’s actually much more groundbreaking than one might think. If you can overlook the fact that this is yet another spoilt rich kid who built himself up primarily using the family dollar (his father, Rocky Aoki, founded the Benihana restaurant chain), you’ll realize that he has, indeed, earned his chops.
Just about every track on this album moves very well, and is fantastic for alt-dance clubs (read: dance clubs where the patrons are more concerned with looking like they just rolled out of bed as opposed to looking like they spent two hours to get ready), as well as some more conventional (but fantastic) house tracks like Green Velvet’s “Shake and Pop” and Datarock’s “Fa-Fa-Fa”. The only real exception is the opening track, “New Noise”, by defunct Swedish post-hardcore band The Refused, which is the only track that is devoid of electro elements. It would appear that the mix would be a straight-up rock expedition until a quick drop that brings us into the electroclash goodness of Erol Alkan’s remix of Justice’s “Waters of Nazareth”, which features “guest drops” by Five Deez rapper Pase Rock and Amanda Blank of Spank Rock and Sweetheart fame.
(A quick side note re these “guest drops”: If I understand this correctly, a large number of the tracks feature EXCLUSIVE vocals laid over them at the time of the mix under the guidance of Aoki. This set is therefore not just a mix, but it also works as a canvas for guest vocalists to throw around some new lyrics. It’s that idea that makes album interesting in that Aoki brings more to the table than just a bunch of tracks that he likes. Take notes, all of you “supastar” DJs out there.)
Amanda Blank returns again with some more dirty raps and the aforementioned Spank Rock on “We Are Rockstars” by British electro-rockers Does It Offend You, Yeah? Oh man, I hope the mention of all of these indie-type artists doesn’t get SMS too fired up. Hopefully he’s too busy being engaged to notice. Come on, Shawn, I’ve been really trying. Speaking of Shawns (or in this case, a guy who sometimes goes by the name of Sean Na Na), bloated Ron Jeremy look-alike Har Mar Superstar makes a “guest drop” on “Element of Danger” by Services, as I’m not too familiar with his work, but the first guy of whom I was reminded upon hearing this was Steve Miller.
The Faint lead singer Todd Fink makes an appearance on a version of “Bring It On” by Belgian electro-rockers Goose. Aside from the MSTRKRFT remix of Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” (which is significantly better than the original, bringing some much needed grit to the table), this would appear to be one of the flagship tracks off the album, as it’s already making viral waves in the new commercial for the Mitsubishi Lancer. Like Dirty Vegas and Télépopmusik before it, Mitsubishi could propel these guys to crazy new heights.
A wonderfully guttural remix of “Licky (Work It Out)” by Larry Tee and Princess Superstar features a cam… er, “guest drop” by singer Santogold before it breaks out into full-blown classic house mode as a prelude to some ghetto tech action. It’s only suiting that Aoki would follow it up with the aforementioned Green Velvet track. A Soulwax remix of The Klaxons’ “Gravity Rainbo” comes off as rather uninspired, while fans of British post-punk revival gone electro will be pleased by remixes of tracks by Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party (“Do You Want To” and “Helicopter”, respectively)—the former of which is pretty droning while the latter does some fun things that allow it to fit into the mix adequately.
And let me close out this review by saying that I was NOT wrong about Peaches—she still sucks. However, the Weird Science remix of “Boys Wanna Be Her” actually does work in a dirty disco sort of way, though I’m going to almost exclusively credit the remixers (Aoki and Blake Miller) with that. And another thing… listening to Mickey Avalon’s “guest drop” on KIM’s “Wet ‘N’ Wild” makes me yearn for some Tiga, not to mention some Felix Da Housecat. Are those guys not in anymore? I must really be getting old. That said, as a whole, this mix does some really intriguing things, and the whole “guest drop” thing really does add to the final product. With the exception of a few mediocre tracks, most everything works well. Big ups to Aoki for trying something new.
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