Steve Aoki – Neon Future III [Album review]

Regarded as one of the most impressive music producers on the current electronic dance music scene, we can safely say Steve Aoki commands his spot as one of the industries best. The American electro house magician has built an illustrious career for more than two decades and at the age of 40, you can sure bet there’s plenty more to come from Steve who consistently delivers year on year. The Dim Mak label founder has earned his spot among the world’s most prominent artists thanks to an overly outstanding musical resume boasting some of the most famous electronic tracks including ‘No Beef‘ with Afrojack and ‘Turbulance‘ with Lil Jon. But of course, when the name Steve Aoki rings out loud, it’s Aoki’s infamous cake-tossing at his performances that always springs to mind first. Luckily, you’re safe from being hit in the face with cake here, however, strap in and prepare yourself for the latest sounds of Steve Aoki as he drops his brand new album – Neon Future III.

At first glance, the album is a 17-track strong masterclass of music that can only be described as Steve at his best. Featuring a line up of collaborations with a variety of musical artists from all four corners of the globe, the album demonstrates Steve’s ability not be limited by a single sound as he spans multiple genres throughout. With some of the album’s tracks already gaining attention and attraction on music streaming sites, Neon Future III could well be one of the best albums to be released this year. That said, let’s get down to business.

The first track on Aoki’s album is the ‘Neon Future III (Intro)‘. Perhaps one of the finest track’s we’ve heard as an album intro, I assure you this will serve as one of Aoki’s opening tracks in his near future performances. Comprised of delicate opening followed by blinding synths and basslines, It has mainstage domination written all over it. The next track takes a step back from heavy beats and focuses on the melody and vocals as Aoki provides ‘Just Hold On‘, a collaboration with Louis Tomlinson, known for being a member of pop group 1 Direction.

Striping back all the ingredients of an electronic banger and delivering a slowed down emotive-feet production, the American teams up with BTS for their collaboration called ‘Waste It On Me‘. A familiar electronic great in the form of Nicky Romero gets to grips with Aoki as the pair produce the beat-layered summery track ‘Be Somebody‘ with the help of the beautiful vocals provided by Kiiara. Another track on the album is ‘Pretender‘ which sees vocals from Lil Yachty and AJR, featuring one of the best melodic-driven tracks on the album.

When it comes to impressive synth-design, ‘Our Love Grows‘ with Lady Antebellum is a go-to track which no doubt will be a smash-hit and chart-topping production once the production gains momentum on the electronic spectrum. Similarly, Aoki teams up with singer Bella Thorne for another chart-destined production called ‘Do Not Distub‘. This track is instantly infectious from the start all the way to the finish. One track that was released prior to the album drop and has sought plenty of plays already, ‘Azukita‘, a collaboration with Daddy Yankke, Play-N-Skillz, and Elvis Crespo, earns its spot on the album and with good cause. The track is a club-ready production that brings the heat every time it rings through the speakers.

Towards the end of the album, a familiar collaboration that has already proven to be one of the best tracks to come out this year, ‘What We Started‘ makes the final cut with fellow superstar Don Diablo providing his influential sounds on the track. If you want to go hard with banging basslines then Steve Aoki has you covered, his track ‘Hoovela‘ produced with TWIGG makes sure the electro house sounds are alive and kicking. You’ll be hearing this one in future Aoki performances no doubt. Finally, the last track on Neon Future III is a production called ‘Noble Gas‘ which surprisingly features Bill Nye. None the less, its spacey sounds, fervent synths, and pulsating electronic beats will cause a storm and elate listeners right through to their soul. The track is a fitting way to round out the spectacular album.

Without a doubt, Neon Future III is one of Steve Aoki’s best releases to date. The album is another testament to the nature of the hard working DJ who never skips corners and delivers the goods time and time again. The album will certainly earn its way up the charts as one of the finest releases this year. There is no time to hang about so get listening to the brand new album below right now.