Pioneering producer and The Gift headliner deadmau5 (unhooked) has etched his name among dance music’s elite by going beyond the “standard” definitions of production and what to do behind the decks. Always playing his well-crafted edits and originals often with the help of cutting edge computer technology, deadmau5 continues to fill dance floors around the globe after all these years.
Born Joel Thomas Zimmerman in Niagara Falls, Canada, The Gift talent became drawn to music at the age of 15 picking up an affinity for the piano while simultaneously welcoming technology, making chip tunes from old computers. After a few years of being influenced with electronics and hardware, he started working in animation and web design. “I was playing MS Golf and Minesweeper. And getting blown away by the amazing effects that Corel Draw could provide. At the same time, my parents were sending me to piano classes. I went to a school for eight years in Niagara Falls, where I got a lot of classical music pounded into my head.”
In 1999, Zimmerman’s chiptunes finally grabbed the attention to Mötley Crüe drummer, Tommy Lee, which led to a contributing spot on Lee’s rap metal album Methods Of Mayhem. After years of friendship and collaboration they released two electro-house singles, under the name W.T.F.? called “Chicken” and “Redic.” Though Zimmerman made his debut with Tommy Lee, his breakout year was when he entered the music world as a co-producer for the Niagara Falls radio show and released his first album in 2005 with Get Scraped.
Collaborating with Steve Duda under the alias B.S.O.D., deadmau5 earned his first #1 on Beatport with “This is the Hook.” By 2008, deadmau5 had three self-released albums and the breakout success of Random Album Title under his belt. And the hits just kept on coming. deadmau5’s collaboration with Kaskade for tracks “Move for Me” and “I Remember” reached #1 on Billboard’s Dance/Mix Show Airplay making mau5 the 1st Canadian to have three #1 tracks on that chart after also releasing the classic “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff” (later with Rob Swire) on For Lack of a Better Name.
deadmau5 closing out 2013 with a bang with recent single “Suckfest9001” and talks of a mega tour for the future. Treating us to a special Unhooked set at this years The Gift, get ready for the ultimate present as deadmau5 makes his way to Raymond James Stadium on Thursday, December 26th.
Catch deadmau5 (unhooked) and buy your tickets today!
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