Steve Aoki Talks Torn Abdominals, Afroki and Imagine Dragons Collabos

Steve Aoki can now do a standing backflip.

Of course, he had to tear an abdominal muscle to do it — and has had to take the stage at recent shows with his midsection tightly wrapped — though, chances are, you wouldn't know it unless he took off his shirt. Because the second he gets behind the decks, he's not feeling the injury in the slightest.

"I just got some stunt-training classes; one of the things I want to do this year is learn how to do a standing backflip ... and I got it down. I Vine'd it," he told at the Hangout Fest. "It destroys your abs, because you're throwing your body [backwards] and I think I tore a muscle. [But] onstage, the adrenaline always changes everything; I can be hobbling to the stage, and all of a sudden I see the crowd, I feel the music, and I swear to God, everything changes."

Of course, there's another reason Aoki's playing through the pain: He doesn't have time to be injured, not with a host of musical projects on the horizon, including another collaboration with his pal Afrojack, and a brand-new album, Neon Future.

"We're putting out a song called 'Afroki,' we're finishing putting a vocal on there, and then we're going to get it out. The vocal process takes time. I've been playing out the instrumental, " Aoki said. "And I'm playing out a ton of new stuff from my next album, Neon Future. 'Aoki Jump,' 'Boneless,' the first single, which comes out June 5. I have a collaboration with Knife Party called 'Pile Driver,' that'll be on the album too, and another record a did with Flux Pavilion, a dubstep record, that I'm playing out too."

And there's a potential team-up with radio-rock mainstays Imagine Dragons, too. Though that one may take some time ... seems Aoki's not the only one who's busy these days.

"I'm talking with Imagine Dragons, I love those guys, I'm a big fan. It all starts with vibing each other out, and now it's a matter of time," he said. "It's the hardest thing; everyone's on tour, everyone's got their own schedule, and I don't have time to dive into the studio. So I write the music and I send it to them, and they send me ideas, and if we have time, we go back into the studio and just knock it out."