deadmau5

Solo Artist

Photo: Octavio Ruiz Cervera · CC BY-SA 2.0
Active 2005-present
Origin Niagara Falls, Ontario
Albums 10
Tracks 139
Most frequent collaborator Rob Swire · 3 tracks
Genres ElectronicProgressive HouseElectro HouseTechnoAmbient Electronic
Complete Artist
100%
Authorship

Holds writing credit on 139 of 139 tracks

Did deadmau5 write his own songs?

Yes, effectively all of them. deadmau5, real name Joel Zimmerman, writes and produces every track himself and holds a writing credit on nearly 100% of his music. His instrumentals like 'Strobe' and 'Some Chords' are entirely his, and on vocal tracks such as 'Ghosts 'n' Stuff' or 'The Veldt' the only co-writers are the guest singers who wrote and performed the words.

By the Numbers

10
Studio Albums
139
Tracks Credited
100%
Self-Written
21
Years Active
37
Collaborators

Authorship Breakdown 139 / 139 self-written

Who wrote the songs?

Across all 139 tracks: how many deadmau5 wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.

deadmau5 has a writing credit100%
77%
23%
Sole author107tracks77%
Co-written32tracks23%
Outside writers0tracks0%

Role Fingerprint how they contribute

Lyricist Performer Composer Producer
deadmau5's roles across the catalogue

Share of all 139 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.

Lyricist (words)2%
Composer (music)100%
Producer89%
Performer25%

Authorship Over Time writing credit per album

deadmau5's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.

avg 100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
2005Get Scraped
2006Vexillology
2008Random Album Title
2009For Lack of a Better Name
20104×4=12
2012Album Title Goes Here
2014while(1<2)
2016W:/2016ALBUM/
2017stuff i used to do
2019here's the drop!
Early · 100% written
Mid · 100% written
Late · 100% written

Authorship by Decade track-weighted

100%
2000s
Get Scraped, Vexillology +2 more
100%
2010s
4×4=12, Album Title Goes Here +4 more

Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author

Where deadmau5 sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.

deadmau5
Other artists on the site

Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.

Katseye0%
The Pussycat Dolls21%
Josh Groban29%
Rihanna44%
Mario57%
Kesha77%
The Chemical Brothers92%
100%deadmau5
Pure Performer0%
Songwriter~50%
Complete Author100%

Who Really Wrote the Hits signature songs

Right This Second
4×4=12
Written by Joel Thomas Zimmermann
Wrote it
Sofi Needs a Ladder
4×4=12
Written by SOFI, Joel Thomas Zimmermann
Co-wrote

Discography 10 albums

Covers all 8 deadmau5 solo studio albums. Also includes the 2017 compilation Stuff I Used to Do and the unverified 2023 release here's the drop. Vexillology (2006) track titles sourced from Last.fm, to be verified against the original release.

Collaborator Network who they worked with most

deadmau5139 tracks
3Rob Swire, 3 tracks 3Wolfgang Gartner, 3 tracks CJ3Chris James, 3 tracks L3Lights, 3 tracks S2SOFI, 2 tracks 2Gerard Way, 2 tracks on My Chemical Romance's page CD2Colleen D'Agostino, 2 tracks G2Grabbitz, 2 tracks K1Kaskade, 1 track FB1Finn Bjarnson, 1 track MF1MC Flipside, 1 track CL1Chris Lake, 1 track GS1Greta Svabo Bech, 1 track CH1Cypress Hill, 1 track IH1Imogen Heap, 1 track IH1imogen heap, 1 track B1B-Real, 1 track on Cypress Hill's page SD1Sen Dog, 1 track on Cypress Hill's page EF1Elyar Fox, 1 track TN1The Neptunes, 1 track K1Kiesza, 1 track SH1Shotty Horroh, 1 track MP1Morgan Page, 1 track T1Tinlicker, 1 track GR1Gregory Reveret, 1 track R1Rinzen, 1 track SD1Seismal D, 1 track S1Sian, 1 track P1Pig&Dan, 1 track NM1No Mana, 1 track MZ1Mad Zach, 1 track G1Gallya, 1 track SB1Spencer Brown, 1 track MB1Mr. Bill, 1 track ML1Matt Lange, 1 track DK1Dom Kane, 1 track P1PEEKABOO, 1 track

Bubble size = tracks worked on together. CJ Chris James · L Lights · S SOFI

Photo credits

Portraits in the web and the rail come from Wikimedia Commons. The artist's own photo carries its credit under the picture.

