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DJ, producer, author, fashion designer, and label head Steve Aoki has built his brand around raucous live sets, high-profile remixes and collaborations, and his indie label, Dim Mak Records. Active since the mid-'90s, his official debut album, Wonderland, received a Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album in 2013, while subsequent releases were a steady presence in the Top Five of the U.S. dance chart, including a pair of chart-toppers with Neon Future, Vol. 1 (2014) and Neon Future, Vol. 3 (2018). He was back in the Top 20 with Neon Future, Vol. 4 (2020). In the 2020s, Aoki launched a new album series with 2022's Hiroquest: Genesis and 2023's Hiroquest: Double Helix, followed by the related Paragon in 2024.

Dim Mak, founded in 1996, went on to count indie bands and electronic acts such as Gossip, Bloc Party, the Kills, Klaxons, MSTRKRFT, and Bloody Beetroots among its stable of signees. Aoki is one of the most collaborative producers around, with hundreds of features and remixes under his belt, including the Top Ten dance hits "A Light That Never Comes" featuring Linkin Park, "Just Hold On" featuring Louis Tomlinson, "All Night" featuring Lauren Jauregui, and "Waste It on Me" featuring BTS.

Born in Miami in 1977, Steven Hiroyuki Aoki grew up in California -- the Japanese-American son of former wrestler and restauranteur Rocky Aoki -- where he balanced academics, athletics, and social activism with his love of music, double-majoring at University of California, Santa Barbara while also playing secret shows from his college apartment. In 1996, Aoki took his D.I.Y. record production hobby and made it official with the formation of indie label Dim Mak Records. On the side, Aoki continued to perform in bands and solo sets.

In 2007, he released his first official compilation, Pillowface & His Airplane Chronicles, on Thrive Records. Featuring tracks by Justice, Klaxons, Mystery Jets, Peaches, Datarock, Yelle, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and Scanners -- most of them remixed -- Pillowface & His Airplane Chronicles represented Aoki's renown as a taste-making dance party DJ. The mix peaked in the Top Ten of the U.S. Dance chart.

In 2009, his remix work brought rapper Drake's single "Forever" to the dancefloor, while 2010 saw him release the "I'm in the House" single with Zuper Blahq, alter ego of Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am. Further high-profile artists' material was also reworked by Aoki during this period, with tracks by Michael Jackson, the Killers, and Lenny Kravitz all benefiting, while collaborations with like-minded producers such as Armand van Helden and the Bloody Beetroots continued to appear on Dim Mak. By the end of 2011, the early fruits of sessions for his debut album had materialized as the singles "Earthquakey People" -- a collaboration with Weezer singer Rivers Cuomo -- and "Tornado," on which Aoki combined forces with the multi-award-winning Tiësto. Wonderland arrived in early 2012 and marked Aoki's first appearance on the Billboard 200. The album was later nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards.

In late 2012, he released his first EP, It's the End of the World as We Know It. More collaborations followed, including a single between Aoki and Linkin Park titled "A Light That Never Comes," which was expanded as an EP featuring remixes by Rick Rubin, Vicetone, and Coone. The track became Aoki's highest-charting single to date.

In 2014, he announced details of his sophomore effort, Neon Future, Vol. 1. Marketed as a two-part record, the first installment arrived later in the year, topping the Billboard Dance chart with the help of guests such as Fall Out Boy, will.i.am, and Waka Flocka Flame. Neon Future, Vol. 2 followed in 2015 with appearances from Rivers Cuomo, Snoop Dogg, and J.J. Abrams. The next year, Aoki collaborated with One Direction's Louis Tomlinson on the single "Just Hold On," which debuted at number two on the U.K. singles chart and just outside the Top 50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Aoki's fourth effort arrived in the summer of 2017. Kolony featured appearances by trap rappers Migos and Lil Yachty ("Night Call"), Gucci Mane ("Lit"), Lil Uzi Vert ("Been Balling"), and 2 Chainz ("Without You").

The next year, Aoki released the single "Azukita" with Daddy Yankee, Play N Skillz, and Elvis Crespo. He followed with a quintet of big-bass, high-energy singles -- featuring guests Hardwell, Laidback Luke, Loopers, and even his mother -- which all landed on the 5OKI EP. 2018 continued to be a busy year for Aoki, with collaborations (including "Pretender" with Lil Yachty and AJR and "Be Somebody" with Nicky Romero and Kiiara) and remixes (including the star-studded "Girls" by Rita Ora, Cardi B, Bebe Rexha, and Charli XCX) occupying much of his output. He was also featured on a pair of tracks on the record-breaking Love Yourself: Answer by K-pop group BTS, lending his talents to the ballad "The Truth Untold" and a remix of "MIC Drop."

