Dead Mouse Singing
On his first India tour, Grammy-nominated DJ, Deadmau5 talks about Daler Mehendi, dealing with fame and riding an elephant
About two weeks ago, Daler Mehendi’s hit ’90s number Tunak tunak tun resurfaced online and got the music industry talking, dancing and laughing.
The epic bhangra track had been given an impressive EDM (electronic dance music) treatment by one of the world’s most popular DJs. With that sample, Grammy-nominated Joel Thomas Zimmerman, known to the world as Deadmau5, earned himself several Indian fans.
As the 33-year-old Canadian progressive-house DJ begins his debut India tour this Friday, the fans who danced to his Mehendi mix hope that he will throw in a Bhangra mix or two. And better still, have a sherwani-clad Mehendi on stage with him. After all, Deadmau5 is all about surprises.
Apart from the surprise drops (bass-heavy beats in a harmonic melody), Deadmau5 gigs are known most for their visual delights. He gets on stage wearing his signature oversized, glowing Mickey Mouse headgear and his fans reciprocate with similar “mau5heads”. The LED screens and the trippy visuals make his gigs YouTube bestsellers. About his performances in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, he says “I would like to keep the set list under wraps. That is one way of giving the audience a surprise but, you know the hits, and most, if not all, should be a part of it.”
Rumour is that when the DJ was in his teens, a dead rat in his computer led to him being teased by his friends as the “dead mouse” guy. When he debuted in the EDM scene in 2005, the story of the dead rat stayed with him. “I didn’t go out much in my teens and just worked in the studio. Toronto has a great clubbing culture and I’ve listened to so much music. That’s where it began for me,” he says.
In 2008, the EDM world took notice of this reticent, geeky DJ who was producing tracks that broke all the rules and even had the non-EDM crowds give him a chance. When he released Ghosts and stuff in the same year, “the next big thing” had clearly arrived. “I’m still getting used to the fame, but it’s fun to be recognised, and even more fun to be able to travel around the world,” he says. A year later, he released his hit album For Lack of a Better Name that included his second hit, the progressive-ambient single Strobe.
A fair share of controversies have also kept Deadmau5 in the news — from a harsh tweet about pop star Madonna to randomly deleting tons of music from his Sound Cloud account last year. About the future, he says, “I am collaborating with Boards of Canada (a Scottish EDM duo), or Autechre (electronic music duo) from Germany. While travelling through India, I would like to meet DJs and go club hopping. I also want to meet percussionist Trilok Gurtu.”
Also, he wants to “ride an elephant in India”.
Deadmau5 will perform today at Mahalaxmi Race Course. Tickets: Rs 3,750 to Rs 6,000, can be bought on http://www.bookmyshow.com
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