electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( ), is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted "the Greatest DJ of All Time" by '' Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was v ...

Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted '' A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&n ...

Get Scraped ''Get Scraped'' is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, released on July 26, 2005, by the independent record label Zoolook. Background The track title "Bored of Canada" presumably refers to Boards of Canada, a ...

Vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthe ...

Random Album Title ''Random Album Title'' is the third studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, released by Ultra Records and Mau5trap on September 2, 2008. The album includes the singles "Faxing Berlin", " Not Exactly" and " I Remember" (with ...

Faxing Berlin "Faxing Berlin" is an instrumental by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5. It was released as the lead single from his third studio album ''Random Album Title''. On July 23, 2007, "Faxing Berlin" became the first release on Deadmau5's lab ...

For Lack of a Better Name ''For Lack of a Better Name'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5. It was released on September 22, 2009 in the United States and Canada by Ultra Records and Mau5trap and internationally on 5 October 2009 b ...

Strobe A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope. The word originated from the Ancient Greek ('), meanin ...

Some Chords "Some Chords" is an instrumental by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, released on 3 May 2010 as the first single from his fifth studio album ''4×4=12''. The song peaked at 13 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart in the U ...

Animal Rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

Sofi Needs a Ladder "Sofi Needs a Ladder" is a song by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, featuring vocals from German singer SOFI. It was released as the third single from deadmau5's fifth studio album, ''4×4=12''. Background The song was originally an i ...

Album Title Goes Here ''Album Title Goes Here'' (stylized as ''> album title goes here album title goes here <''
at

Discogs ...

''. Following his departure from long-time label

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label formed in New York City in 1995 by former PolyGram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey. As of December 23, 2012, Ultra entered a global partnership with Sony Music, giving its artists access to ...

, Zimmerman released his seventh studio album, '' While(1<2)'', through

Astralwerks Astralwerks is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in 1993 and, in its early years, featur ...

and Virgin EMI in 2014. The album's release was supported by its four singles; " Avaritia", " Seeya", " Infra Turbo Pigcart Racer", and " Phantoms Can't Hang". After a brief hiatus, Zimmerman's eighth studio album, '' W:/2016Album/'', was released in late 2016, with singles " Snowcone" and " Let Go". He subsequently composed the score for the 2019 action film ''

Polar Polar may refer to: Geography Polar may refer to: * Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates *Polar climate, the cli ...

'', and released the singles "Satrn", "Coasted", "Fall" the same year. In 2020, "Pomegranate" and " Bridged by a Lightwave" were released ahead of his ninth album.

Early life

Zimmerman was born in

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

, Ontario, Canada. His mother, Nancy (née Johnson), is a visual artist, and his father, Rodney Thomas "Rod" Zimmerman, is a

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

plant worker. He has two siblings, Jennifer (older) and Chris (younger). His ancestry includes

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, Swiss, and English heritage. He received his first keyboard for Christmas when he was a teenager. His music career began in the late 1990s, with a

chiptune Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The ...

and demoscene movements-influenced sound with the

Impulse Tracker Impulse Tracker is a multi-track music tracker (music sequencer). Originally released in 1995 by Jeffrey Lim as freeware with commercial extensions, it was one of the last tracker programs for the DOS platform. In 2014, on its 20th anniversary, ...

. Zimmerman graduated from

Westlane Secondary School Westlane Secondary School is a Canadian public secondary school located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It serves the Lundy's Lane area, and is part of the District School Board of Niagara The District School Board of Niagara (DSBN, ...

in Niagara Falls. He then worked with an online music licensing company and as a programmer. He adopted the name Deadmau5, which referred to a dead mouse he found in his computer; the unique spelling was a result of a maximum

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

limitation.

Career

1998–2006: ''Get Scraped'' and self-released compilations

Zimmerman released his debut studio album, titled ''

Get Scraped ''Get Scraped'' is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, released on July 26, 2005, by the independent record label Zoolook. Background The track title "Bored of Canada" presumably refers to Boards of Canada, a ...