A third BTS pairing, "Waste It on Me," was just one of many high-profile collaborations on Aoki's chart-topping Neon Future, Vol. 3. Landing at the end of 2018, the third installment in the series included appearances from blink-182, Jimmy Eat World's Jim Adkins, Lady Antebellum, Daddy Yankee, and even Bill Nye "the Science Guy." Neon Future, Vol. 4 arrived in April 2020, featuring Icona Pop, Desiigner, Monsta X, Sting, Backstreet Boys, Maluma, Travis Barker, will.i.am, Matthew Koma, Alan Walker, and Zooey Deschanel among its many guest artists.

A handful of non-album singles appeared throughout 2021, including "Mambo" with Willy William, "Used to Be" with Kiiara and Wiz Khalifa, and the multicultural anthem "Equal in the Darkness" with MAX and Jolin Tsai. 2022 saw the release of Hiroquest: Genesis, an album featuring tracks like the Taking Back Sunday collaboration "Just Us Two" and the MT11-assisted "Da Homies." Aoki also teamed with Afrojack to curate a series of remix EPs revisiting their 2011 single "No Beef." No Beef (REMIXES), Parts 1 and 2 featured new takes on the song by Goodboys, Crankdat, R3HAB, and others. Aoki kicked off 2023 with the standalone "New York" (featuring Mazie) and collaborated with Argentine singer Tini on her single "Muñecas." Singles like "Older" with Dixie D'Amelio and Jimmie Allen and "Lighter" with Paris Hilton paved the way for Hiroquest 2: Double Helix, released that November. Paragon, building off the Hiroquest universe, arrived in 2024, with influences ranging from R&B and crunk to amapiano, and guests including Ne-Yo, Lil Jon, Major League Djz, and Moonchild Sanelly. ~ Jason Birchmeier & Neil Z. Yeung

Ángela Aguilar is a singer of Mexican Regional music. The daughter of traditional musician Pepe Aguilar, she has been performing professionally since she was nine years old. Benefitting from a trained alto voice, she released her debut album, 2013's Christmas-themed Navidad con Ángela Aguilar, at age ten. Three years later, she performed at the BBC's 100 Women Festival in Mexico City. Her proper solo debut was 2018's Primero Soy Mexicana. Produced by her father, it was composed of historic rancheras and mariachis. Aguilar received nominations for Best New Artist and Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album at 2019's Latin Grammy Awards, where she also performed. In 2020, she released the seven-song EP Baila Esta Cumbia, a set of modern tunes associated with and dedicated to the memory of groundbreaking ranchera pioneer Selena. Aguilar followed it later that year with the traditional mariachi EP Que No Se Apague la Musica. In 2021, she issued the long-player Mexicana Enamorada. She followed in 2024 with Bolero, a set of classic romantic covers recorded in Havana, and an hour-long video documentary.

Ángela Aguilar Álvarez was born in Los Angeles to Aneliz Álvarez Alcalá and Pepe Aguilar while her father was on tour. Music was not only in her DNA from her dad, but also from her paternal grandparents -- singer, producer, and actor Antonio Aguilar and the acclaimed vocalist and actress Flor Silvestre. Her brother is Grammy-nominated singer/guitarist Leonardo Aguilar. Ángela began taking singing lessons and touring in Latin America with her father as a young child. She immersed herself in the ranchera and mariachi traditions, listening and learning from the genre's greatest singers. In 2012, Pepe produced her first EP, Nueva Tradición. She followed it in 2013 with the Christmas collection Navidad con Ángela Aguilar. Aguilar toured with her father and played her own dates between school terms. She also performed on radio and television, and was invited to be part of the BBC's 100 Women Festival in 2016.

In 2018, Aguilar released her first proper solo album, Primero Soy Mexicana. Produced by her father, it included 11 iconic rancheras previously recorded, performed, and associated with prominent singers including Lucha Villa, Rocío Dúrcal, and her grandmother, Flor Silvestre. Aguilar performed "Tu Sangre en Mi Cuerpo," the album's first single, at that year's Premios Tu Mundo. She was nominated for Best New Artist and the recording was nominated for Best Ranchera/Mariachi. It received praise on both sides of the border, including laudatory remarks from legendary Mexican ranchera singer Vicente Fernández. In December, Primero Soy Mexicana was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Regional Mexican Music Album.

In early 2019, Aguilar was named Artistic and Cultural Ambassador of Zacatecas, Mexico by Mayor Ulises Mejía Haro, and in May she was nominated for three awards at the annual Premios Juventud (Mexico's equivalent of the Grammys). Aguilar performed a medley alongside mariachi singers Christian Nodal and Pipe Bueno. In July, she released a cover of Lady Gaga's "Shallow" to the Recording Academy's YouTube page to benefit MusicCares; it marked the first time she recorded in English.

