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Music

Deadmau5

DEADMAU5 as part of VELD MUSIC FEST, alongside KASKADE, STEVE ANGELLO, DANNY TENAGLIA, ABOVE & BEYOND, PRETTY LIGHTS and many more at Downsview Park (35 Carl Hall), Saturday and Sunday (August 3 and 4), 11 am, $180-$225. veldmusicfestival.com


The journalists and TV crews lined up to interview Deadmau5 (aka Canadian EDM producer Joel Zimmerman) are told not to ask about his now-over relationship with reality star Kat Von D, or about the photo of Zimmerman meeting Justin Bieber the day before and the ensuing Twitter controversy.

“Fuck, after having to talk about all this shit all day with all those other interviewers, I think I’m going to go home after this and just keep my mouth shut about everything except for music, because this is getting really fucking annoying,” the producer mutters, his skinny, pale frame sinking into the couch.

“No offence – I know you have to write about something.”

No dance music producer has received as much coverage in the mainstream press as he has, but there’s nothing calculated about Zimmerman’s knack for getting tabloid ink. Even when he sticks to music, his infamous lack of self-censor invariably leads him to call out all the hypocrisy in the scene he dominates.

He bounces between disgust with the circus around him and an odd pride in his notorious shit-disturbing. But there are also traces of something surprisingly close to doubt, or at least a fear that the massive audience he’s built isn’t going to let him grow and change as an artist.

“I’ve made it a point throughout my career to open up a kind of transparency,” he says, becoming more animated.

“For example, my Soundcloud page, where I can upload maniacal bullshit without taking the risk of spending millions of dollars putting it on an album and marketing it as such. Maybe in hindsight I should have fucking done that in the first place, just to see if I can break out of this mould I’ve made for myself.”

Despite being one of the biggest artists in the EDM scene, he is famous for despising the label, which he sees as an empty marketing term. It offends some of his peers, but he can’t resist throwing jabs.

“If taking a risk means telling EDM to fuck off, then so be it. Whatever happened to the artist having some individuality? The only thing EDM about me is that I use electronics to make my fucking music.”

So why get so worked up if it doesn’t mean anything to him? It’s as if Zimmerman repeatedly puts himself in the crosshairs out of a sense of obligation to call out bullshit.

What makes his ranting more compelling than that of most musicians is that he doesn’t bother pretending his motives are pure. He seems to delight in embracing the insults thrown his way from the underground.

“I’m a venture-capitalist-slash-artist. A lot of it is business for me, and I enjoy that. I like the money talk, and the moves, and the strategies. I’m as passionate about the business aspect as I am about the art, and that’s worked out pretty good for me.”

He seems most calm and happy talking about enterprise. He’s been setting up meetings with old-guard record-label types lately, hoping to launch his career in a new direction.

“The days of the big album are pretty much over,” he says. “I want to be the first subscription-based artist. No album schedules, no physical product. Basically, something like $5 a month and you get unmitigated, unlimited access to everything I’ve ever done.”

This weekend, Zimmerman headlines one of the biggest EDM festivals in the country. Playing for big crowds is another topic he seems comfortable discussing.

While he often comes across as grumpy, restless and deeply unsatisfied, when conversation turns to his being the first Canadian to headline the Rogers Centre, he is almost content – for a few seconds at least.

“Honestly, I could OD and die in a minute and feel pretty good about that achievement. That’s still the one that I what-the-fuck about all the time. That’s one for the grandkids, not that I touched fucking Justin Bieber’s hand.”

benjaminb@nowtoronto.com | @benjaminboles

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