'' on July 26, 2005. The tracks "Just Before 8bit", "Nice Try, Kiddo" and "Uploading and Downloading" from '' Project 56'' were edited and expanded upon in ''Get Scraped'' under the names "8bit", "Try Again", and "Unspecial Effects", respectively. Tracks "Bored of Canada", "Intelstat" and "I Forget" reappear on this album as is, as well as "The Oshawa Connection" from '' Deadmau5 Circa 1998–2002''. Three self-released compilations, ''Project 56'', ''Deadmau5 Circa 1998–2002'', and ''

A Little Oblique The following is a comprehensive discography of Deadmau5, a Canadian record producer and DJ. His discography most notably comprises eight studio albums, nine compilation albums, one soundtrack album, two video albums, seven mix albums, six exte ...

'', were finished in 2006, with ''Project 56'' seeing an official release two years later.

2006–2008: ''Vexillology'', Mau5trap, and ''Random Album Title''

In 2006, Zimmerman released his second studio album, ''

Vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthe ...

'', on November 6, 2006, through

Play Records Play Records is an independently owned Canadian record label operating in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The company includes Play Deep Studios, a recording studio in the UK, Play Digital, for digital music and Play Records Publishing, a publishing ...

. In 2007, Zimmerman founded his own record label, Mau5trap, which, along with

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label formed in New York City in 1995 by former PolyGram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey. As of December 23, 2012, Ultra entered a global partnership with Sony Music, giving its artists access to ...

and

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. Jame ...

, released the 2008 album ''

Random Album Title ''Random Album Title'' is the third studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, released by Ultra Records and Mau5trap on September 2, 2008. The album includes the singles "Faxing Berlin", " Not Exactly" and " I Remember" (with ...

'', which saw the collaboration of Zimmerman and Chicago producer Kaskade with " I Remember". ''Random Album Title'', saw a digital release on September 2, 2008, via

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label formed in New York City in 1995 by former PolyGram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey. As of December 23, 2012, Ultra entered a global partnership with Sony Music, giving its artists access to ...

in the United States and

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. Jame ...

in the United Kingdom and Europe. Physical copies of the album were released in November 2008. Singles "

Faxing Berlin "Faxing Berlin" is an instrumental by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5. It was released as the lead single from his third studio album ''Random Album Title''. On July 23, 2007, "Faxing Berlin" became the first release on Deadmau5's lab ...

" on October 25, 2006, and " Not Exactly" on August 27, 2007, were released prior to the album's release. Single "I Remember" (with Kaskade) was later released on September 15, 2008, before the album's release. In the United States, Zimmerman's collaboration with Kaskade, "

Move for Me "Move for Me" is a song by American DJ and record producer Kaskade and Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5. It was released as the lead single from Kaskade's fifth studio album, '' Strobelite Seduction''. The single, which features vocals ...

", reached number one on ''Billboard'' magazine's

Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. History The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic d ...

chart in its September 6, 2008, issue. Since then, Zimmerman has seen two more tracks, also collaborations ("I Remember" with Kaskade and " Ghosts 'n' Stuff" with Rob Swire), reach number one on ''Billboard''s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, making him the only Canadian to have three number-one tracks on that chart. He is also the sixth Canadian to top that chart, following

Deborah Cox Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...

,

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired de ...

, Dragonette,

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

, and

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and ...

, each with one apiece.

2009–2011: ''For Lack of a Better Name'' and ''4×4=12''

On September 22, 2009,

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label formed in New York City in 1995 by former PolyGram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey. As of December 23, 2012, Ultra entered a global partnership with Sony Music, giving its artists access to ...

released his album ''

For Lack of a Better Name ''For Lack of a Better Name'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5. It was released on September 22, 2009 in the United States and Canada by Ultra Records and Mau5trap and internationally on 5 October 2009 b ...

'' in the United States, and October 5 internationally. On a subsequent tour in the fall of 2009, Zimmerman's performances were recorded and made available for sale immediately following the concerts on USB wristband flash drives. ''For Lack of a Better Name'' includes two of Zimmerman's most popular songs, "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (featuring Rob Swire) and "

Strobe A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope. The word originated from the Ancient Greek ('), meanin ...

". "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" was released on November 25, 2008, before the album, while "Strobe" was released on February 23, 2010, after the album's release. MTV named Zimmerman as the house DJ for the

2010 MTV Video Music Awards The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Chelsea Handler hosted the event, the first woman in sixteen years – since the 1994 MT ...

and MTV PUSH artist of the week on August 16, 2010. He expressed gratitude towards

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

and

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

for bringing dance into the pop music scene and paving the way for him to the mainstream. At the awards, Zimmerman performed with

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

and

Travie McCoy Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 5, 1981) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is the co-founder and former lead vocalist of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, in addition to having a solo career. McCoy became involved w ...

