Deadmau5: Grammy Nods, Signing Skrillex and Taking 'Crazy-Ass Leaps'

Posted on Feb 10th 2012 2:30PM by Joshua Ostroff
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Mark Davis, Getty Images

"Grammys? It's cool. Electronic music's ripped a f---ing giant new ---hole in that thing, eh?"

So sayeth Deadmau5, the Canadian superstar DJ/producer also known as Joel Zimmerman who is not only up for three Grammy Awards at this year's ceremony -- including Best Dance/Electronica Album for '4x4=12,' Best Dance Recording for 'Raise Your Weapon' and Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for his revamp of Foo Fighters' 'Rope' -- but will also be performing with the Foos in the Grammys' first-ever inclusion of dance music in the televised broadcast.

"Before we were commercial break motherf---ers. That's good for all electronic music, not just me -- it's all about the bigger picture," Deadmau5 told Spinner at this week's announcement of the Juno nominations, the Canadian music awards where he's up for not just best dance recording but also Artist of the Year and the populist Fan Choice Award.

"But it can go both ways," he admits. "All of a sudden electronic music will become so f---ing popular it'll just be like tripe. Or pop music. We're taking something that was formerly unique to a lot of people and [cheating] them of that feeling that they had something unique and giving it to y'know 27 million other f---ing people that'll have that unique feeling."

Of course, Deadmau5 is as responsible as anyone for the recent surge in popularity of electronic dance music. But he didn't just provide a face to a notoriously faceless genre -- ironically, by hiding his own behind a mouse mask. He also signed a young dude named Skrillex to his boutique label Mau5trap Recordings, thereby introducing the world to the man who would turn dubstep into the biggest new genre in years and land a jaw-dropping five Grammy nominations this year, including Best New Artist.

"It's not quite dubstep, but it's just gnarly and disgusting and f---ed-up, and now the kid is f---ing huge," Deadmau5 says of hearing Skrillex for the first time. "I really felt that when I signed him I was taking a f---ing chance because then dubstep was not what dubstep is now. Pre-brostep. I'm glad I did it right then and there, and I'm not regretting it, but I'm just saying it's become fashionable.

"Now the kid's successful and hopefully he'll take that and go do some crazy thing off the ledge and maybe he'll f---ing fall down into the ninth circle of hell and disappear in obscurity but, s---, he might start another little thing and then you're on the map again -- that's what I'm all about."

Deadmau5 certainly knows what he's talking about after the past year, which saw him become the first electronic artist to co-headline Lollapalooza as well as the first Canadian ever to headline, let alone sell-out, Toronto's Rogers Centre football stadium (which you can witness in the new DVD 'Meowingtons Hax 2k11 Toronto') and set himself up for this year's unprecedented award show season.

"It's like a domino effect, y'know? A few artists have to step out on the plank and give in and do that weird f---ed up thing. It takes a couple creative minds to make that leap, but I swear to God as soon as two or three do, boom the rest come flying after.

"That's something I aspire to do, y'know, to take these crazy-ass f---ing leaps."

Deadmau5 and David Guetta Give a Dance Music Tribute at the 2012 Grammys

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