life TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2009 They’re often derided as hipsters who got lucky, but Steve Aoki and Mark ofHunter’s the Los ascentAngeles to party the top scene has been u e Sh in r anything hbuter reasyte at by C Staff Repo

teve Aoki and Mark Hunter (better On the Net: known as the Cobra Snake) finish

each other’s sentences. On Sunday, Steve Aoki: www.dimmak.com Photo courtesy of Dim Mak MH: [Jokingly] You’re Asian? the day after DJ Aoki played to a Mark Hunter: www.thecobrasnake.com SA: ... that’s something that will always wall-to-wall crowd at Luxy (which NEU Store: www.neu.tw be part of my identity politics in every single Hunter photographed), the best friends Dancing Through Sunday: thing I do. It’s already informed, it’s already buckled down in the East District’s dancingthroughsunday.wordpress.com cultivated. When I was thinking of advancing (東區) NEU Store for a round of interviews. in academia, it was to do research for the SAoki sat on a red velvet sofa while Hunter, advancement of Asian American identity dressed in a T-shirt and trousers from his politics. That’s the main reason I [went to upcoming clothing line, bounced around, university]. I thought, am I going to focus flipping through a magazine and occasionally on myself by going into a program where I interjecting with a one-liner. could specialize in marketing — which is The two have thrown parties and toured impact of Bruce Lee on Aoki’s record label. of the reason that you can reinvest the money really where I am at, my head is more into the together since Aoki was the head of a fledgling in Dim Mak? marketing aspect of Dim Mak. But I was like, record label called Dim Mak and Hunter Taipei Times: Steve, this is your third trip SA: That was always the initial reason. The fuck that, I’m going to go towards something was a 17-year-old with a camera. In the past here. Based on your previous tours, is there main reason I was playing shows was to pay that is more meaningful, like social work and seven years, Dim Mak has made its name anything that you did to gear your set to the off my Dim Mak bills. There’s no real money research in the field that I understand the best, breaking acts like Bloc Party, the Kills and, Taipei crowd? in the label. I’m really reinvesting that money which is me being Asian American. more recently, the Bloody Beetroots. Hunter, Steve Aoki: On this tour my set is comprised and time into developing new artists. Watching But [after university] I decided to go meanwhile, has gained fame (or infamy, mainly of songs I’ve remixed or produced and grow to be an international phenomenon and an artist like the Bloody Beetroots, which we the music route, because that is where my depending on whom you ask) for chronicling tracks from artists on my label Dim Mak: the launch a T-shirt line. How cool is that? signed in 2007, grow into a worldwide success heart is. It made the most sense. I made my parties around the world and posting the Bloody Beetroots, MSTRKRFT, Felix Cartal and SA: I would say luck and timing are really and phenomenon, it’s really amazing to see decision back in 2002 when I heard the Kills’ photos on theCobrasnake.com. remixes that we’ve done. I just want to support important in factoring into someone’s success ... that. There’s no better feeling. demo. I was like, fuck it, I’m going to go the artists that are on our roster, new ones like MH: ... yeah, we both just read this book fucking label route and support the Kills. I Sonic C, who is an 18-year-old kid. We played a called Outliers [by Malcolm Gladwell] ... TT: You are both clearly hardworking and got accepted into [Asian American studies Photos courtesy of RIKHUNG track by Afrojack, which is not going to come SA: .... but you can’t just base people’s put out a lot of stuff. Mark, you’re constantly graduate programs at New York University out for a while. It’s brand new, so what people success on luck and timing. There is a lot that updating your Web site and Steve is constantly and San Francisco State University]. Once heard was a work in progress. There was the goes into what someone does to get to the touring and getting publicity for Dim Mak. But I knew I’d been accepted, I felt validated, new Bloody Beetroots track we just released point where people find out about it. are either of you worried about overexposure? like all that work and time was meant for at the end of last year called Warp 1977. And MH: I think two things Steve and I do very SA: I think we are far from overexposure. something. I just needed that thumbs-up, and of course I dropped my new single I’m in the well are that we are consistent and we work We are still part of the underground. We are then I went into music. House with Zuper Blahq. a lot harder than people think. There is a lot not commercial, like the Black-Eyed Peas or that goes on behind the scenes that is not as Lady Gaga, or on that level. If we ever get to TT: In the US, it’s difficult for Asian TT: I know the two of you tour together glamorous. that stage, then yeah, that’s something we Americans to break into music ... a lot. How did you meet and start working SA: I’m on the road about 300 days a year. can discuss. SA: For sure. I named my label after together? Mark is on the road just as much, going to MH: I think we haven’t had to change Bruce Lee because he was the only Asian Mark Hunter: We are both from LA. I take every fashion show in the world, in Paris, anything that we do, so the more people that American icon throughout my whole photos and it complements Steve’s amazing London, New York, Australia, wherever. can accept what we like, the better. childhood who