Oh boy, another Steve Aoki “collaboration.” The L.A.-based EDM superstar’s recent career seems to consist of little more than throwing cake and slapping his name on other artists’ tracks to cross-pollinate with each one’s fanbase, and his joint effort with Romanian DJ/producer Boehm titled “Back 2 U” featuring WALK THE MOON is a prime example of that.
Does nobody else find it curious that every single time Aoki teams up with somebody, what they eventually turn out sounds like any of his collaborator’s other releases with no discernible input on his end? “Back 2 U” features the bouncy, melodic hallmarks of Boehm’s music in addition to rich instrumentals and vocals from WALK THE MOON – but nothing that would signal Steve Aoki’s involvement other than his name in the listing.
Then again, at this point Steve Aoki has so little identity as a musician that even if he did contribute a lot to a track, I have no idea what it would sound like. As contemporary electronic music fans increasingly favor more sophisticated post-EDM styles in 2016, I can only hope that artists like him will gradually find themselves phased out.
But that’s just my opinion. Take a listen to the track for yourself above and if you dig it, you can pick it up here.