4x4=12 - deadmau5

4x4=12 is the fifth album released by deadmau5. It is a progressive, electro-house album, consistent with other albums released by deadmau5. Some of the tracks are upbeat, dance songs, while others are melodic and slow. This creates a nice blend of tracks on the album. My personal electronic music tastes tend towards DJs who throw more variety into their mixes, but deadmau5 has caught the attention of the mainstream music world and teens love his CDs. Having seen him live, 4x4=12 seems out of place. Live deadmau5 music is fast paced and energetic. When listening to this album I felt stuck in the infinite repeating track loop. Most critics of electronic music will tell you that it all sounds the same, that it's too repetitive. Unfortunately 4x4=12 fits quite well within that stereotype. I think teens who are just getting into the electronic music scene will find deadmau5 to be a good entry point. It's popular, he tours frequently and his live shows are fun. 

Track Listing:

• "Some Chords"
• "Sofi Needs a Ladder" (featuring SOFI)
• "A City in Florida"
• "Bad Selection"
• "Animal Rights" (with Wolfgang Gartner)
• "I Said (Michael Woods Remix)" (with Chris Lake)
• "Cthulhu Sleeps"  
• "Right This Second"  
• "Raise Your Weapon" (featuring Greta Svabo Bech)
• "One Trick Pony" (featuring SOFI)
• "Everything Before"  

Artist: Joel Zimmerman doesn’t like being called a DJ. The dance music phenomenon from Toronto, better known as deadmau5, rolls his eyes at the description which he sees as a hopelessly outdated way of describing what he does. His sets are closer to live performances as he assembles tracks on the fly using cutting edge computer technology including software that he’s helped to write himself. “There are no CDs involved,” he explains. “It’s a technological orgy up there and I try and keep it more my music than anyone else’s. If people come out to see deadmau5 I want them to hear deadmau5 music.” 

Now firmly established as one of the most innovative and popular electronic live acts globally, Deadmau5 has had an outstanding year. His driving foresight is constantly pushing the technological boundaries of his stage show. In May 2010 he unveiled the visual orgy of the cube stage and his highly anticipated L.E.D ‘mau5ehead’. The year climaxed with a 17,000 capacity sell out show at London’s Earls Court. He is the first ever electronic artist to headline the legendary venue. Additionally the dancefloor icon’s multi award winning albums have seen him achieve that rare balance, appealing to both the clubbing cognoscenti and musical masses. 

Zimmerman grew up in Niagara Falls, Ontario, near Toronto. As a kid he was obsessed with computers and started making chip tunes as a teenager. “They’re musical compositions made using the chips from old computers,” he explains. Soon, his chip tunes attracted the attention of the Los Angeles nu metal community which resulted in him contributing to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee’s 1999 album Methods Of Mayhem. The unlikely duo remain friends as well as collaborators; in 2009 they released two electro house singles — Chicken and Redic — under the name W.T.F.?, while they also reunited to play at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival in 2010. It was around this time that Zimmerman became involved with a low-budget dance music radio show in Niagara Falls called The Party Revolution. “Back then, cutting edge dance music in Niagara Falls meant Babylon Zoo,” he laughs. His job was “technical whizz kid”. In other words, he was the one who knew how to use a computer. “All those guys were interested in was recording two turntables onto a computer and burning off a CD so they could send it the radio station,” he explains. “I learnt about digital audio and making music on computers and new editing techniques. Every new bit of technology that was released to do with making music, I was on top of it. They were still dinosauring it out playing on turntables.” When he tried to convince local recording studios that they needed to embrace computers at the turn of the millennium, no-one was interested. “They had an old school approach to recording music. They were really in denial about that kind of thing. It was rocket science to them. They didn’t get it.” Zimmerman did. Eventually he managed to convince a small studio in Toronto to let him install new technology and he helped to record numerous local bands. 

2010 saw his relentless work schedule continue unabated. In February he performed at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver during the medal presentations. In March, he won three International Dance Music Awards including Best Artist (Solo) and Best American DJ. In April he won Dance Recording of the Year for For Lack of a Better Name at the Juno Awards In May, his sold out UK tour included three consecutive nights at the Brixton O2 Academy as he continued to redefine dance music in the live arena. Fans were treated to the visual orgy of his new stage show, and of course, the unveiling of his highly anticipated L.E.D ‘mau5ehead’. Like a mutant rodent Frankenstein, it had finally been given life! In June, deadmau5 won Best Electro House Artist, Best Progressive House Artist, and “most influential, relevant and forward-thinking person in electronic music over the past twelve months” at the Beatport Music Awards. He also performed live at the Electric Daisy Carnival’s Kinetic Fields section in Los Angeles, made his main stage UK festival debut at Creamfields and also embarked upon an exclusive weekly resident for Cream @ Amnesia in Ibiza. http://www.myspace.com/deadmau5

Why I Included This Album: I've been to the Electric Daisy Carnival in Los Angeles when deadmau5 was playing. He filled the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at USC beyond it's capacity, which is 93,607. Every single seat was taken, the entire field was full and people were crammed into aisles. It was incredible. The average age of most of the people in that crowd was probably well below 21. Teens love deadmau5, who has broken through into the mainstream music stream. 

Ultra Records, 2010, ASIN: B004EG2JO6