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Deadmau5
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Copyright
Notice of Rights
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publisher. No Claim to Orig. U.S. Govt. Works.
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Complete Guide to Deadmau5.
Get the information you need--fast! This comprehensive guide offers a thorough
view of key knowledge and detailed insight. It’s all you need.
There is absolutely nothing that isn’t thoroughly covered in the book. It is
straightforward, and does an excellent job of explaining all about Deadmau5 in
key topics and material.
There is no reason to invest in any other materials to learn about Deadmau5. You’ll
understand it all.
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Contents
deadmau515
2010 MTV Video Music Awards
24
Awards
Video of the Year
Best Male Video
Best Female Video
Best New Artist
Best Pop Video
Best Rock Video
Best Hip-Hop Video
Best Dance Music Video
Best Collaboration
Breakthrough Video
Best Direction in a Video
Best Choreography in a Video
Best Special Effects in a Video
Best Art Direction in a Video
Best Editing in a Video
Best Cinematography in a Video
Latino Artist of the Year
Performances
Pre-show
Main show
Appearances
Controversy
will. i. am’s blackface criticism
Lady Gaga’s meat dress
26
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27
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27
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30
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Critical reception
Commercial reception
Track listing
International CD edition (mixed)
International iTunes LP edition
U. S. & Canada iTunes edition
Singles
Other references
33
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34
35
4×4=1231
5
Promotion
Chart performance
Certifications
Release history
35
35
36
36
9:30 Club
A Little Oblique
36
40
Album Title Goes Here
41
Animal Rights (song)
43
At Play
At Play Vol. 2
At Play Vol. 3
44
45
45
Aural Psynapse
47
Billy Newton-Davis
Calvin Harris
Cedric Gervais
47
48
56
Track listing
41
Track listing
42
Charts44
Track listing
46
Chart performance
47
Discography
Studio albums
Extended Plays
Singles
Other songs
DJ Mix CDs
57
57
57
57
57
58
Chiptune58
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
70
Cypress Hill
76
DJ Hero 2
85
deadmau592
deadmau5 discography
102
Albums
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Self-released
Released through mau5trap recordings
6
103
103
104
104
104
Anthologies
DJ Mixes
EPs
Live albums/DVDs
Singles
Other charted songs
Remixes
Music videos
104
104
104
104
104
106
106
107
Demoscene107
Electro house
114
Characteristics114
History
115
Subgenres
115
Complextro
116
Dutch house
116
Fidget house
116
Moombahton
116
FIFA 13
Faxing Berlin
117
126
For Lack of a Better Name
127
Full Circle (deadmau5 album)
130
Gerard Way
Get Scraped
131
137
Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
139
141
Controversy
Formats and track listings
Chart performance
Release history
Reception
Critical response
Track listing
Charts and certifications
Peak positions
Certifications
Track listing
Track listings
Trivia
7
126
127
127
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129
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129
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130
137
138
HR 8938 Cephei
Happiness (Alexis Jordan song)
House music
I Remember (deadmau5 song)
149
150
153
166
In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza
170
It Sounds Like
Jersey Shore (TV series)
Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year
174
175
185
Juno Awards of 2008
186
Chart performance
Music video
Track listing
12” Vinyl
CD Single (US)
CD Single (UK)
12” Vinyl (Italy)
Digital (Remixes)
Appearances
Production
Track listing
Samplers
Release history
Charts
Winners
Best Dance Recording (1990 – 2002)
Dance Recording of the Year (2003 - Present)
Presentations
Saturday gala
Sunday televised ceremonies
Nominees and winners
Artist of the Year
Group of the Year
New Artist of the Year
New Group of the Year
Jack Richardson Producer of the Year
Recording Engineer of the Year
Songwriter of the Year
Fan Choice Award
8
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172
173
173
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186
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188
188
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189
190
190
190
190
190
191
Nominated albums
191
Album of the Year
191
Aboriginal Recording of the Year
191
