2x-Grammy-nominated artist and producer Steve Aoki releases his new full-length album HiROQUEST: Genesis, featuring collaborations from Taking Back Sunday, Kane Brown, PnB Rock, Georgia Ku, Bryce Vine, Santa Fe Klan, Lil Xan, Goody Grace, and more.
In celebration of release day, Aoki shares a new single “Movie Star” featuring MOD SUN and Global Dan, equipped with a high-energy music video that finds the trio transforming a mundane afternoon at a SoCal high school into an impromptu dance party. The visual is a juxtaposition to the lyrics which pull the curtain back on life in the limelight, where people often only see the celebrity life “like a movie star,” not knowing all of the challenges and hard work that it takes to reach such a level of success. “Movie Star” made its broadcast premiere on MTV Live and mtvU.
“This is a fun record that takes you back to being a kid in high school when you have all these aspirations,” says Aoki. “It’s something that a lot of kids can relate to. Both MOD SUN and Global Dan have such personalities too, making it such a jam.”
“There’s no one on this planet like Steve Aoki. I have always wanted to work together,” shares MOD SUN. “I look up to him in so many ways, he really has shaped the state of music as we know it. He also has roots in multiple genres including punk + hardcore, which was one thing that always stood out to me about him. This song is special to me because it also introduced me to an amazing artist named global Dan. He is a rare + authentic artist but more than that a truly good human being. We will be friends forever now. This song talks about the grind to get to where you always dreamed of being one day. On the surface it’s very fun + upbeat but there’s also a lot of deeper undertones going on as well. I’m proud to be a part of this song.”
HiROQUEST: Genesis taps into the angst, anxiety and pent-up energy felt throughout the pandemic and offers a dynamic soundtrack to what has become the new normal. The tracks draw equally on Aoki’s history with alternative rock bands and embrace contemporary musical trends like Latin and pop while retaining his signature EDM aesthetic.
“The music is a connecting tissue to this universe that I’m creating,” Aoki explains. “This album tells a fantastical story, but it’s also about freedom from restraint. I went right back to my roots—that raw, rock energy and that became the basis of it. From there, I began to explore everything and it sprouted into so many different genres.”
The songs of HiROQUEST: Genesis comprise five chapters, each detailing a different mythological faction, and the album opens the door for fans to enter a vast world that threads together the music with a new collectible trading card game co-created with MetaZoo Games, which Aoki co-founded and launched in March of 2021.
For a limited time during pre-sale, the trading cards were available as an insert in the CD of Aoki’s new album, with each CD containing one card from the MetaZoo Games HiROQUEST: Genesis set. A staggering 27K+ CDs were sold, and the collection is now sold out. The HiROQUEST: Genesis CD without cards is still available for pre-sale at www.HiROQUEST.com.
The MetaZoo Games HiROQUEST: Genesis storyline lives in a future world full of chaos, where “Beasties” run rampant through the Cryptid Nation led by a character named “Indrid Cold.” The hero protagonist, of the group Evergreen Casters, named “Hiro,” is on a quest to collect Pallet Rings and defeat legions of harmful Zombies and Robots along the way. MetaZoo Games promises it to be an adventure that goes down in history in the world of future cryptids.
HiROQUEST: Genesis arrives as an epic, multi-genre collection of solo and collaborative songs with a world-building story that extends beyond the music itself. Always looking to break down barriers and unite people together in their shared passions, Aoki hopes ‘HiROQUEST: Genesis’ innovative and multi-layered output will serve as a great connector for bringing audiences together. “Almost everything I do is some level of collaboration, whether it’s fashion, technology, music, art or culture,” Aoki shares. “I love this idea that we can come together and put aside the things from our past that may have hardened or jaded us, and just be free.”
HiROQUEST: Genesis Track Listing:
Hiroquest Anthem
Astrals Melodia
KULT – with grandson, ft. Jasiah
Movie Star – ft. MOD SUN & Global Dan
Move On – with Kane Brown & ricky retro
OIO Melodia
Just Us Two – with Taking Back Sunday
All Hype – ft. Bryce Vine
You Don’t Get to Hate Me – ft. Goody Grace
Russian Roulette – ft Sueco & No Love for the Middle Child
Diasos Melodia
Ultimate – with Santa Fe Klan ft. Snow Tha Product
Chichi – with Guaynaa
Kong 2.0 – with Natanael Cano
Extants Melodia
Whole Again – with KAAZE, ft. John Martin
Save Me – with HRVY
Stop The World – with Marnik & Leony
Whistle – with Timmy Trumpet & DJ Aligator
Stars Don’t Shine – ft. Global Dan
Taurobons Melodia
Nobody – ft. PollyAnna
Demons – ft. Georgia Ku
Stars – ft. Lil Xan
Perfect – ft. PnB Rock & 24hrs
Black Pullet
