From: Ontario, Canada
DJ style: Progressive.
Best known for: Mouse head.
Joel Zimmerman is a perennial presence in our Top 100 DJs polling and it's no surprise. After all, he — or to be precise, his rodent-headed alter-ego Deadmau5 — has been one of North America’s biggest names within the electronic music realm ever since the release of his 2005 album ‘Get Scraped’. He’s spent the years since refining his music, much of it released on his own Mau5trap Recordings, into the juggernaut it is today; stylistically broad but focusing on a machine-tooled sound that is perfect for pumping out over big soundsystems.
Zimmerman’s currently giving those systems a workout on his We Are Friends tour, coinciding with the release of the 11th edition of his label’s same-titled compilation series — the tour sees the muroid-headed artist share the stage alongside such names as NERO, Kasablanca and Lamorn. The biggest news of all, musically speaking, might involve another big North American name: following up on their 2008 joint venture ‘I Remember’, 2022 saw Zimmerman forming an ongoing bond with Kaskade under the Kx5 banner. The duo have already released a pair of tracks, the sugary ‘Escape’ and the heavier ‘Take Me High’, and unveiled a joint festival set at Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, with more on the way.