Adult Alternative Album of the Year
191
Alternative Album of the Year
191
Blues Album of the Year
192
CD/DVD Artwork Design of the Year
192
Children’s Album of the Year
192
Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year
192
Classical Album of the Year (large ensemble)
192
Classical Album of the Year (solo or chamber ensemble) 193
Classical Album of the Year (vocal or choral performance)193
Francophone Album of the Year
193
Instrumental Album of the Year
193
International Album of the Year
194
Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year
194
Traditional Jazz Album of the Year
194
Vocal Jazz Album of the Year
194
Pop Album of the Year
194
Rock Album of the Year
195
Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Solo)
195
Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Group)
195
World Music Album of the Year
195
Nominated releases
195
Single of the Year
195
Classical Composition of the Year
196
Country Recording of the Year
196
Dance Recording of the Year
196
Music DVD of the Year
196
R&B/Soul Recording of the Year
196
Rap Recording of the Year
196
Reggae Recording of the Year
197
Video of the Year
197
Kaskade197
Biography
Early life
Musical career
Other projects
Personal life
Discography
198
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200
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Albums
Singles and EPs
Mixes
Mashups
Remixes
200
202
203
203
204
Lemur Input Device
206
Lindsey Evans
208
Creating an interface
Rebirth
Famous users
207
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207
Early life
Beauty pageants and modeling
Personal philosophy
Arrest
Miss Louisiana Teen USA title stripped
10
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deadmau5
deadmau5
deadmau5
Deadmau5 performing at Coachella 2008
Background information
Birth name Joel Thomas Zimmerman
Also known as
deadmau5
Born January 5, 1981 (age 31)
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Electronica, progressive house, electro house. ,
Trance, Dubstep
OccupationsProducer, Musician
Years active 2005–present
Labelsmau5trap, Ultra, Ministry of Sound, SongBird, Play, WeWillDoo,
Virgin/EMI
Associated acts
Chris Lake, Steve Duda, Kaskade, Feed Me,
Moguai, Melleefresh, Billy Newton-Davis, Wolfgang Gartner, Skrillex,
Cypress Hill, Gerard Way, SOFI, Chris James
Website
deadmau5. com
Notable instruments
Nord Lead 2x, Moog Little Phatty, Voyager RME, Ableton, Fruity
Loops, Allen & Heath Xone 3D, Allen & Heath Xone 4D, Lemur Input
Device, Ableton Live, Monome 256, Reaktor, Cubase, Kaossilator,
Nuendo, Native Instruments Maschine, Smithson Martin Emulator,
Dave Smith Instruments Prophet ‘08
Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), better known
by his stage name deadmau5 (pronounced “dead mouse”), is a
Canadian electro-house music producer, DJ, and performer based
in Toronto. Deadmau5 produces a variety of styles with the house
genre, or other forms of electronic dance music. His tracks have
been included in compilation albums such as In Search of Sunrise 6:
Ibiza, MixMag’s Tech-Trance-Electro-Madness (mixed by deadmau5
himself), and on Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance radio show.
His debut album, Get Scraped, was released in 2005, followed by
others in the next few years.
As well as his own solo releases, deadmau5 has worked alongside
15
other DJs and producers, such as Kaskade, MC Flipside, Rob
Swire of Pendulum, Skrillex, Bighorse and Steve Duda under the
BSOD alias. He is known for performing in a iconic headdress, or
mau5head, which resembles a mouse head that he originally
created while learning to use a 3D program. The costume mouse
head Zimmerman wears at concerts, called the “mau5head”
appears in many different colors and designs, and has been shown
on the cover of most of Zimmerman’s albums, with the exceptions
of At Play and Vexillology.
Contents
1 Career
1. 1 Self-released compilations
1. 2 Get Scraped
1. 3 mau5trap label and Random Album Title
1. 4 For Lack of a Better Name
1. 5 MTV recognition
1. 6 4x4=12
1. 7 Album Title Goes Here
2 Video game appearances
3 Personal life
4 Live performances
5 DAW
6 Controversies
6. 1 Parodies
6. 2 Comment about DJs
6. 3 DirtyCircuit
6. 4 Madonna
7 Discography
8 Awards and nominations
8. 1 Beatport Music Awards
8. 2 Grammy Awards
8. 3 International Dance Music Awards
8. 4 Juno Awards
8. 5 Other awards
Career
Logo of Deadmau5
Zimmerman was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario. His career began
in the late 1990s, with a chiptune and demoscene movementsinfluenced sound.
