Your live shows are often described as larger-than-life experiences. How do you approach creating a cinematic atmosphere on stage?

Every show is a chance to build a world. I think about it like directing a film every light, drop, and visual cue is part of the narrative. The goal is to make the crowd feel like they’re inside the story, not just watching it.

Music and cinema share a deep emotional language how does film inspire your sound or storytelling as a producer?

Film scores have always been huge for me. The way music heightens emotion in a movie is the same energy I try to bring to a
track or a drop it’s about tension, release, and connection.

If your life were a movie, what would the opening scene look like?
It would start fast flashing lights, planes taking off, backstage chaos, and a kid with big dreams behind a turntable. Then zoom out and reveal the road ahead, full of noise and color.

You’ve collaborated across so many genres and cultures who would you dream of scoring a film with?

Hans Zimmer, hands down. His sound design and emotional depth are next-level. Mixing that cinematic storytelling with my electronic energy would be a wild fusion.

How do visuals, lighting, and narrative come together in your performances to tell a story beyond the music?

Everything on stage is intentional the lighting builds emotion, the visuals create texture, and the narrative connects it all. It’s less about playing songs and more about designing an experience that hits every sense.

Many of your videos and visuals have a futuristic, almost sci-fi energy. What cinematic worlds or directors influence that aesthetic?

I grew up obsessed with anime and sci-fi Akira, Blade Runner, The Matrix, Tron. Those worlds shaped how I see music and tech colliding. I love pushing that line between human and digital reality.

You’ve built the Aoki universe across music, fashion, and art what role does cinematic storytelling play in connecting all these worlds?

Storytelling is the thread. Whether it’s a track, clothing, or a visual project, it’s all part of one big narrative the Aoki multiverse. Cinema gives me the framework to tie those worlds together emotionally and visually.

If you could reimagine one classic film and score it with your own music, which would it be and why?

Definitely The Matrix. That film changed how I saw reality it’s not just sci-fi, it’s philosophy wrapped in action. The visuals, the pacing, the concept of awakening it’s everything I connect with creatively. Scoring The Matrix with my sound would be about amplifying that tension between chaos and clarity, between the digital and the human. I’d build a soundtrack that evolves like Neo’s journey from heavy, industrial energy to something euphoric and transcendent.

The cinematic theme often explores emotion and transformation what moment in your career felt like a movie turning point?

When I launched Dim Mak and started releasing music independently. That was my origin story no script, no safety net. Just
passion, community, and the drive to build something that would last.

How do you see the future of performance will it become even more immersive and cinematic with technology like AI and VR?

Definitely. We’re already entering that space. AI and VR will let artists build entire worlds that fans can step into. The future of live shows will feel like entering a movie where the soundtrack is happening around you in real time.

Interview by Sleiman Dayaa

Photography: Greg Adamski
Stylist: Sleiman Dayaa
Glam: Shannon JJ Williams - MMG
Bickiboss Studio
special thanks to Mounssef Soumadi