Deadmau5: The Music Game, By Joel Zimmerman

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Joel Zimmerman, operating under the alias of Deadmau5 (pronounced “dead mouse”), is an electronic musician and producer, finding his ground in the music scene in the early 2000's. Known mainly for his live performances and trademark headwear, Zimmerman has found worldwide fame with his ability to fill a stadium with adoring fans. His stage name was said to be inspired by a deceased mouse who had found it way into his computer (Last.fm, 2014).
Born in 1981 and hailing from Niagara Falls, Canada, even as a young kid, he was intrigued by computers and electronics, taking enjoyment in disassembling and rebuilding things such as toasters and televisions, which his grandmother would bring him to play with (Liss, 2011). He had an interest for computers, using his mothers work computer to practice coding and hacking.

Later, he was to use it to begin the practise which he has now perfected as an art, and would create music through his mothers computer. He started working on a radio show which showcased mostly dance music, called “The Party Revolution” (The DJ List, 2014). Using the latest technology available to him, and not just a turntable and microphone, he dappled with sampling and continued along the track leading him to become a successful artist. He worked a little while in web development and animation (Biography.com, 2014). Later, he was to work for an software company in Belgium, a software program designed to aid music production and brags to be “the fastest way from your brain to your speakers”- (Image-Line, 2014), something which Zimmerman believed was the way of the future for music. Through this time, he was always writing his own music. Before the electronic music evolution, he made efforts to try to convince recording s...

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...change the way that both amateurs as well as seasoned musicians will be able to create music. Demonstrated on a 55 inch monitor, Zimmerman teased the audience with the abilities of his program, said to be available on the Surface tablets (Examiner, 2013).

Zimmerman demonstrating the abilities of his program

I am interested in Deadmau5's music because it interests me how a musician can incorporate technology into their work. He has the ability to press a button and completely change a song. Each of his live sets can differ completely from the last, most of them improvised and ever changing. He was at the forefront of electronic music, changing the way that musicians treat their subject manner. Not only does he use the programs readily available for electronic musicians to use, he also helps create and improve the software. In this way, he is nothing but original.

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