16
Self-released compilations
Three self-released compilations Project 56, deadmau5 Circa
1998-2002 and A Little Oblique were finished in 2006, with Project 56
seeing an official release in February 2008.
Get Scraped
“Just Before 8bit”, “Bored of Canada” and “Nice Try, Kiddo” from
Project 56 were expanded upon in Zimmerman’s 2005 debut album
Get Scraped. It features tracks of a variety of genres, including IDM,
ambient/downtempo, noise pop and trip hop.
mau5trap label and Random Album Title
Soon after, Zimmerman began his own record label “mau5trap”,
which, along with Ultra Records and Ministry of Sound, released the
2008 album Random Album Title, which saw the collaboration of
deadmau5 and San-Francisco producer Kaskade with I Remember.
Random Album Title, saw a digital release in September 2008 via
Ultra Records in the United States and Ministry of Sound in the
United Kingdom and Europe. Physical copies of the album were
released in November 2008.
In the United States, deadmau5’s collaboration with Kaskade,
“Move for Me”, reached No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s Hot Dance
Airplay chart in its September 6, 2008 issue.
Since then, deadmau5 has seen three of his tracks, all
collaborations (“Move for Me” and “I Remember” with Kaskade;
“Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff” with Rob Swire) reach number-one on Billboard’s
Hot Dance Airplay chart, making him the only Canadian on that
chart to achieve that status (he is also the fourth Canadian to top
that chart, following Deborah Cox, Nelly Furtado, and Dragonette,
with one apiece).
In 2009, he was the best-selling artist on Beatport with more than
30,000 digital downloads with his singles “Not Exactly”, “Faxing
Berlin”, and “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff”.
For Lack of a Better Name
Information on his album For Lack of a Better Name was posted on
his official MySpace page.
“On September 22, 2009 (U. S only, rest-of-world release October
5) deadmau5 launches his brand new mix album, the Grammynominated, Juno Award-winning electronic music sensation who
has racked up more than 5,000,000 hits on MySpace will unleash
his second album for ULTRA Records – titled ‘For Lack of a Better
Name’ – and then set off on a massive fall tour throughout North
America.
In the fall of 2009, deadmau5’s performances were recorded and
made available for sale immediately following the concert on USB
wristband flash drives.
17
On For Lack of a Better Name, the follow-up to his critically
acclaimed 2008 debut Random Album Title, deadmau5 takes a
different turn by incorporating various styles of music into multiblocks of songs. The album includes the hit single “Ghosts ‘n Stuff”,
featuring Pendulum’s Rob Swire. “
MTV recognition
MTV named deadmau5 as the house DJ for the 2010 MTV Video
Music Awards and MTV PUSH artist of the week on August 16, 2010.
He expressed gratitude towards Lady Gaga and David Guetta for
bringing dance into the pop music scene and paving the way for
him to the mainstream. At the awards, deadmau5 performed with
Jason Derulo and Travie McCoy. His song “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff” had
been featured on the soundtrack for the MTV reality series Jersey
Shore earlier.
4x4=12
His fifth studio album, titled 4x4=12, was released on December 6,
2010 in the United Kingdom and December 7, 2010 in the United
States. The singles “Some Chords”, “Animal Rights”, and “Sofi
Needs a Ladder” have been released and have been featured
on the album. “Some Chords” was featured on an episode of CSI:
Crime Scene Investigation where deadmau5 guest starred, and an
instrumental version of “Sofi Needs a Ladder” was featured in the
film The Hangover Part II.
Deadmau5 in Madrid in 2012.
Album Title Goes Here
On August 9, 2012, deadmau5 announced that his upcoming
sixth studio album, Album Title Goes Here, will be released on
September 24.
Using his Facebook fan page, deadmau5 announced a
collaboration with My Chemical Romance singer, Gerard Way,
entitled, “Professional Griefers”.
Video game appearances
deadmau5 is a playable avatar in DJ Hero 2, a video game
released in October 2010. The game featured several tracks by
the artist, including a mix of Ghosts ‘N Stuff with Lada Gaga’s Just
Dance.
His music has been included in more than one video game title,
including Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, FIFA 13, Grand Theft
Auto IV and GoldenEye 007.
