![]() More importantly, the industry began to notice Aoki as a trusted tastemaker due the success of Bloc Party and many other indie acts he helped break. The label began to pull profits for the first time ever- Silent Alarm sold 350,000 physical copies in the pre-digital days of music sales, according to Aoki-and was finally able to afford an actual employee prior to that, Aoki relied on roughly 13 interns to handle everything. With the wildfire success of Silent Alarm, Aoki kicked open the industry doors, and Dim Mak was now a legit player in the independent circuit. Dim Mak then entered the major leagues with the release of Bloc Party’s debut studio album Silent Alarm in 2005, a cosigned deal with Vice, and Dim Mak’s first major label deal. He became an instant fan and immediately snatched them up. In 2003, up-and-coming UK indie rockers Bloc Party mailed a copy of their track “She’s Hearing Voices” to Aoki himself. Such legendary performances from then-unknown artists marked the first glimpses of Aoki as a budding tastemaker, which would become his launching pad into cultural relevancy years down the line. His involvement in the scene ran the gamut, from playing in multiple bands to writing his own column in a local punk magazine.įrom his UCSB dorm, Aoki also operated the Pickle Patch, which functioned as a makeshift punk rock venue that hosted everyone from Jimmy Eat World and At the Drive-In to !!! and the Locust. ![]() There was no looking back for Aoki once he hit the hardcore scene, and he later elevated his commitment to the movement during his college years at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as a double major in women’s studies and sociology. All that stuff is what hardcore kids did.” I started reading into lyrics more deeply. Everything I did was what other straight-edge hardcore kids did back then. You listen to songs, you listen to groups, but you don’t necessarily need to change your clothes to look like them. “This was the first time where I understood music as a lifestyle. I literally just felt passionately involved with the scene,” a rebellious Aoki reminisces about his earliest musical memories as a young punk. “I was a sophomore in high school, and I got a mixtape from a friend of mine. Prior to becoming the internationally touring, Grammy-nominated artist he is now, Aoki was once a punk rock and hardcore kid growing up on the streets of Newport Beach, in California’s Orange County. Through and through, the sound of Dim Mak yesteryear up to today is defined by Aoki’s eclectic tastes. The metamorphosis from a punk and hardcore label to mainstage dominators and leaders of the modern-day EDM boom is an untold mystery that could be explained only through a deep dive within the Dim Mak vaults, all the way into today’s digital libraries. The thrashing guitars, the battering double bass pedals, and the distorted growls of the label’s past acts are a foreign language when compared to the bombastic beats, the heavy bass, and the house and electro supremacy of Dim Mak’s current roster. You wouldn’t recognize the old-school Dim Mak sound today if you fired up the very first vinyl the label printed almost 20 years ago. Via in-depth interviews and a deep exploration into the imprint’s discographies and storied past, the series chronicles these labels from inception as they cross into eternal electronic music history.Įditor’s Note: The author of this feature was a full-time Dim Mak employee from 2013–14. Kage - Trust & Qlank - Cell Phone 13.The Rest Is History analyzes the most relevant and noteworthy record labels in the electronic music realm today. Skrillex, Starrah, Four Tet - Butterflies (DONKONG Flip) 03. DONKONG & MARTEN HØRGER - Believe In Me 02. FRIDAY FLASHBACK: Todd Terry - Sinister (Dim Mak) 12. ![]() The Golden Pony - Say Wuttt?! (New Noise) 11. DLMT ft Laura Davie - Don't Wanna Wait (Dim Mak) 10. DIM MAK PICK OF THE WEEK: Steve Aoki & Gattuso - Losing My Religion (Original Mix) 09. Andrekza - Tom y Jerry (Dim Mak En Fuego) 08. Godlands ft BRUX - My Weakness (Dim Mak) 07. GG Magree - Loving You Kills Me (Dim Mak) 06. DIM MAK NEW RELEASE PLAYLIST: Pushing Daizies - I’ll Be Alright (Dim Mak) 05. Gettoblaster ft Missy - Work It (New Noise) 04. Cheat Codes ft AJ Mitchell - Hate You + Love You (Leondis Remix) 03.
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