The Authorship Story

Data Insight

deadmau5's authorship score approaches 100%, he writes and produces every track himself with no outside songwriters. The score is almost entirely in the composer column; lyricist credit only appears on the handful of vocal tracks in his catalog, where guest vocalists (like Chris James or Rob Swire) wrote and performed the words. His catalog is a useful baseline for what 'pure composer' authorship looks like in electronic music.

Quick Facts

  • GrammysSeven nominations, no wins
  • mau5headPerforms in a custom light-up mouse-head helmet
  • LabelFounded the influential mau5trap label in 2007
  • StyleMostly instrumental progressive house built on synths and DAWs, not samples
  • Signature'Strobe' and 'Ghosts 'n' Stuff' defined the 2009-2012 electronic boom

Creative Fingerprint

A pure producer-composer: deadmau5 writes and builds every track himself, credited alone on his instrumentals and adding a guest only as co-writer of the lyrics on his handful of vocal songs.

The Story

deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman, born January 5, 1981) is a Canadian electronic music producer known for his distinctive mouse-head helmet and expansive, texture-driven progressive house sound. He rose to prominence in the late 2000s with tracks like 'Strobe,' 'Some Chords,' and 'I Remember,' and became one of the defining figures of the DJ/producer era that defined electronic music's mainstream breakthrough around 2010-2012. Unlike many of his peers, deadmau5 is skeptical of DJ culture and openly critical of producers who don't play live instruments, he builds his music on synthesizers, samplers, and DAWs, and his catalog is largely instrumental.

Awards & Recognition

Seven Grammy Award nominations
Random Album Title certified gold in Canada and silver in the United Kingdom
'I Remember' (with Kaskade) has been named one of the 200 greatest dance songs of all time
A defining figure of the late-2000s progressive house and electronic dance boom

Frequently Asked Questions deadmau5

Did deadmau5 write his own songs?
Yes, effectively all of them. deadmau5, real name Joel Zimmerman, writes and produces every track himself and holds a writing credit on nearly 100% of his music. His instrumentals like 'Strobe' and 'Some Chords' are entirely his, and on vocal tracks such as 'Ghosts 'n' Stuff' or 'The Veldt' the only co-writers are the guest singers who wrote and performed the words.
Who wrote 'Strobe'?
'Strobe' (2009) was written and produced entirely by deadmau5. It is an instrumental and one of his most acclaimed tracks, often called his signature song.
Who is deadmau5?
deadmau5 is the stage name of Joel Zimmerman, a Canadian electronic music producer from Niagara Falls, Ontario. He is known for performing in a large light-up mouse-head helmet called the mau5head.
Who wrote 'Ghosts 'n' Stuff'?
'Ghosts 'n' Stuff' (2009) was written by deadmau5 with Rob Swire of Pendulum, who wrote and sang the vocal. The instrumental and production are deadmau5's.
Who wrote 'I Remember'?
'I Remember' (2008) was a collaboration between deadmau5 and Kaskade, so both are credited as writers. It has been named one of the greatest dance songs of all time.
How many albums has deadmau5 released?
This catalogue covers 10 of his releases, including all his solo studio albums from Get Scraped (2005) onward plus the compilation Stuff I Used to Do.
Has deadmau5 won a Grammy?
No. He has received seven Grammy nominations over his career but has not won.
What is mau5trap?
mau5trap is the record label deadmau5 founded in 2007. It has released his own music and helped launch other electronic artists.
Does deadmau5 use samples?
Rarely. He is openly critical of sample-based production and builds his music from synthesizers and software instead, which is part of why he is credited as the sole composer on most of his tracks.
What genre is deadmau5?
He is best known for progressive house and electro house, often long, atmospheric, and largely instrumental, a sound that made him one of the defining artists of electronic music's mainstream peak around 2010.

Sources

Wikipedia: deadmau5 discography Wikipedia: deadmau5 File:Deadmau5 live.jpg - Wikimedia Commons