It’s not every day that you see an EDM artist featured as part of a prestigious museum, but Steve Aoki staked a claim as the first dance artist to be featured as part of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. He recently donated a set of his touring equipment to an electronic music display at the museum.
The Smithsonian wrote a blog post detailing Aoki’s contribution to the Smithsonian. Specifically, the touring equipment will be included as part of the museum’s music history collection. Aoki donated his 2009 edition CDJ-2000s, 2008 DJM-800 mixer, and RANE SL3. These pieces of equipment are the first digital DJ tools on display at the Smithsonian.
Speaking about the addition of Steve Aoki’s equipment, the blog writer says:
“The donation of Steve Aoki’s gear enables us to expand our narrative history of turntabling and DJ work into the current era […] Aoki uses his DJ equipment as his instruments—but unlike his predecessors, the musical experience that he creates is digital.”
Steve Aoki took to Twitter to celebrate the addition of his instruments in the Smithsonian, tweeting the following photo:
Look mom 👀 I made it into the @smithsonian 😱 what an absolute honor. Come find me this weekend if you’re there! pic.twitter.com/gcmiXZxd1c
— Jaleo Aoki (@steveaoki) October 20, 2018
If you happen to be in the area, and you want to check out the exhibit, you can find Steve Aoki’s equipment in the Smithsonian’s Ray Dolby Gateway to Culture. Check out one of his latest tracks below!
