From the dance floor to the deep blue sea

US/Japanese DJ Steve Aoki today ends a “well-deserved break” in Malta.

Mr Aoki, who was staying at the Fortina Hotel and Spa in Sliema for the past four days, will resume his hectic European tour this evening in Cologne, followed by Mysteryland, an event in Amsterdam billed as the oldest dance festival, and the SW4 Festival in London tomorrow night.

This was the DJ’s first visit to Malta. He was accompanied by his partner, Tina.

The 32-year-old Japan-born electro house music DJ, who was brought up in the US, said he had been scuba diving and “simply loved it”. He plans to return next year to discover the island’s history and culture.

The record producer and founder of Dim Mak Records who can boast of a popular hit single I’m In The House, Mr Aoki featured in video games such as NBA 2K8 and NBA 2K9 as a special celebrity player, even though he admits to “being horrible at basketball”.

He made a cameo appearance in the video for Cobra Starship’s 2007 single Send My Love to the Dancefloor, I’ll See You in Hell (Hey Mister DJ).

His father was a former Japanese Olympic wrestler who also founded the sushi restaurant chain Benihana.

While in Malta, a number of party promoters, including Don Disco, Squadron, Epic and Electronic Theory, approached him to throw a free party at Stitch Club in San Ġwann and he was “more than happy to oblige”. He performed in front of a 1,000-strong crowd on Wednesday night.

One of the event organisers said that considering the event took place at such short notice and was originally catering for about 300 patrons, ­attendance kept growing as the news of Mr Aoki’s performance spread.