Summer is here and shows are back, baby!
From July 10 – 11, the Brooklyn Mirage will transform to the house of mau5, with deadmau5 taking New Yorkers through his vast catalog of classic staples and current cuts. The can’t-miss affair will be the mau5trap label boss’ first booking in New York this year, and the two shows are notably his sole city appearances at present.
deadmau5’s expansive catalog spans two decades of intricate sound design and glorious chord progressions, earning him the status of one of electronic dance music’s premier players. A luminary in the production space, deadmau5 has earned six Grammy nominations for his work.
As a perpetual student of the craft, Joel Zimmerman’s success was built in the progressive house space; however, the constant creator has built various offshoots in conjunction with his masked showcase such as his techno alias Testpilot and his new house imprint, hau5trap.
Although tickets to night one of the deadmau5 festivities are sold-out, a low number of tickets to the July 11 show are available. Tickets to the second evening to be spent in the mau5trap label head’s company can be purchased here. View the Brooklyn Mirage’s full calendar of upcoming events here.
Below, Dancing Astronaut reminisces on five must-listens from deadmau5’s sprawling repertoire to ready readers for the electronic affair.
“Hypnocurrency”
REZZ is a stellar example of the deadmau5’s A&R ability, signing the up-and-comer in 2016 and instigating her exponential rise as one of electronic music’s most sought-after bass extraordinaires. In April, Canadian production powerhouses REZZ and Zimmerman finally came together for their first collaboration, “Hypnocurrency,” which manifests as a mix of the deadmau5’s synth progressions and REZZ’s attention-grabbing bass.
“Nextra”
After breaking hau5trap ground with Tommy Trash and Daisy Guttridge’s “hiiigh,” deadmau5 released “Nextra,” his house imprint’s first original production, albeit its second single.
“hiiigh” features deadmau5’s classic synthwork and a soft house beat that floats through the mix. At a palatable six minutes, the songs arrangement stretches to a break down around halfway through, gliding through arpeggiated soundscapes that curate a wondrous yet brooding atmosphere for a stellar contrast of light and dark.
“Pomegranate”
deadmau5’s prowess as a producer and collaborator can be heard through various long-time works; however, this pairing with The Neptunes became an immediate classic and a reigns today as a prime example of collaborative excellence. Sitting at the intersection of electro-soul, pop, and R&B, “Pomegranate” finds Pharrell delivering ultra-smooth, vocoded versework over a plucky, funk-laden deadmau5 bassline for a song that oozes summer.
“The Veldt”
We’re going back to a classic here and number six in Dancing Astronaut‘s Top 100 Songs of the Decade. “The Veldt” is Zimmerman at his progressive peak, painting a visceral lyrical and production portrait, demonstrating his unique ability to create music that is both gentle and galvanizing, all at once.
“Channel 43”
deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner opened 2021 with an electro-house gift, “Channel 43,” the follow-up to the pairing’s 2012 single, “Channel 42,” from the former’s > album title goes here <. The track further showcases Zimmerman’s eclectic pallet through harder-hitting electro while still manning longer-form arrangements that entice and excite. There’s an eight-minute version that is just as good as the radio edit, and when you have more Wolfgang and deadmau5 at the helm, the question shouldn’t be “why?,” but rather “why not?”
Extra Credit:
“Raise Your Weapon” (Madeon Extended Remix)
Another classic and stellar remix work from Madeon. On the original—written with Skrillex at his side—deadmau5 puts on a full-frontal display of his aural dexterity. Greta Svabo Bech helps wed progressive and dubstep in this hallowed union, and Madeon added a electro-house brightness that became happiness overload—and an instant classic in the remix golden era.
Featured image: Leah Sems
Categories: Music
