Pioneer DJM-800 Mixer, used by Steve Aoki

Pioneer DJM-800 Mixer, used by Steve Aoki

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Description (Brief)
Steve Aoki’s dj equipment, consisting of Pioneer CDJ-2000 multiplayer decks, a Pioneer DJM – 8000 mixer, and a RANE SL3 computer interface, creates a world of sound that melds many musical genres and styles together. Designed to recreate an analog dj set from the 1970’s and 80’s, these components use computers to manipulate and make digital music. In the case of Steve Aoki, the master of EDM or electric dance music, he uses his mixers, faders, and speed dials to produce electronic dance music to create rising beats, synthetic sounds, and hypnotic rhythms that spark conversations as much as spark dancing.
Steve Aoki grew up in California in the 1970’s and 80’s to parents that migrated from Japan in the 1960’s. His father started the chain of Benihana Japanese restaurants where Steve learned a little about hard work, showmanship, and business. Steve Aoki went to college in California and majored in gender studies and sociology, played in punk band, and to make some extra money, started a music label, Dim Mak, and started to dj’s. The 1990’s Aoki’s high school and college days were set in an America that was in the midst of change. Asian American and Latino/a voices and performers were getting more and more exposure in the entertainment world. This diversity influenced Aoki’s music and came to believe in the potential music has to connect with people. He works with a varied set of collaborators who create a wild diverse set of music styles.
Object Name
mixer
date made
2008
user
Aoki, Steve
maker
Pioneer Electronic Corporation
place made
Japan: Tōkyō, Tokyo
Physical Description
metal (overall material)
plastic (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 4 in x 12 1/2 in x 15 in; 10.16 cm x 31.75 cm x 38.1 cm
ID Number
2017.0125.01
accession number
2017.0125
catalog number
2017.0125.01
serial number
HKMPO1117OUC
model number
DJM-800
Credit Line
Gift of Steve Aoki
subject
EDM
See more items in
Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
Music & Musical Instruments
Electronic Musical Instruments
Exhibition
Entertainment Nation
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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