[Album Review] Deadmau5 – While (1<2)

The day has finally arrived! After months of build-up, weeks of airplays and countless Tweets exchanged raising the fire of expectations from Canadian stalwart Joel Zimmerman aka Deadmau5‘s seventh studio album ‘While (1<2)‘, the album has finally arrived to stores for its Official Release! The album title comes from a term in programming language reference, meaning “to loop indefinitely”, as well as a reflection of the two-disc nature of the album. The 25-track album promises some of his best work till date, with Deadmau5 himself stating a couple of weeks ago via Twitter that “ its the first album i’ve ever done that I would even call an album.” Known for his distinctly uplifting synthwork, Deadmau5 has defied categorization through his music, and his cutting-edge studio production leaves him as an undisputed champion sitting at the head of any ranking, given his penchant for seemingly limitless creativity.

The album in one word is simply majestic! Deadmau5 effortlessly transitions from progressive electronica, to somber piano melodies, into guitar riffs and back to some innovative electronica that only he can weave as a story never told before. With each track telling a different story, the album sometimes reflect the journey that Zimmerman has been in the last few years, given his intense personal and professional ventures that have bought him fame and fortune. The album finds a balance of delivering the best of both sides of Zimmerman – one that eventually concocts dance-friendly music like no other, meant for Dancefloor euphoria and the other that pushes his artistic innovation to curate sonic textures that have never before been experienced. The majesty in the album lies in its unpredictability; the fact that a 25 disc album can hold tracks of such depth and variety is not a modern day producer’s practice, and Deadmau5 delivers to his promise of electronica excellence through this album, proving once again, that besides all the vocal exchanges he might be having on social media – Zimmerman is still one of the shining lights of the Dance Music industry.

The Album opens up with the magical ‘Avaritia‘. One may recall how he opened his Mumbai leg on his recently concluded India tour with this beautiful composition. An ascendant lead synth melody conjoined with a rumbling beat, joined later by some hard hitting basslines and trickling percussion work. Meanwhile ‘Coelacanth I‘ which is the first of a two part Instrumental interludes that is just one of the many near beatless electronic ballads that finds its place on the album around every corner. Having previewed it previously, the track finds its space on the album as part of the interlude between tracks, easing the tension and introduces intense chordplay and synthwork a-la-Mau5 style. ‘Ice Age‘ by How To Destroy Angels finds its place next on the album, as Deadmau5 remixes the track in an almost Glitch fashion with funky interplay of beats and chords, besides some alluring female vocals that make this track a dual treat as an easy listening jam or a dancefloor interlude  – whichever way you choose to look at it!

With ‘My Pet Coelacanth‘, Deadmau5 returns the sub bass factor onto the album, with his innocuous and expanding basslines added to the drone like synth breakdowns is only interrupted by an explicit vocal, that may cause a stare and a smile! With ‘Infra Turbo Pigcart Racer‘, Deadmau5 returns to his own brand of christened Progressive electronica with organ chords and melodic progressions et all, married to layers of bass and FX, with the often returning zing of a speeding racecar. Perhaps his homage his recent performance at the Gumbal 3000 Rally, the track goes at deep ends of the sonic terrain. ‘Terrors in my head‘ & ‘Creep‘ present a creepy synth breakdown that leaves the listener initially alarmed, but a discerning arrangement of contemplative piano chords later relaxes the tone of the track, and brings back some fervor into the album. The album shifts through various progressive expressions, and with each track, Zimmerman curates many emotive soundscapes that he delivers to absolute sonic perfection.

