Steve Aoki and KAAZE have been trading ideas for a full-length collaboration for years. That project, a three-track EP called Head Rush, is out now on Dim Mak Records, the label Aoki founded in 1996.
Aoki has built his career on volume and reach. Billboard has called him a two-time Grammy nominee, and his discography includes a nomination for his 2012 album Wonderland. He was born in Miami before relocating to Newport Beach, California, and his catalog stretches into Latin music through his Dim Mak En Fuego imprint and collaborations with artists including Maluma and Daddy Yankee. KAAZE, a Swedish producer known for a style he calls Hōt Teknō, has spent the past several years working alongside Aoki on singles rather than a joint project, which makes Head Rush a shift in scale rather than a first meeting.
Steve Aoki and KAAZE Build on Years of Prior Work
The two producers didn't start from zero. Head Rush follows "Won't Forget This Time" and "Whole Again," both featuring John Martin and pulled from Aoki's HiROQUEST album series. KAAZE also remixed Aoki's "Kyro" off HiROQUEST 2: Double Helix. The title track brings in techno vocalist Sarah De Warren and pairs a big-room low end with a vocal line built for a mainstage drop. "Give It To Me" and "Self Control" close out the release with a similar festival focus, shorter on vocal hooks and heavier on the low end.
"KAAZE and I have been talking about doing something together for years, and this EP finally captures that shared vision: high-energy, emotional, euphoric," Aoki said. "Both 'Head Rush' and 'Give It To Me' take you straight to that festival moment where everything just lifts. It's big-room energy with heart, exactly the kind of music that reminds me why I started doing this in the first place."
KAAZE described the sessions in similar terms. "It's always a blast to jump in the studio with Steve," he said. "When we started working on this EP, the goal was simple: make something that absolutely destroys the festival stage. Every drop, every melody, every vocal across all tracks is designed to make people lose themselves in the moment."
Hypersonic Festival Gave Fans an Early Listen
The EP didn't arrive cold. Earlier this month, KAAZE joined Aoki onstage at Hypersonic Festival in Sydney and Melbourne, where the pair played "Head Rush" and "Give It To Me" for festival crowds before either track had an official release date. That kind of live rollout has become standard practice in dance music, where producers test a record's crowd response before it hits streaming platforms, a strategy Billboard has tracked across festival season releases from other Dim Mak artists.
For Aoki, the EP adds another entry to a label catalog that has run from early punk and hardcore signings to the electronic acts that now define Dim Mak's identity, including The Chainsmokers and Zedd in their early years. For KAAZE, it marks the first time his name sits alongside Aoki's on a multi-track release rather than a single or a remix credit.
Head Rush is out now on Dim Mak Records across streaming platforms. Whether the studio partnership extends beyond this EP remains an open question, but the festival sets in Sydney and Melbourne suggest both producers are already treating the material as a live set staple rather than a one-off release.
