We are now within touching distance of the most-anticipated show of the summer, as we count down till March 14th, when electronic music’s finest showman and our ‘Artist Of The Month’ for March, Joel Zimmerman aka Deadmau5 descends on our shores to complete what has probably been the most exciting buildup ever experienced for any event prior to now, in India! Over the past months, an excited Joel has repeatedly spoken about his excitement over the upcoming India Tour, all before he shared some other exciting secrets when he spoke to us in an exclusive interview. All that love and excitement has been reciprocated by his fans here in India, who have reached out to interact with the Canadian dance music pioneer through various social media benches.
One engaging activity, through which fans have often illustrated their passion for the Mau5’s sounds, is replicating the iconic Mau5head. Creating crafty and unique versions by themselves, through various means of artistic representation, fans have extended the event experience as a mere 6 hour show by preparing for the Mau5 head and inadvertently building the excitement weeks prior to the actual show! We were excited to see an array of imaginative and creative entries in our recently concluded contest to win tickets for the tour as well, but have you ever wondered, what is the story behind the iconic ‘Mau5head‘? What was it like before? What were the different design aspects like? What is the construction process like?
Well…we’ve done some digging, and discovered some exciting details, some that are relatively unknown and some that are plain downright shocking! Let’s take a look at the ‘Evolution of the Deadmau5 head’!
While the famous stage costume comes from his onstage moniker, its relatively unknown how the name came about in the first place. As a teen, Joel’s love for computers was apparent to one and all. He especially loved dismantling computers trying to figure out what goes where, much like pieces of a puzzle within his symphonies years later.
Once, while Joel was chatting with a friend, his computer abruptly shut down. Joel described a smell that of burnt wire and a peculiar odour. On further investigation and dismantling the computer, he found a dead mouse trapped inside. Shortly after, Joel came to be infamously known as the “dead mouse guy” amongst his friends and chatrooms – a nickname he strangely didn’t object to! He went on to change his online chat room id to “Deadmouse”, but a limit of characters forced him to use some leet humour as he shortened it to “Deadmau5″.
As a music producer, he then went on to design a logo for himself using the same moniker by using a 3D modelling software, before Orgy band member and Joel’s personal friend Jay Gordon suggested he wear a headgear based on the logo. Joel loved the idea and implemented it, leading to the formation of the iconic Mau5 head that has now become symbolic to all his live shows. It’s a signature style of Deadmau5’s music and persona and the element of the headgear stands out in his performances as a visual reminder of the experience taken by audience members.
It was at his first official Deadmau5 gig, that Joel donned the helmet for the first time. Almost immediately audiences were bewildered, but as the music gradually intensified and his sounds had the audience members hooked, the helmet’s lights came on, synchronized to the beat and before you knew it, had begun to wave and blink, causing the place to go absolutely bonkers!
The first ever mau5 head was a bold red in colour with a wide grin and the famous circular ears. The colours would often alternate as he created similar designs in blue, yellow, white and black. Interestingly, he lost the black helmet on a flight!
At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Deadmau5 famously flanked a diamanté head that he later auctioned off on eBay to raise funds for Japanese earthquake relief for a whopping $19,293!
At the Juno’s held in 2011, Deadmau5 wore a metallic model which was a fully functional LED-equipped version, which dazzled at Lollapalooza.
Joel has admitted that Halloween is his favourite holiday of the year. No wonder why he’s often designed special helmets for the occasion for events on the day or close by. Some are frightening to look at while some are just plain downright weird, but all of them are unique and truly, one-of-a-kind!
Since 2012, Deadmau5 has relied on more sophisticated models with smooth metallic finishes allowing LED lights and visualizations to flash around the head, which are synchronized with visualizations in the background. Adding on the experience to his iconic Cube stage design, he ensures that the famous mau5 head becomes a physical part of the experience, rather than a mere prop adorned by himself.
He commissions all his mau5 heads from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop in Hollywood. Each of the heads are based on a lightweight plastic shell that resembles a big fishbowl. The ears are as light as balsa wood and slide into slots in the shell. The ears are designed to be removed as and when the need arises for easier portability. The eyes are made out of plastic half-orbs and wired to lights to produce an appropriately eerie glow during shows.
Meanwhile his fans try to replicate the heads, with varying degrees of success as step-by-step YouTube videos, infinite blog posts, and chains on social media chatrooms give an impressively detailed annotated photo gallery on the DIY site Instructables. A couple of years ago, Zimmerman came up with a unique and fan based contest to help him conceptualise the design for his next head.
The contest generated thousands of entries and the winner, Lance Thackeray, produced a head that looks like it’s carved out of a hunk of Swiss cheese. In addition to bragging rights, Thackeray got a flight to Los Angeles and a pair of VIP passes to a Deadmau5 performance!
However, the mau5 head has often raised doubts and concerns for Joel while he’s performed. Besides the most obvious danger is of breathlessness due to lack of adequate ventilation, Joel has even cited some instances of claustrophobia as well in the past. This made an impact on the design of the helmet as well as early models were cumbersome, before the current batch, made by the Jim Henson Company, are built for comfort, with a sliding visor-mouth and ample ventilation.
Interestingly, there was once a misguided concrete version which was never to be seen, and of course the infamous LED mouse head which left Deadmau5 electrocuted! A chain necklace he once wore hit one of the contacts inside the helmet causing 4 amps at 220volts powering his head, giving him a literal shock! Dazed and confused, Joel took off the helmet and continued to perform and complete the show, before seeking medical assistance after his performance.
Joel has always made pointed out that despite the claims of many journalists, he doesn’t consider Deadmau5 to be an alter-ego. Many assume, the use of helmet, was to propel his musical vision forward through a touch of ambiguity, however he insists that the headgear comes as part of the entire Deadmau5 experience and is simply a physical symbol of his musical journey and artistic identity.
I just one day put this thing on for a laugh, and it caught on! I really hope people don’t think it’s an alter ego. I don’t see it that way. I take it off in shows sometimes. It’s like wearing a heavy hat.
With the ascending buzz and excitement reaching stratospheric proportions, we await to discover which mau5 head will be donned at Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore respectively. Will it be the bold and original red one? Will it be the strikingly blue one? Could it be the warm yellow or the bold black? Will it be one of those state-of-the-art LED visualization supported helmets? Or will we see a brand new head especially designed for his favourite Indian audiences?
Credits: Akshay Mehra
Guess, we’ll just have to wait and watch. Keep your ‘heads’ here for more details!
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