broke through racial performances. Since we get lonely, we like SA: I remember in 2003, when I signed boundaries. Everyone accepted him. It’s to spend a lot of time with each other. I’m TT: Mark, did people recognize you at Luxy? Bloc Party. They were budding new artists not easy for an Asian to be accepted out of a huge fan of everything Steve does, so it’s MH: More than I expected, actually. It was from England. Sound Alarm came out in 2005 the Asian community. There are plenty of exciting to see him travel the world and have nice. and sold 350,000 records in America. That Asians that are doing great things, but as far huge crowds of screaming fans everywhere he was a really big, big transition for the label. as being accepted [by audiences of different goes. It’s really exciting, starting from just a TT: Does that help or hinder you when you Someone asked me that question then, is this races], it’s very difficult. little ... I mean, nobody has ever heard of Los are taking photos? overexposure for Dim Mak? But there is no When I was growing up, everybody I Angeles ... to traveling around the world. MH: Some people are scared of me, to be such thing as overexposure for us right now. knew loved Bruce Lee. I think that’s why SA: [Laughs] We started throwing these little honest, that don’t know me. So if they know That is so far from where we are. That was I loved him. He killed as far as his work parties together when Mark was 17 ... we were me, it’s a little better, because I can be a 2005, and now we’re at a different stage. We’re ethic went. He wasn’t just a fighter. He had Aoki and Hunter are often derided as touring together back when [theCobrasnake. little intimidating. But it doesn’t really matter putting out more dance and electronic music. a philosophy, he wrote books. I read Tao hipsters who got lucky — Aoki because he com] was still Polaroid Scene [the original either way, because I’m good at getting There is still so much more work to be done. of Jeet Kune Do and watched all his talk is the son of Rocky Aoki, the late founder of name of Hunter’s Web site, which was changed photos of people. That’s what I’ve been doing I guess in the small world of people who only show interviews. He was so well-spoken, the Benihana restaurant chain, and Hunter because of trademark issues]. We went to Japan for a while. listen to this kind of music, we might be at the articulate, just charming and he really because his job appears to be running a and brought 1,000 stickers each for Dim Mak top of that scale, but we’re really trying to think crossed that boundary. He really broke glorified blog with photos of yet more hipsters. and Polaroid Scene. We walked from morning TT: Steve, I’ve read that you want to cut beyond the box. That’s why we tour so much. through and made Asians look like we’re not But Aoki says his famous dad did not fund to night, going to every subway stop, hitting back on touring and spend more time in LA Mark really went global with the Cobra Snake. just silent and docile people. We are actually Dim Mak (a claim backed up by the fact that up every pole and climbing up all this shit. We producing. Have you been able to slow down at It started as just an LA thing. If Mark thought pretty fucking cool, you know. much of the money made from his exhaustive were being kids. all? Your touring schedule is still pretty intense. of Cobra Snake as just an LA experience, then touring schedule is poured back into his record MH: We just really used our hustle muscle SA: Next year I’m hoping to cap my gigs yeah, that’s overexposure for sure. But we’re TT: When you are listening to demos and label); before going into music, he considered and it’s slowing paying off. at 250. That will leave at least 100 days in thinking globally and touring our asses off. looking for bands to sign, what do you seek out? an academic career in Asian American studies. LA, which is actually a major difference. SA: It’s not just that one song. It’s always And, as it turns out, the Cobra Snake wasn’t TT: Mark, people often say, “Oh, the Cobra Honestly, every single day I’m in LA, it’s a TT: I know you studied women’s history the package you look at. The whole thing, like just a kid with a camera — as an 18-year-old, Snake just got lucky, all he does is put photos on scheduled day. Whatever deadlines I have on [and sociology] in college and were thinking of what kind of style they represent or want to Hunter went into his internship one day with the Web,” but I’ve read that as a teenager, you the fashion end [Aoki designs clothing for going into Asian American studies. Your heroes identify with, their package of songs, material, a detailed six-page business proposal for his wrote up a detailed six-page business proposal Dim Mak, which is available in Taipei at NEU include Bruce Lee and Malcolm X. Does your the whole image, everything. All that stuff is photography Web site. for your party photography and brought it into Store, and in collaboration with other labels] interest in radical politics and Asian American really important. But sometimes, when the The two talked with the Taipei Times your internship one day. What was in it? and whatever studio time I have to finish up, studies continue to inform your work? music is so outstanding, it doesn’t matter what about the show at Luxy, how they worked MH: I had an idea of something that I everything is scheduled. SA: Well, I can never escape the fact that the presentation is. Sometimes that’s all I care their “hustle muscle” and the continuing wanted to accomplish. I would start small and TT: What drives you to keep touring? Is part I’m Asian ... about, just that one song.