There are few names in the EDM industry that equate to sheer, unadulterated fun. Steve Aoki is one of them, bringing an onslaught of crazy, on-stage antics wherever he goes. From champagne to cake, no stones are left unturned when it comes to putting on one hell of a show.
Over the past month, the Aokify America tour has been cruising from city to city, bringing it’s zany antics, larger than life beats and top notch talent to cities from coast to coast. One of the featured names on this bill is Israeli producer, Borgore. We had a chance to speak to this baron of bass when the tour stopped in at the Ogden Theater in Denver, Colorado. If you get one thing out of this interview, it’s this: do not fear the Booty Monster.
TMN: I’m sitting down tonight to talk with the ever talented producer, Mr. Borgore himself. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us tonight. Let’s kick it off by talking about why you’re here in Denver, being on the Aokify America Tour. Steve was recently quoted in the Denver Westword saying, “I want to maximize fun. I want to break the fun meter. Have you guys succeeded in that so far?
Borgore: 100%. The line up has been very versatile, and it kills it every night. Waka and myself are playing almost every show, except for maybe one or two. We also have amazing openers like Deorro, which is probably one of the coolest DJs right now. We had Dirtyphonics, we had Felix Cartal. I bet I missed someone, but we destroy. Out of this world. Amazing.
TMN: You’ve been on tour with a lot of different acts in your career. How do the crowds on this tour compare to ones in the past?
Borgore: I think that the people who come to this show are very open minded to a lot of different genres. It’s just good times. You can explore whatever you want to do in your set and they’re down with it. It’s really good times.
TMN: Are they rowdier than most?
Borgore: Um. I mean, the only thing that is kind of difficult with 16 year olds is they cannot get stupid drunk. You know? So a lot of times you play like to older people…but at the same time, younger kids go stupid rowdy without getting drunk. The tour is pretty fucking rowdy though.
TMN: We have to guess that there are some tour shenanigans going on. Can you shine some light on any pranks or mischief that have happened so far?
TMN: What’s the charity you guys are donating to?
Borgore: Steve has a charity that he does, where every year he donates his age times a thousand to whatever his fans choose. This year they chose brain research.
TMN: Aside from this tour, you also just released a new EP today. Let’s run through each of these tracks one by one. First, we have the title track, “Wild Out,” which is a blend between hip hop (Feat. Waka Flocka) but also incorporates some traditional EDM stylings with Paige’s vocals and big synth builds. Speak to us about how you approach making a track that effortlessly combines so many qualities.
Then I met him in Spain, and I played it to him and he fucking loved it! I was like, “Damn, I gotta finish this now.” So, I wanted to make a track that combines everything.
TMN: Alright, next up is “Booty Monster,” with one of our favorite characters, Victor Niglio.
Borgore: He is a super talented producer. I love him.
TMN: Before we get too far, is the Booty Monster real, and should we be scared of it?
TMN: Noted. All kidding aside, this track is an absolute beast. Did you and Victor work on it in studio or just via email?
Borgore: Thank you. All via emails. Send me this, send me that back. That type of deal.
TMN: We tried to get Victor to send us an interview question via IM to ask in tonight’s interview. He replied with, “Lol,” and never did.
Borgore: (Laughs) I love him. He has such a bright future. He’s a weirdo too.
TMN: Who came up with the name?
Borgore: I did. I did the sample. It’s actually a computer generated voice, and it’s actually me saying “Booty Monster.”
TMN: Alright, aside from the radio version of the title track, you also have a modern take on a classic Egyptian love song. Where did the inspiration from this track come?
TMN: Enough with the present, let’s talk a little bit about your musical history/background. You have only been in the electronic music scene for fourish years now, but what about way before that? When you were a kid, did you listen to any music or was there a certain genre artist that got a lot of repeat time on your player?
Borgore: I was listening to everything from Spice Girls to death metal. I was always open for everything, and I studied all instruments. Saxophone was the main one for fuck knows how long. I started playing the piano when I was 3. Since then I’ve just been working on music.
TMN: There was also a time you played drums in a death metal band. In your music now, listeners can really hear some metal influences. Talk to us about that band.
Borgore: Shabira. We were very Lamb of God influenced. I think we had a bright future as a metal band, but our singer turned stupid religious. Like, crazy religious. He did so many drugs that they didn’t affect him anymore, so he was looking for something bigger than drugs. He found god, turned weird, and it was really hard to find a new singer who was up to par with him.
TMN: Speaking about your past, you are from Israel, and each young man has to go into the army for a few years. When you are 21, you are released to go on to whatever is next. This was the time when you decided to give music a shot professionally. When did you make the decision to take up music, and see where it would lead you?
Borgore: During the last year. Every five minutes I had, I was on the laptop trying to make music. By the time I was out of the army, I already had a pretty strong Myspace following, and was booked for a couple of shows.
TMN: Where was the first place you ever played, and what was that experience like for you?
Borgore: Belgium. It was unreal. I played a headliner’s spot in front of people I had been listening to my whole life, barely knowing how to DJ. I didn’t even know how to play a 60 minute set. It was unreal. I never thought that 2000 people would come. It was insane.
TMN: Let’s talk about your label, Buygore. It says on your site the purpose is to bring music that guys and girls from national radio love but cannot broadcast. Why did you think it was important to start a label that emphasized that?
Borgore: I ate shit in the beginning of my career when it came to releasing my music. I hear a lot of really talented kids and would love to give them a shot. I’m trying to give kids, who I think are talented, the option to get a big crowd through my networks.
TMN: Alright, now we’re going to switch gears a bit. On your Wikipedia page, your songs have been said to sound like the following: horror movies, farm animals and sex. Do you believe these are accurate descriptions?
Borgore: I said that in an interview in like four years ago!
TMN: Let’s follow up on that. If you could do the scoring for any horror movie, past or present, what would you pick?
Borgore: You know what? I think that Pyscho has the best soundtrack to any horror movie ever. I cannot top it to save my life. It’s the best. It’s one of the biggest masterpieces ever.
TMN: If you’re music were a farm animal, what would it be?
Borgore: Kinda sounds like Pigs, I guess. (Starts oinking)
TMN: We’re going to skip a third question about favorite sexual positions, but thanks so much for sitting down with us.
