Artist: deadmau5
Album: 4x4=12
Label: Mau5trap, Ultra Records, Virgin Records.
Release Date: Dec. 7
Grade: B+
Tom loves the name of this Canadian electronic artist - Jerry, not so much.
Joel Zimmerman, better known by his stage name deadmau5 (pronounced "dead mouse"), released his newest album, 4x4=12, on Dec. 7 in the United States.
The opening track of 4x4=12, "Some Chords," will be treasured by fans of deadmau5's For Lack of a Better Name era. The beginning of the track starts by building up the beat as if the lights at one of deadmau5's shows were pulsating all around the listener. The track then falls right into the beat and is packed with a punch for the listener's ear. "Some Chords" begins the album with the high-energy mentality that deadmau5 is known for and starts the album off on the right note.
Track two, "Sofi Needs a Ladder," introduces Sofia "Sofi" Toufa, a female singer/rapper featured on multiple tracks, who has become a recent addition to many of deadmau5's live performances, including San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival. Her pop vocals are almost Top40-friendly and make the track accessible to those new to house music.
The climax of the album spans across tracks five and six, when deadmau5 has separate collaborations with Wolfgang Gartner and Chris Lake. Both are renowned electro-house producers, with Gartner hailing from California and Lake being a West London lad.
The two collaborations create a great crossover that spawns a festival-ready vibe. The track "Animal Rights," which is a collaboration with Wolfgang, shows what these two producers really can put on the table when they have time to bounce back and forth off of each other's creative cognitive abilities.
Calming down the listener, the collaboration with Chris Lake on the track "I Said" is an almost trance-esque track, easily suited for a late-night set closing out an event.
After listening to the album in its entirety, it becomes clear that deadmau5 positioned the track listings on the album in order to reflect one of his renowned live performances.
Through albums like 4x4=12, one can see why deadmau5 gets so much attention. With stirring live performances and stellar album releases, it's clear that this artist is far from dead.
E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com
