10 moments that defined Deadmau5
One of the most recognisable producers in dance music, Deadmau5 has blazed a trail on his own terms delivering countless albums and some of the best live shows around. His forward-thinking Mau5trap label also celebrated a decade in operation last year, with more new music on the way from the man himself promised for 2018. Here, we count down Deadmau5's most memorable (and controversial) moments...
There's no doubt that Deadmau5 is somewhat of a controversial figure in dance music – you either love him or hate him – but make no mistake, the Canadian producer is one of the most forwarding-thinking and dedicated producers on the circuit, willing to spend insane amounts of money to further his creative vision either in the studio or on stage.
Tapping into his roots and legacy, Deadmau5 — aka Joel Zimmerman — has dedicated time in the last 12 months to celebrating a decade of Mau5trap, reminding us of just how much talent has passed through his label’s doors from Chris Lake to Noisia via Rezz and Excision. He also dug deep into his own vaults in the past year, and gave away an entire album of old projects called ‘Stuff I Used To Do’ that featured a host of unreleased and rare Mau5 classics.
His eye-melting Cube has been thoroughly updated and invigorated several times since its inception and remains up there with the likes of Prydz as one of the most striking and technologically-advanced performance concepts in the game. Taking it around the world to a huge array of big festivals and solo on his Lots Of Shows In A Row tour in 2017, its sense of spectacle backs up the strong opinions he’s happy to share online.
Musically we’ve also seen a cool departure from the big anthemic tracks he’s known for in recent years, as he develops his collaborative relationship with Manchester MC Shotty Horroh. Recent singles like ‘Legendary’ shows a much darker, grittier side to Deadmau5... And one that we’d like to hear a lot more of in the future. To kick off what's set to be yet another incredible year for the Canadian DJ, we countdown 10 of the 'Mau5's most iconic moments...
He named himself after an actual dead mouse
The story goes Joel Zimmerman came up with the name Deadmau5 after finding a dead mouse in his broken computer. His name would be abbreviated to Deadmau5 in chat room Zimmerman used to frequent.
He released his first album ‘Get Scraped’ in 2005
Before Deadmau5 began dabbling in progressive house, the Canadian producer’s debut album was a more avant-garde affair, featuring big beat, IDM, house, drum & bass and downtempo.
In 2007, he created Mau5trap Records
Back in 2007, Zimmerman created Mau5trap Records which has grown into a hugely successful enterprise for the producer and has released records from the likes of Rezz, Shotty Horroh and Tommy Lee.
It was on 2008’s ‘Random Album Title’ where he found his iconic progressive style
While Deadmau5 is certainly a versatile producer of many styles of music, it was 2008's hugely successful ‘Random Album Title’ which is widely regarded as the producer’s best album, featuring now legendary tracks ‘Faxing Berlin’, ‘Not Exactly’ and ‘I Remember’.
He proposed to his first wife Kat Von D on Twitter
It’s common knowledge that Joel Zimmerman is a bit of an oddball (how many people do you know who have a Space Invaders tattoo on their neck?). The self-confessed nerd proposed to his ex-wife and tattoo artist Kat Von D via Twitter. How very millennial.
His live show is one the most technologically-advanced around
Throughout Zimmerman's career, he’s spent a lot of time evolving his live show to where it is now – a giant hydraulic cube that can twist and cort, and even features a giant touch screen controller.
He’s got a big mouth — but fans love him for it!
Over the years, Zimmerman has gotten in Twitter beefs with everyone from Liam Gallagher to Skrillex and even Kanye West. In fact, we’re struggling to find anyone he hasn’t slandered, apart from Richie Hawtin and Eric Prydz who seem to genuinely love the outspoken Canadian producer.
He’s obsessed with gadgets
If there’s one thing that Deadmau5 likes it’s big boy's toys. He’s owned countless sports cars, his house has its own Dolby Atmos certified studio and it even features its own dedicated LAN room for extended gaming sessions with the lads.
He was the first producer to recognise the true potential of live streaming
Deadmau5 has been live streaming from his studio for years, and even has his own Twitch channel where he games and interacts with his fans on a daily basis.
He was sued by Disney over his mouse head (he then sued them back)
His iconic mouse head has become synonymous around the world — so much so Disney argued that his logo of a mouse’s head was very similar of Mickey Mouse and wanted the producer to stop using it. The producer responded in kind and sued Disney for using one of his tracks without his permission a few years later.