. His song "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" had been featured on the soundtrack for the MTV reality series ''

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May P ...

'' earlier. His fifth studio album, '' 4×4=12'', was released on December 6, 2010, in the United Kingdom and December 7, 2010, in the United States. Singles "

Some Chords "Some Chords" is an instrumental by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, released on 3 May 2010 as the first single from his fifth studio album ''4×4=12''. The song peaked at 13 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart in the U ...

" on May 3, 2010, "

Animal Rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

" (with Wolfgang Gartner) on September 6, and "

Sofi Needs a Ladder "Sofi Needs a Ladder" is a song by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, featuring vocals from German singer SOFI. It was released as the third single from deadmau5's fifth studio album, ''4×4=12''. Background The song was originally an i ...

" (featuring SOFI) on November 1 were released and were featured on the album. " Raise Your Weapon" (featuring

Greta Svabo Bech Greta Svabo Bech (born in Tórshavn) is a Faroese singer-songwriter. She first became known for her work with Canadian producer Deadmau5, when " Raise Your Weapon" was nominated for Best Dance Record at the 2011 Grammy Awards54th Annual Grammy A ...

) was released later on May 23, 2011. "Some Chords" was featured on an episode of ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'' where Zimmerman made a cameo appearance, and an instrumental version of "Sofi Needs a Ladder" was featured in the film '' The Hangover Part II''. That year, he also released two non-album singles "

Aural Psynapse "Aural Psynapse" is an instrumental recording by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5. It was released on November 4, 2011 by Mau5trap and Ultra Records (US and Canada) and featured on his 2014 greatest hits album '' 5 Years of Mau5''. ...

" and "HR 8938 Cephei".

2012–2014: ''Album Title Goes Here'' and ''While(1<2)''

On August 9, 2012, Zimmerman announced his sixth studio album, ''

Album Title Goes Here ''Album Title Goes Here'' (stylized as ''> album title goes here album title goes here <''
at

Discogs ...

'', which was released on September 24 of that year. Singles from this album include " Maths" on February 17, 2012, " The Veldt" (featuring Chris James) on May 8, and " Professional Griefers" (featuring Gerard Way) on August 14. Singles " Channel 42" (with Wolfgang Gartner) on February 12, 2013, and " Telemiscommunications" (with Imogen Heap) on March 12 were released in 2013, after the album was released. His collaboration with Gerard Way on "Professional Griefers" was announced on Facebook prior to release. In December 2012,

FUSE TV Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyle programming targeting mult ...

named "Professional Griefers" one of the top 40 songs of 2012. In November 2013, Zimmerman deleted three years worth of music from his SoundCloud account, replacing them with an EP of seven melancholy piano sonatas, simply called ''7'', named after the Latin translations for the seven deadly sins: "Acedia", "Avaritia", "Gula", "Invidia", "Ira", "Luxuria", and "Superbia". The same month, Zimmerman left longtime label

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label formed in New York City in 1995 by former PolyGram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey. As of December 23, 2012, Ultra entered a global partnership with Sony Music, giving its artists access to ...

and signed with record label

Astralwerks Astralwerks is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in 1993 and, in its early years, featur ...

, a famed NYC-based imprint that houses artists such as Swedish House Mafia,

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

, and

The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat gen ...

. Speaking on the partnership, Zimmerman admitted, "I found a place that knows what to do with my music." On January 7, 2014, Zimmerman announced via his Twitter account that his much-anticipated new album is complete. "In other news... I finished my album today," the tweet read. "2 discs. 2 continuous mixes. 25 tracks. and something I'm proud of." On May 10, 2014, Deadmau5 announced through his subscription service that his upcoming album would be titled '' While(1<2)'' and would be released on June 17, 2014. The album was preceded by the release of four singles: " Avaritia", " Seeya" (featuring

Colleen D'Agostino Colleen Marie D'Agostino is an American musician and singer-songwriter from Simi Valley, California. In 2005, while attending San Diego State University she formed The Material. They released their first EP entitled ''Tomorrow'' on September 1, ...