Personal life
18
While at his home in Toronto when not touring, Zimmerman spends
much of his time broadcasting his work in his home studio (where
he produces much of his music) to Ustream.
Up until September 2011 he lived with American model and the
Playboy Playmate of the Month for October 2009 Lindsey Evans.
They met at the 2010 VMA awards.
The name “deadmau5” originated when Zimmerman claimed
to have found a dead mouse in his computer while replacing his
video card. He discussed this with chat room users and became
known as “that dead mouse guy”. The nickname “Deadmouse”
was too long for the chat server, so he shortened it to deadmau5
(A form of leet spelling).
On July 30, 2010 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D. C. , deadmau5
collapsed on stage, suffering from exhaustion and vomiting.
deadmau5’s set was cut short as he was rushed to a hospital, and
his collapse also led to the cancellation of the nine shows following
the event.
Live performances
deadmau5 out of costume
deadmau5 headlined the Dance Arena on July 10, 2009, at the
Oxegen Festival in Ireland. He also headlined LovEvolution in
San Francisco, California on October 3. He played at Belsonic in
Belfast, Northern Ireland on August 28, at the Leeds, Reading, and
Creamfields Festivals on August 29 and 30 in the Lock Up/Dance
Tent/Mixmag stage, drawing a large crowd at each of the events.
He has performed on BBC Radio 1 multiple times, which include
an Essential Mix set on August 19, 2008, and a shared set with Pete
Tong live at the Warehouse Project in Manchester on October
11, 2008. He played back to back shows that were broadcast via
BBC Radio1 live from Ibiza on August 31 and September 1, 2009.
deadmau5 was offered and accepted to play another set live on
New Year’s 2010 along with Justice, Eric Prydz, and Plump DJs.
deadmau5 performed at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in
Vancouver, British Columbia on February 19, 2010, during the live
medal presentations in men’s luge doubles and biathlon (women’s
15-km individual and men’s 20-km individual). His track “Moar
Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff” was aired on national TV throughout the United
States when it was played over loudspeakers during Hannah
Kearney’s gold-medal run in women’s moguls. deadmau5 also
performed live at the Electric Daisy Carnival’s Kinetic Fields section
in Exposition Park, Los Angeles on June 25, 2010.
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During Winter 2010, deadmau5 toured the United Kingdom and
was supported by BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, Magnetic Man,
Calvin Harris, Stanton Warriors and Kim Fai. He also performed at
the Scottish festival T in the Park 2011.
On November 5, 2011, deadmau5 became the first Canadian
artist to headline a concert at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Nearly
20,000 turned the night into one of the largest dance parties
Toronto has ever seen. deadmau5 closed out the last show of his
record-breaking Meowington Hax Tour, recording the event for
an upcoming DVD release and streamed the first 30 minutes live
online. The light show spectacle featured a live appearance by
Sofi for tracks “Sofi Needs A Ladder” and “One Trick Pony. “ The
evening started off with a roster of opening acts including Crystal
Castles, MSTRKRFT, Manzone & Strong, 7Wallace, Sydney Blu.
DAW
One of his songs, a remix of Reegz’ “That’s True”, entitled, “That’s
Not True” is included with FL Studio. It notably differs in style from
some of his more recent songs, made of IDM elements rather than
progressive house ones.
There has been much debate about which Digital Audio
Workstations (DAWs) Zimmerman uses. On April 27, 2012, during a
webstream, Zimmerman revealed his history of DAWs he has used
in the past. Zimmerman, was in the process of producing a track in
his home studio, and was expressing his frustration of note editing in
Steinberg Cubase, a DAW he had recently started learning to use.
The following is a direct quote:
“You know what, if I was doing this in Ableton [Live], it would be
done by now, in terms of the logical note editor, it really would. Like
note editing in [Steinberg] Cubase, unless you’re not like super used
[to it]. . like I’m not saying it sucks, it’s probably pretty good, but
I’m just so used to doing it in Ableton [Live], that I’ve pretty much
lost touch. I used to use Nuendo a lot, like back in the day, we’re
talking like 2001, 2002 or 3, or something like that, and I used to be
a whizz at it. Then I started using Fruity Loops [now FL Studio], and
then I got used to that key editor. Then I started using [Ableton] Live
and then I pretty much forgot all about that other shit. And then I
used [Ableton] Live for the last. . . nearly a decade, and then now I
got to go back to this shit [i. e. basic note editing]”
The majority of work he has produced since his rise to prominence
was produced almost exclusively with Ableton Live and several
electronic MIDI instruments and controllers, as well as modular
instrument setups. His use of Ableton Live can be seen in many of
his live screencasts.
