deadmau5 claims that he ‘doesn’t really enjoy dance music’ in recent interview

July 3, 2024

In a recent interview, deadmau5 reveals “he doesn’t walk the walk or talk the talk.”

In a recent interview with Tom Power, deadmau5 shares insight into his accidental success, claiming that his original interest in EDM was from an observational standpoint. Bringing back the times when Google wasn’t a thing and computers weren’t something people had in their households, deadmau5 reminisces the early memories of creating “chip tunes” at the age of eight or nine years old.

Also known as Joel Zimmerman, deadmau5 grew up in Niagara Falls. At a young age, he remembers his dad bringing home a CD player, but notes his dad is “not a music guy”. He recalls the first eight CDs his father purchased from Columbia House Deal – one of them being ‘Tears for Fears’ and noting it to be the most impactful. Having so much downtime to listen to the CDs over and over, he came to the realization there was “some underlining machine around it” – the curiosity was stirred and soon enough the idea of deadmau5 came to fruition.

deadmau5‘s name origin is an interesting one, as there was a dead rodent found in his computer processor and that’s where inspiration was instilled. The acclaimed DJ and producer is also widely known for wearing a giant mouse head during his performances. However, in the interview, Joel mentions that “the helmet thing is getting a bit much.. it’s hot, it’s heavy.”

Throughout the interview, he adds, “I don’t really enjoy dance music. I don’t partake, I don’t walk it, I don’t talk it, I don’t breathe it”. Tom proceeds to ask if he wants to continue with the deadmau5 project and Joel answers that he hates the inconvenience of it but does enjoy the performing aspect of it. Early in the interview, Joel also mentions that originally, all he wanted was to be a studio engineer.

If there’s one thing that Joel admits to, is that he has revolutionized the EDM industry as a whole. He claims that he’s “impressed with himself” and relays he is about to embark on a two-and-a-half-week long run (the longest stretch he has ever done) in South Korea. Headlining Ultra Korea, fans will also be anticipating his techno alias, Testpilot to hit the decks.

Although the EDM legend never had dreams of stardom, he has always been extremely passionate about making music. He expresses, “I love the process of making it.. I like the technical challenges.. I like sonic development”. Without intending it to, his fame was surely well-earned.