), " Infra Turbo Pigcart Racer" and " Phantoms Can't Hang". Starting on the week of May 20, 2014, each single was released weekly for a total of four weeks leading up to the release of the album.

2015–2016: Absence, return, and ''W:/2016Album/''

Deamau5 at Veld Music Festival (cropped)

On January 13, 2015, it was announced that Deadmau5 would be a headlining act for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, in Manchester, Tennessee, which was held on June 11–15, 2015. On February 2, 2015, it was announced he would appear at Reading and Leeds Festivals. On July 23, 2015,

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...

announced that Deadmau5 was creating a series of sound clips to be featured in their video game ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to '' Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota ...

''. The music pack was released alongside the announcement. On August 8, 2015, Deadmau5 performed live at

KeyArena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ori ...

in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

at the conclusion of the

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to '' Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota ...

competition The International 5 (TI5). On October 7, 2015, Deadmau5 officially announced that he was leaving his then label Astralwerks and going entirely independent with his own label Mau5trap. On December 17, 2015, it appeared that Zimmerman was either taking a leave of absence or ending his career altogether after deleting both his Twitter and his Facebook accounts. His Instagram account, however, had not been deleted. On December 21, 2015, Zimmerman reopened his Twitter account and posted an apology to his Tumblr account explaining his disappearance from social media, saying that he was suffering from depression and would be returning to producing music after the new year. On May 27, 2016, " Snowcone", the first single from Zimmerman in nearly two years, was released as a digital download. This track was later revealed to be the first single from his next album. On November 4, 2016, Zimmerman announced his next studio album, '' W:/2016Album/'', which was released on December 2, 2016, digitally, with vinyl and CD releases on February 17, and March 17, 2017, respectively.

2017–present: ''Stuff I Used to Do'', ''Where's the Drop?'', ''Polar'' soundtrack, ''Mau5ville'', and Kx5

On January 7, 2017, Zimmerman announced a compilation of his earlier work ranging from the years of 1998 to 2007 on Twitter, titled '' Stuff I Used to Do''. Zimmerman also stated that the compilation would release in February of that year. On February 24, 2017, Zimmerman released a limited version of ''Stuff I Used to Do'' on WeTransfer. The edition, available until March 3, featured three tracks less than the full album. The album includes tracks from ''

Get Scraped ''Get Scraped'' is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, released on July 26, 2005, by the independent record label Zoolook. Background The track title "Bored of Canada" presumably refers to Boards of Canada, a ...

'' and early compilations, in addition to an alternative mix of "Creep" from '' While(1<2)''. The album was officially released on Mau5trap a week later, on March 3, 2017. On March 25, 2017, Zimmerman began a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

with his new "Cube 2.1" stage set entitled

Lots of Shows in a Row Lots of Shows in a Row was a concert tour by Canadian electronic music producer, Deadmau5, to promote his eighth studio album '' W:/2016ALBUM/'', with support from British producer and DJ Feed Me. The tour initially took place just in North Ameri ...

to promote the release of ''W:/2016Album/''. Zimmerman toured around

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

for two months, before touring the rest of the world from June 3, 2017, and Canada from October 6, 2017, with the tour concluding on October 31, 2017. On August 25, 2017, Zimmerman released a stand-alone single entitled " Legendary", featuring guest vocals from rapper

Shotty Horroh Adam Rooney (born 22 September 1986), better known by his stage name Shotty Horroh, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and actor. In 2017, Shotty Horroh signed a four-album record deal with Sony Music Canada and released his major label de ...

. A music video for the song was released on Mau5trap's YouTube channel on September 11, 2017. In September 2017, Zimmerman confirmed his next studio album is "on the way". In March 2018, Zimmerman announced a compilation album comprising orchestral performances of previously released music, titled '' Where's the Drop?''. On March 30, 2018, the album was initially released exclusively on the music streaming service Tidal for a period of three months. On June 29, 2018, the album was officially released on other digital download and streaming services, as well as vinyl. On July 3, 2018, Zimmerman announced an EP and compilation album titled '' Mau5ville: Level 1'', featuring " Monophobia", a collaboration with Rob Swire, as well as tracks from Getter and GTA. It was released on July 13, 2018, through Mau5trap. On September 18, 2018, Zimmerman announced that he was in the process of producing his first ever original

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

for the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

film ''

Polar Polar may refer to: Geography Polar may refer to: * Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates *Polar climate, the cli ...

