Inside Deadmau5’s Rolling Stone Cover Shoot
“I didn’t think I’d make the cover of anything, so it’s cool,” said deadmau5, a.k.a. Joel Zimmerman, at his Rolling Stone cover shoot in New York. The producer-DJ, who is profiled in the magazine’s new Summer Special issue that hits newsstands on Friday, took time during his session with photographer Albert Watson to reflect on electronic dance music’s surge in mainstream popularity. “Everybody’s all up on the EDM bandwagon now, because it’s like another viable conduit for traditional pop music to ride for a bit so they can get out of their little stagnant pool and make a dance hit,” Zimmerman said.
Even when he’s offstage and in the studio, Zimmerman is looking for ways to interact with his fans. “I would rather write one track and let everyone watch me write one track and then just watch live feedback while I’m doing it … at least it’s keeping them involved in the process so they know what the fuck is up, as opposed to this magical process that happens in a studio off in Denmark, and then all of a sudden I’ve got 12 tracks. I like to lift the veil on a lot of things like that.”
Interview by Stacey Anderson
Related:
• On the Cover: The Rise of Deadmau5
• EP Premiere: Deadmau5, ‘The Veldt’
• Video: Deadmau5 on Competing With Foo Fighters at Festivals