Perhaps one track that pushes Deadmau5‘s penchant as a visionary producer on this album is ‘Somewhere up here‘. Featuring alluring vocal work alongside some light piano work, a climbing melody lifts our senses and carries us into a breakdown that infuses some trance-driven elements including an ascending melodic overdrive and club-friendly drumwork. A complete surprise, as all tracks prior to this one build a more progressive tone, before this track elevates energies with a euphoric tinge owing to Deadmau5’s fantastic synthwork. ‘Phantoms Cant Hang‘ builds on the energy from the previous track, as it takes an arpeggiating breakdown and marries it to a sharp synth breakdown that transforms itself into the lead melody. Plenty of FX and delays add mystique into the track before a haunting wordless vocal breakdown alongside uplifting pads makes this a piece of wizardry that only Joel can deliver. The first disc ends with the haunting ‘Gula‘, a chilling enterprise of heartful piano work that mirrors the sound terrain from the opening track. That suddenly whisps away into an aggressive breakdown that pounds its way into oblivion as synths and basslines fade away gradually giving us the room to take in more, in the guise of disc 2!

Disc 2 opens with a ‘Acedia‘ as a beautiful piano melody welcomes us to a driving beat and glowing synths in the backdrop. A gradual buildup mark a continuation of the splendid journey and welcomes us into the album’s second chapter. With ‘Invidia‘ and ‘Errors in my head‘, Deadmau5 shows exactly how he can reach depth in sound production in the space between two tracks, as the darker ‘Invidia’ comfortably sits upon and leads into the warmer tones of ‘Errors’. Another shade of his strong inclination for versatility, is his ‘Survivalism‘ remix by Nine Inch Nails, as he looks to draw in some innovation into his album. ‘Silent picture‘ sees him return to shades of electronica after a nu-metal detour, as warm synths halo around a delightful guitar string, all before an immersive breakdown flourishes the listener’s realm with a bass-free melodic ride.

‘Riyehs Lament‘ and ‘Superbia‘ both add a sense of warmth, extending the effect of ‘Silent picture‘ as submersive pads and waveforms dabble around some beautiful piano melodies and synth progressions. With ‘Mercedes‘, one gets the feeling that he’s literally shadowing all his tracks on Disc 1 as he infuses similar energies as he did with ‘turbo pig cart’. Driving, energetic and an aural delight, ‘Mercedes‘ swerves around the senses recreating the tension once build by ‘Creep’. ‘Bleed‘ & ‘Ira‘ add themselves to the list of thought provoking ballads on this album, where an almost beatless soundscape interludes the energetic productions around it allowing listeners to get a full sense of this limitless journey. ‘Monday‘ brings forth an assembly of acoustic guitar riffs with a touching vocal loop that unravels into an environment that features complex rhythms and warbling top-end synthesizers in advance of a brilliant vocoded break. Perhaps the most un-deadmau5 track on the album, the track adds a slow jam effect that is just one of the thought-provoking productions on the album.

With ‘A Moment to Myself’, Deadmau5 continues his journey into lush and emotive soundscapes amidst chirping birds and evergreen atmospherics, only interrupted by the gorgeous piano melodies interspaced between filtered drumlines. One of the finest tracks on the album, simply for its superb production value and finesse in combining sounds from various styles. ‘Pets‘ presents a galloping synth loop that maybe a special dedication to Mr. Meowingtons. Warm effervescent tones garnish the affectionate melody, creating an uplifting tone, just like all pets do. A loving assembly of electronica elements, make this one of the emotionally exalting tracks on the mammoth album. The double disc and the masterpiece concludes with Deadmau5’s brilliant collaboration with Colleen D’Agostino called ‘Seeya‘, which adds plenty of funk and flavor to the album, completing the round of genre fusions and sound osmosis that ‘While (1<2)’ has infused since the first synth tones of ‘Avaritia‘.

The Album is now available for digital download here. Within the next 7 days, the album will further be available for Vinyl and CD releases as well, marking a unique trio of release versions for the Mau5head. It’s clear, that while Deadmau5 has tried, tested, previewed and removed most of the tracks from his new album on previous soundsharing counters, the album still generates plenty of surprise owing to its unique arrangement and choice of sound structure from Joel. Never a man to follow the norm, Deadmau5 knows how to make music, and with ‘While (1<2)’, he once again makes a stand and a statement of delivering only the best in Electronica, that only he can conjure.