'' directed by

Jonas Åkerlund Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (; born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish film director, screenwriter, music video director, and drummer. His video for Madonna's song " Ray of Light" won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form, and a record of fiv ...

. In October 2018, the track listing of a follow-up EP, '' Mau5ville: Level 2'', was leaked, showing featured collaborations with Lights and Mr. Bill, with no release date confirmed at the time. The EP was released officially on November 16, 2018, through Mau5trap. On January 25, 2019, ''Polar'' premiered on Netflix, with Zimmerman releasing the soundtrack album, ''

Polar (Music from the Netflix Film) ''Polar'' is a 2019 neo-noir action thriller film directed by Jonas Åkerlund and written by Jayson Rothwell, based on Víctor Santos's 2013 graphic novel '' Polar: Came From the Cold''. The film stars Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn W ...

'', through Mau5trap. On February 1, 2019, the third installment in the ''Mau5ville'' series, '' Mau5ville: Level 3'' was released through Mau5trap. The compilation EP featured collaborations with Shotty Horroh, Scene of Action as well as tracks from No Mana and C.O.Z. In November 2019, Zimmerman released three new singles, entitled "Satrn", "Coasted" and "Fall", released on the 16th, 22nd and 29th, respectively. On May 20, 2020, Zimmerman released the single "Pomegranate", featuring

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music video ...

. Later in November that year, he worked with Kiesza on the track " Bridged by a Lightwave". Both singles are expected to appear on Zimmerman's next album. On March 29, 2021, Zimmerman released the single "Nextra" on his new "Hau5trap" label. In 2021, Rezz and Deadmau5 collaborated to release a single named "Hypnocurrency" on Mau5trap. He also released a new single with singer Lights titled "When the Summer Dies" on July 16. In 2022, Zimmerman and Kaskade announced a collaboration project named Kx5, marking the fourth time the producers have worked together. The first single from the project, "Escape", was released on March 11.

Video game appearances

Zimmerman 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

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

's " Just Dance". He is also featured as a secret unlockable character in the 2014 video game '' Goat Simulator'' as "deadgoa7" His music has been included in other video game titles, including a custom soundtrack for ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to '' Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota ...

''. In the mobile app ''Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff'' by TinyCo, Deadmau5 was available for purchase as a playable character during the "PeterPalooza". Virtual versions of his helmet are also an available accessory as a topper and antenna in '' Rocket League''. In the 2020 video game FUSER, "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" is featured as a mixable song.

Personal life

On July 30, 2010, at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., Zimmerman collapsed on stage, suffering from exhaustion and vomiting. This resulted in the cancellation of the rest of the show, as well as nine shows following the event. In September 2012, Zimmerman began dating American tattoo artist and TV personality Kat Von D. After breaking up in November 2012, they rekindled their relationship shortly afterwards. On December 15, 2012, Zimmerman proposed to Von D via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, and they announced that they would marry in August 2013 with an aquatic-themed wedding. They both have several matching tattoos, including the numbers "289m3d22h" on both of their arms, a sentimental reference to the day when they met, as well as two black stars underneath their eyes. Zimmerman moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

to live with Von D. In June 2013, Von D announced that they had ended their engagement. In 2014, Zimmerman purchased a $5 million home in the

Campbellville Campbellville is a compact rural community in the geographic township of Nassagaweya in the Town of Milton, Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario, Canada. It is on the Niagara Escarpment and is a tourist destination for residents of the Gr ...

area of

Milton, Ontario Milton ( 2016 census population 110,128) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing municipality in Canada, with a 71.4% increase in popu ...

. On August 12, 2017, Zimmerman married his fiancée Kelly Fedoni. On June 7, 2021, Zimmerman announced via Instagram that he and Fedoni had separated and would divorce, but stated that their relationship had ended amicably.

