4 Weird Things Deadmau5 Did This Week

This week, Canadian DJ and producer, Joel Zimmerman aka Deadmau5, created a bit of controversy, but not in the usual sarcastic, narcissistic way we’ve come to know and love…

I’m going to miss this…

In fact, one might say that his actions this week were characteristically uncharacteristic, but I’ll let you decide on that once you have been through the list.

Here are the 4 Weird Things Deadmau5 Did This Week!

1 – Deleted His Tweets

In response to his latest release (below) a number of fans began Tweeting their disbelief/displeasure/discomfort with the direction Deadmau5 was going in musically, and in true Mau5 fashion he did his best to respond. At a certain point, he either became frustrated with the discussion on the whole or his management told him to STFU (we’re guessing the latter), which resulted in Deadmau5 rage quitting Twitter, and deleting all of his Tweets. 

As you can see, his account is still up (@deadmau5), and he has since explained that his management will now be responsible for posting Tweets. See his Tumblr post below:

2 – Released An Ambient EP

The musical direction that has left fans so butthurt can be described in one word, “Seven.” This describes the name of the EP, the number of songs on the EP, and the Seven Deadly Sins that each song represents. The outcry stems from the fact that these songs are nothing like any of Joel’s progressive house tracks, or any of his other more experimental projects, as all seven songs are primarily piano pieces underscored by complimentary ambient sounds.

The EP was released on his Soundcloud, and you can listen below.

Acedia (sloth)

Avaritia (greed)

Gula (gluttony)

Ira (wrath)

Luxuria (lust)

Invidia (envy)

Superbia (pride)

3 – Deleted All Music From Soundcloud

“Check me out on Soundcloud! …PSYCH!” -Deadmau5

Ok sweet, release an EP that expresses where you are now as a musician, and present an idea that offers a bit of social commentary. Cool! But Joel, why the hell did you delete your other songs from Soundcloud?

As odd as all of his other actions have been, I feel that for the most part they can be explained, but I don’t see why it would be necessary to remove songs from Soundcloud that Deadmau5 fans love to stream in HD.

Where’s the Tumblr post for that one, JZ?

4 – Release A Creepy Accompanying Video

Aside from the music itself, this was another point of contention for many fans… fans that don’t know how to use Google. I’ve heard a number of people complain about the video Deadmau5 released on Youtube to go along with the EP, and you can read the thousands of butthurt comments on the video itself. Upon viewing the video, however, I would have to argue that these complaints are largely unfounded.

The video is comprised of the images from Pieter Bruegel the Elder‘s Seven Deadly Sins, that have been cropped, red shifted, and blurred for effect. In light of the Seven Deadly Sins inspired theme,the Latin song titles, and subdued tone of the EP musically, I think this video was a stroke of genius.