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Controversies
Parodies
In December 2007, Marcus Schossow, Maor Levi and Dj Eco
created a project named Deadrat6 as a joke on deadmau5,
claiming his tracks sound alike. A similar faux project was also
created under the name of Sinterklaa5.
Comment about DJs
Zimmerman doesn’t like to be referred to as a DJ. In an October
2008 interview with the Irish Daily Star, deadmau5 was quoted as
follows:
“It puts me to fucking sleep, to be quite honest; I don’t really
see the technical merit in playing two songs at the same speed
together and it bores me to fucking tears and hopefully, with all
due respect to the DJ type that will fucking go the way of the
dinosaur, I’d like them to dis-a-fucking-ppear! It’s so middle man,
they’re like fucking lawyers! You need them, but they’re fucking
cunts. God bless them, they’re my number one customer right, so
I’m not gonna go diss every fucking DJ. But to say you become this
massive, “up on a podium” performer by playing other peoples
productions, at the same speed as someone else’s productions
and fading between the two of them, I don’t get it. . . “
Zimmerman apologized for this comment on November 4, 2008. He
explained that the interview was bad, and that it did not express his
opinion about DJs correctly:
“Let me start by admitting … I did not grow up in the EDM scene. I
don’t consider my career to be about “being a DJ”. I don’t have
“DJ roots”. I never had any intention of becoming a DJ, and my
conception of “DJ’s” in general from this standpoint has always
been being forced into some nightclub when I would have rather
stayed home, and watch some dude mash the “play/stop” button
and occasionally move a pitch slider. Love it or hate it … that’s just
been my conception of the traditional “DJ”. Mind you, I’m not a
total fucking idiot, and I recognize talent when I see it … and there
are many talented DJ’s out there for sure. In my eyes, those would
be the individuals who utilize technology to deliver the music in
ways that are both skillful and innovate, more-so than my vision of
the “play/stop/pitch” DJ. To me, the club is about “the party”; the
people make the night; the DJ obviously needs to use that to his
advantage, it’s give and take. “
DirtyCircuit
In 2008, an artist called DirtyCircuit claimed to have been
threatened with legal action after using a sample called “LP_Faxing
Berlin C_128bpm” that came bundled with FL Studio, and to which
21
deadmau5 claimed copyright. The sample was a direct clip of a
full bar of the song. deadmau5 provided a “Demo Track” which
came bundled with FL Studio, along with several loop samples. The
case caused a slight discomfort among the users of FL Studio, and
some have pointed out potential inconsistencies in the EULA of the
software.
Madonna
In 2012, deadmau5 voiced his disapproval of a statement made by
Madonna at the Ultra Music Festival. Her comment, “Has anyone
seen Molly?” was believed by deadmau5 to be in reference to the
drug MDMA. In response, Madonna said later during a live tweet
session that,
“From one mouse to another. I don’t support drug use and I never
have. I was referring to the song called ‘Have You Seen Molly’
written by my friend Cedric Gervais who I almost worked with on
my last album . . . “
Discography
deadmau5 discography
Studio albums
Get Scraped (2005)
Vexillology (2006)
Random Album Title (2008)
For Lack of a Better Name (2009)
4x4=12 (2010)
Album Title Goes Here (2012)
Other albums
deadmau5 Circa 1998-2002 (2006)
A Little Oblique (2006)
Project 56 (2008)
At Play (2008)
It Sounds Like (2009)
At Play Vol. 2 (2009)
At Play Vol. 3 (2010)
Meowingtons Hax Tour Trax (2011)
Awards and nominations
deadmau5 awards and nominations
Awards and nominations
AwardWins Nominations
Grammy Awards
0
4
Juno Awards
3
5
22