Etymology

Zimmerman's father claims that when his son was in his early teens, he was chatting with a friend on his computer, which then abruptly shut off. According to Zimmerman's father, he said that it had a smell of burnt wire and had a strange odor. Zimmerman started to dismantle his computer and happened to find a dead mouse. Zimmerman then became known as the "dead mouse guy" among friends. He tried to change his name to "Deadmouse" in an online chat room, but it was too long, so he shortened it to "Deadmau5". "Maus" is the German word for "mouse" and is pronounced the same as in English; the ending character 5 instead of an 's' is a form of

leet Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via reflection or other resemblance ...

. Zimmerman created the original logo—called "mau5head"—while learning how to use 3D modelling software. The logo appears in many different colors and designs, and has been shown on the cover art of most of Zimmerman's albums. He was given the idea to wear a helmet based on the logo by one of his friends, Jay Gordon of the industrial metal band

Orgy In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party consisting of at least five members where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex. Swingers' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swin ...

. In an interview with

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

, Zimmerman said that he wants his logo to be an "icon". Fans often attend Deadmau5 concerts sporting their own copy or alteration of the mau5head. He created his website and began uploading songs to SectionZ and producing under the alias "Deadmau5" in 2002.

Controversies

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 FL Studio (previously known as FruityLoops before 2003) is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. FL Studio features a graphical user interface with a pattern-based music sequencer. The program is avail ...

, and to which Zimmerman claimed copyright. The sample was a direct clip of a full bar of the song. Zimmerman provided a "Demo Track" which came bundled with FL Studio, along with several loop samples. The case caused slight discomfort among the users of FL Studio, and some have pointed out potential inconsistencies in the

EULA An end-user license agreement or EULA () is a legal contract between a software supplier and a customer or end-user, generally made available to the customer via a retailer acting as an intermediary. A EULA specifies in detail the rights and res ...

of the software. Subsequent versions, after FL Studio 8, no longer contained those loop samples.

Disney trademark dispute

In a 2012 interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', Zimmerman acknowledged possible similarities between his Mau5head logo and that of

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

, joking that "someone at the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

patent office fell asleep on that one." In March 2014, it was reported that The Walt Disney Company had filed a request with the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

to investigate Zimmerman's application to register the Mau5head emblem as a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from ot ...

, noting its resemblance to the figure of Mickey Mouse. Disney officially filed its opposition in September 2014, arguing that the mark is likely to cause confusion because it is "nearly identical in appearance, connotation, and overall commercial impression" to Disney's trademarked iconography of Mickey Mouse. In response to the opposition, Zimmerman spoke out against Disney on Twitter, arguing that the company thinks of people as being "stupid" because "

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title ...

might confuse an established electronic musician/performer with a cartoon mouse." Zimmerman also believed that he had been targeted by Disney due to their attempts to "cash in" on the EDM market, specifically alluding to '' Dconstructed''—a recently released compilation album containing remixes of music from Disney properties by major electronic musicians such as

Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted '' A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&n ...

,

Avicii Tim Bergling (; 8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii (, ), was a Swedish DJ, remixer and music producer. At the age of 16, Bergling began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first re ...

and Kaskade. On September 4, 2014, Zimmerman revealed on Twitter that Disney had used "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" in a Mickey Mouse "re-micks" video on their website and YouTube channel without his or his labels' permission, and posted pictures showing a

takedown notice Notice and take down is a process operated by online hosts in response to court orders or allegations that content is illegal. Content is removed by the host following notice. Notice and take down is widely operated in relation to copyright infri ...

that had been sent to Disney by his lawyers. The letter also contained a trademark infringement accusation, arguing that the use of Deadmau5's name in material regarding the video falsely implied his endorsement of it. Disney argued that it had properly licensed the song and that there was "no merit to his statement." In an October 2014 USPTO filing, Zimmerman argued that Disney has attempted to co-exist with him in goodwill. Zimmerman presented evidence that Disney had been in contact with him regarding potential collaborative projects, including an offer to participate in a "re-imagining" of ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

'' as a live concert tour for the film's 75th anniversary. In June 2015, Zimmerman's attorney stated that he and Disney had "amicably resolved their dispute."