In January of the following year, Aguilar issued the seven-song Baila Esta Cumbia, in tribute to the late ranchera singer and cultural icon Selena. Its closer was a medley of two English-language songs the singer had made into pop classics, Franne Golde and Tom Snow's "Dreaming of You" and Keith Thomas' "I Could Fall in Love." As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage across the globe shutting down live music in its wake, Aguilar cut the seven-song EP Que No Se Apague la Música from her home in Zacatecas, Mexico, to benefit the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Weeks before her 18th birthday, Aguilar released the full-length Mexicana Enamorada. Her father produced the set and was able to enlist some of Mexican Regional's most important composers to write specifically for Ángela. The set's ten songs included compositions by Cheche Alara and Javier Calderón, Gussy Lau, Joss Favela, Ana Bárbara, Edgar Barrera, Ale Zéguer, Christian Nodal (who appeared on his own "Dime Cómo Quieres"), and Jesse & Joy, who appear on their "Ella Qué Te Dio." Pepe's keen production brought out the best in Ángela's crystalline voice as he wed smooth modern studio sensibilities to lineage Mexican Regional sounds. Its closing track, a version of the classic "La Malagueña," revealed the breadth and depth in Aguilar's vocal ability. In addition to two singles taken from the record, she also released a striking non-album cover single of the Consuelo Velázquez classic "Bésame Mucho." The single "Que Agonia," sung in duet with Yuridia, placed well inside the top half of the Global 200 and spent 16 weeks on the chart.

In 2023, the six-track Celebrando a Mexico EP appeared at streaming. It included two songs each by Ángela and father Pepe, as well as one by brother Leonardo Aguilar. The family sang together on the closer, "Un Puno de Tierra."

Aguilar made a statement with 2024's Bolero, wherein the singer revealed her commitment to original Latin torch songs and ballads. She recorded it in Cuba with her father Pepe as producer. She cut truly iconic songs by composing icons such as Armando Manzanero, César Portillo de la Luz, Pedro Flores, Agustín Lara and his sister María Teresa Lara Aguirre, and, on four of nine tracks, she was supported by the legendary Trio Los Panchos, the original trio romantico. Aguilar's modern, ever elegant phrasing offered an arresting focal point in the songs. In addition to the music, she made an hour-long documentary video in Cuba, the birthplace of bolero, offering viewers an education. In Havana she met with Amadito Valdés, an original member of the storied Buena Vista Social Club, and performed for the living, 93-year-old queen of bolero (as well as son cubana, rhumba, and jazz) Omara Portuondo. ~ Thom Jurek

Los Angeles native Erick Orrosquiesta, known as Deorro, has found major success as a DJ and producer of anthemic EDM/house tracks. Debuting in the early 2010s with tracks blending elements of Dutch house, big room house, and Melbourne bounce, he scored a worldwide hit with 2014's "Five Hours," which became even bigger when he reworked it with Chris Brown as "Five More Hours" in 2015. "Bailar," with Elvis Crespo, followed in 2016, and the hits appeared on Deorro's 2017 full-length debut, Good Evening. The producer continued concentrating on Latin dance sounds, featuring artists such as Los Tucanes de Tijuana and Puerto Rican rapper Jon Z on his second album, 2022's ORRO.

Orrosquiesta began making music and spinning records as a teenager in West Covina, California. He first started releasing material under the name TON!C around 2010. After he developed a following through his SoundCloud page, he reached a wider audience in his early twenties, from 2012 through 2014, with extensive touring, as well as brash solo releases and collaborations on the Dim Mak and Mad Decent labels. Among his highlights were "Dechorro" (2013), "Freak" (2014), and "Five Hours" (2014), the last of which reached the Top Ten in France and Belgium. Additionally, he remixed tracks by the likes of Laidback Luke ("Pogo"), Steve Aoki ("Ooh"), and Gareth Emery ("Lights & Thunder"), and launched his Panda Funk label.

Deorro's momentum continued with "Five More Hours" (featuring Chris Brown, 2015) and "Bailar" (featuring Elvis Crespo, 2016), both of which went Top Ten in multiple territories. A slew of additional singles followed into 2017 when he issued his debut collection, Good Evening. He continued his prolific run in 2018 with nearly a dozen single releases, including "Shakalaka" with Steve Aoki, "Dracarys" with Dirty Audio, and "Bring It Back" with MAKJ and Max Styler. He also teamed up with Quintino and MAKJ for the high-energy single "Knockout." "Muñequita Linda," a single with Juan Magán and MAKJ featuring YFN Lucci, was certified Latin Gold.

Deorro continued issuing singles, with an increasing emphasis on Latin dance styles. His 2019 output included "Pica" (with Elvis Crespo and Henry Fong), "Keep It Goin'" (with Danny Ávila), and "Left Right" (with Hardwell and MAKJ featuring Fatman Scoop). 2020's "Beso" melded pop-reggae with trap, and 2021 brought collaborations with Jon Z, Crespo, Gente de Zona, and more. Many of these were featured on 2022's ORRO, the producer's first Latin dance album. Other guests included Ally Brooke, Dylan Fuentes, and Fulanito. He additionally collaborated with Tiësto on a single called "Savage." ~ Andy Kellman & Paul Simpson