Steve Aoki has always shown an eccentric musical behaviour, with an unpredictable and creative style. 5OKI is the final form, a kind of summary of this incredible producer, who even after years of hits manages to impress and amaze his fanbase and us.

Yes, we were a bit doubtful about 5OKI, because of a couple of prejudices, but we decided to wait and we did. The first release of this special collection of collaborations with huge names, was the generic “Mayhem” with Quintino, quite disappointing but after that, all the genius of Aoki began to pop out like a bag of popcorn in a microwave.

If you check the names involved in this EP, you can easily declare that they are even better than Tiesto’s one (Mesto, MOTi, John Christian and Matisse & Sadko) in terms of commercial importance. Quintino, Laidback Luke, Hardwell, Vini Vici, Loopers (& Mama Aoki). Astonishing importance, and, obviously, high expectations.

5OKI is a surprise. According to us, some collabs were awesome while some others a flop. The overall result is pretty good, but we should consider the 5 songs unique in their own genre, all of them being different. 5OKI keeps them together, however, its extreme versatility and creativity doesn’t manage to maintain a connection, apart from the covers (inspired by some movie posters, they are pure masterpieces).
Let’s begin!

5. Anthem ft. Hardwell

47/100

With all due respect & love, Robbert, but “Anthem”, heard at home with headphones, is a chaotic farrago of sounds. Simply too confusing for us.

It theoretically does its job in festivals, but that screeching drop and the dispersive melody just doesn’t work in other contexts. The idea mainly seems to be by Steve Aoki (this structure is already present in some of his older tracks), but Hardwell’s lead has been edited in a weird and particular way. Not a fan of the idea.
We can save Kriss Kriss vocal, anyway, it’s one of the catchiest things we have heard in recent times! The break, in fact, valorized it, Hardwell made a good job there (despite being a standard big room break). What a shame for that drop though… However, it does stand up to be an “Anthem” and thus is still justified just like Mayhem.

4. Mayhem ft. Quintino (already reviewed here)

61\100

Steve Aoki and Quintino teamed up for a colossal tune: “Mayhem” which presents itself as a massive festival banger though with some weaknesses.
With those names involved, the result could have been better considering our expectations. “Mayhem” manages to entertain the listener with a classic combination of big room sounds and a catchy break (our favourite part), but terribly lacks in personality.

The main critic of the collab is the main lead, which is incredibly similar to the famous “Tremor” by Martin Garrix & DV&LM. Same structure, similar sounds, maybe a more dynamic melody, but the two songs are too related for our tastes.
Having said that, you may wonder why the rating is still sufficient. It’s because that break works. An elegant violin builds up an excellent hype for the break, and, as seen during UMF 2018, the result is awesome! Let’s consider “Mayhem” as what it is, a festival production. It does its job, so it’s not a flop, but nothing more. It’s a song for making people dance, limiting the experimental aspect to a minimum point. In conclusion, “Mayhem” is suitable for a festival, or if you are looking for something explosive for your party but nothing more.

3. Pika Pika ft. Loopers

68/100

Still a bit too chaotic for our tastes, but we must admit that Pika Pika is impressive. Loopers style fused with Aoki’s crazy idea creates a powerful and underground combination. There are no 8-Bit sounds or video game elements, but the vocal loop repeating those 4 letters is the real protagonist here.

Loopers managed to make it sound dynamic with a versatile and chameleonic drop structure, and we appreciate the effort. It doesn’t sound easy at all. “Pika Pika” remains a curious and underground production, surely the most underrated song of the EP, and we are still a bit doubtful about it. This style is unique, and we aren’t sure if we actually like it or not. We rated the idea actually, which seems creative and futuristic, but a bit cluttered.

2. Moshi Moshi

81/100

The problem with Vini Vici is that there is always a risk of hearing something repetitive. Aoki completely eliminates this risk with a futuristic and revolutionary collab, which was creative and unpredictable. The icing on this cake of craziness is the perfect vocal by Aoki’s mum, called Mama Aoki. We have told you that Steve Aoki has a particular musical behaviour…

The style is hard to describe. In a certain way, Vini Vici used an old electro house lead, but the structure is interrupted by a sci-fi break. It’s not even a break actually, but it’s a phone call with a hip-hop influence. Curious idea, but the result, this time, is clearly interesting and appreciated by us reviewers. We still have to wait to see if it will be liked by the fans, but for us, “Moshi Moshi” is the freshest song of 5OKI.

1. It’s Time ft. Laid back luke

85/100

The collab with Laidback Luke is the one that impressed us the most! We had an idea about the artwork and the video, thanks to Laidback Luke’s vlogs but the track had us blown away!
“It’s time” starts with a strong personality thanks to the genial vocal and the hypnotic melody. The biggest up of “It’s time” is that it follows a story and every element conspires to tell the same story, the vocal is heavily influenced by UFC announcers and the explosive drop also expresses the idea of hardcore boxing.

The kick in the drop seems to influenced by hardstyle while the synth is clearly big-room, a
not new but efficient combo. there’s also a slower, groovier twerk beat style section.

The duo really crafted a masterpiece, slightly inspired, in the drop part, to their previous collab, the legendary “Turbulence”, but with more dynamism!

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