Meowingtons trademark dispute

In 2015, Zimmerman attempted to register a trademark for the name of his pet cat, Professor Meowingtons, whom he adopted in 2010 and has incorporated into some of his own merchandising. However, the registration was rejected due to a pre-existing Meowingtons trademark held by an online retailer of the same name established in 2014, which sells cat-themed accessories and clothing. After discovering the trademark, Zimmerman petitioned against it, citing his pre-existing uses. In March 2017, Zimmerman was sued by Emma Bassiri (the owner of the website) for trademark infringement and unfair competition; the suit argued that claims by Zimmerman that she had named the site specifically after the cat was false. Zimmerman himself told ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' that "from the very beginning I was working to find a way to resolve this situation amicably", but that he had been forced to "litigate this woman out of existence". On May 15, 2017, Deadmau5 filed a countersuit against Bassiri with the intention of seeking forfeiture of Bassiri's website and domain name. In March 2018, ''World Intellectual Property Review'' reported that Zimmerman and Bassiri had resolved their dispute.

Offensive slurs

In October 2018, Zimmerman posted comments on Twitter during an argument including the statements "I'll bet you suck a guy off for 40 grand, zero fucking questions asked" and "women don't posses penises". These comments were construed by readers as being homophobic and transphobic. Zimmerman apologized for his comments, saying that he "wasn't trying to make blatant transphobic statements", and had "just got into a heated arguement with some dude online", noting that his comments had been taken "somewhere unintended". A few days later, during a gaming stream, he referred to a track by artist

Slushii Julian Michael Scanlan (born May 1, 1997), known professionally as Slushii, is an American musician, DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Los Angeles. He is best known for working with various artists managed by Moe Shalizi, such a ...

as "AIDS fucking music" and calling it "autistic shit". Slushii – who is on the

autism spectrum The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

– responded to these comments on Twitter, calling them "really disappointing". Zimmerman later apologized for these comments, citing mental health issues that required "professional help", and stating that he would take time "off the radar" to "work on imself. In February 2019, whilst playing '' PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds'' on a livestream on Twitch, Zimmerman called another player a "fucking cock-sucking stream sniper fag." Twitch suspended Zimmerman from their platform for hate speech, after which he posted: "I know who I am, and I don't have to fucking sit here and cry and defend my fucking self with the obligatory 'I'm not that person, I am sorry' reflex," vowing to never work with the company again. Zimmerman later apologized for his remarks in a Reddit post, and was subsequently reinstated.

Discography

* ''

Get Scraped ''Get Scraped'' is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, released on July 26, 2005, by the independent record label Zoolook. Background The track title "Bored of Canada" presumably refers to Boards of Canada, a ...

'' (2005) * ''

Vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthe ...

'' (2006) * ''

Random Album Title ''Random Album Title'' is the third studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, released by Ultra Records and Mau5trap on September 2, 2008. The album includes the singles "Faxing Berlin", " Not Exactly" and " I Remember" (with ...

'' (2008) * ''

For Lack of a Better Name ''For Lack of a Better Name'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5. It was released on September 22, 2009 in the United States and Canada by Ultra Records and Mau5trap and internationally on 5 October 2009 b ...

'' (2009) * '' 4×4=12'' (2010) * ''

Album Title Goes Here ''Album Title Goes Here'' (stylized as ''> album title goes here album title goes here <''
at

Discogs ...

'' (2012) * '' While(1<2)'' (2014) * '' W:/2016Album/'' (2016)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Artist Site at Ultra Records
{{Authority control 1981 births Ableton Live users Canadian DJs Canadian electronic musicians Canadian house musicians Canadian people of Swiss descent Canadian people of German descent Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of Swiss-German descent Electro house musicians Electronic dance music DJs Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year winners Living people Masked musicians Mau5trap artists Musicians from the Regional Municipality of Niagara People from Niagara Falls, Ontario Progressive house musicians Remixers Tracker musicians Ultra Records artists Virgin Records artists 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians

Early life

Career

1998–2006: ''Get Scraped'' and self-released compilations

2006–2008: ''Vexillology'', Mau5trap, and ''Random Album Title''

2009–2011: ''For Lack of a Better Name'' and ''4×4=12''

2012–2014: ''Album Title Goes Here'' and ''While(1<2)''

2015–2016: Absence, return, and ''W:/2016Album/''

2017–present: ''Stuff I Used to Do'', ''Where's the Drop?'', ''Polar'' soundtrack, ''Mau5ville'', and Kx5

Video game appearances

Personal life

Etymology

Controversies

DirtyCircuit

Disney trademark dispute

Meowingtons trademark dispute

Offensive slurs

Discography

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links