Someone has to look out for the little guys, right? Especially in music, it's difficult for the bubbles of niche genres to expand onto the global stage without the push from major labels. Without that extra boost, we may never even experience what those microcosms have to offer. So we wanted to look at the humble start for the powerhouse label Dim Mak Records to trace how they got to where they are today. While it is a highly sought after destination for many aspiring artists in all Dance genres, it had a very different sound from its inception. Founded in 1996, Dim Mak was a project started by a young Steve Aoki, who was still attending University of California, Santa Barbara. At 19, he was living in an apartment called the Pickle Patch, which also doubled as a small venue for artists, with a few friends. They hosted over 450 artists (At The Drive In, The Rapture). By this point, he already had experience starting his own music magazine in high school, playing in bands, and organizing shows. Steve stated in an interview that part of the reason he was so active at a young age was that he surrounded himself with friends who were just as passionate about the same things.
From not so honest yet necessary beginnings of stealing copies at Kinko's late night, Steve treated Dim Mak like it was his baby--tending to it and carefully molding it. He was involved with the artwork, packaging, and of course, its music. For its first release-an EP from Punk band Pretty Girls Make Graves-Dim Mak partnered with the label Bastille Records, owned by two of Steve's friends from high school. He also found a distributor in California, Ebullition Records, which is where he interned and worked for seven years. From there, the label's next big move was releasing The Kills' first record, Black Rooster. Then to finish off a godsent, powerful one-two punch, Bloc Party sent in a demo of "She's Hearing Voices" and Steve was confident that Dim Mak was going to be a success: "I just found one of the most important bands I've ever heard of in my life."
2003 saw small Hollywood parties from Dim Mak with Steve behind the decks. He also invited bands to DJ (Carlos from Interpol, Nick from Yeah Yeah Yeahs), which explains why he admits no one could DJ properly at these early get togethers. Then for the next three years, Steve slowly became exposed to Dance music through the remixes of Dim Mak's Rock songs, and he evolved into a proper DJ. This, as well as the parties they started hosting at Cinespace, also mark the transition from the Rock sound to Dance. Then as Electro took shape in 2006, Dim Mak prepared to sign its first Dance acts--The Bloody Beetroots and MSTRKRFT.
Since those two signings, Dim Mak has been on a roll with scouting new artists in the Dance realm and it now has 600 releases to boast from artists like Felix Cartal, Jacob Plant, Uberjak'd, Zeds Dead, and Chocolate Puma. Their presence is felt heavily at major festivals around the world and its tours are essentially a series of parties that one ups itself every time. Steve has also expanded Dim Mak's fashion arm which started in 2006 by partnering with Adidas, Diesel, and others to deliver a similar product to his music: "build a future like we did with the record label and experiment with future concepts."
We can't imagine a world now without Dim Mak. Its ability to stay ahead of the curve with music, parties, and the culture is encouraging that there are still visionaries out there fighting everyday to progress what they believe in, "by any means necessary."
Keep up with Dim Mak Records on its Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, website, and Twitter. Also be sure to catch up on their latest releases by visiting their profile.