Review: Deadmau5 – While(1 2) 2014

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Very few dance music artists make headlines every second day,that too for non-musical reasons, but at the same time manage to surprise us time and again with the music that they release. Technically, the seventh album that Deadmau5 has produced, Joel likes to call this “the first album I’ve done that I can call an album”. The 7 EP he put up on his SoundCloud was full of deep piano melodies, and he’s carried the sounds from that EP, added delightful synth on them and added some more original tracks and remixes to give us “While 1<2” (While 2 is greater than 1), a title which may be aimed at his split with Kat Von D.

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The album is full of emotions, and just the fact that a listener going through the album can feel the emotions is where the success of this album lies. Not all has been well in Joel’s life since 2012’s Album Title Goes Here, which gave us masterpieces like Telemiscommunications and October. The ups and downs can be heard clearly once the music kicks in, and it is indeed a very well thought out and produced album. It has a little a lot of elements – Pianos, retro sounds, techno inspired rhythm, dark basslines, percussions, more piano, vocal breakdowns, acid sounds (The sounds that everyone will be making come 2015), more piano, a little bit of chill, low chords, heavy chords, Joel has given this 25 track epic saga his all, and that’s more or less what makes it his best work to date.

Some tracks to do standout in the album, and Joel has experimented a lot with genres as well.
Avaritia was one of the outstanding tunes on the 7 EP and it is the opening track on Disc 1, which Joel has taken to a whole new level thanks to the the dramatic shift from the piano intro to the hard hitting dark bassline that builds up the tension and ensures that the emotional element in the track remain at a high level throughout.

Gula was another very impressive track from 7, and what Joel has done to this track has taken it to a whole new level. The heartbreaking piano melody builds up to the hard hitting bassline which then gives way for a stunning almost hypnotic melody. Giving justice to the diversity of sounds used in this track is something only artists of Joel’s calibre can manage.

Creep has a lot of loneliness, a saddening low feeling that just refuses to go away. This was probably one of the harder tracks to produce and the intensity throughout this track is amazing. The voices in the background create a perfect visual scenario for you that blends in smoothly with the sound. This track makes you want to listen to it again and again.

Drop The Poptart (Somewhere Up Here) features stunning vocals and words that speak so much to you. The tune could almost be passed of as trance at first, but becomes a calming progressive melody later. This is one of the tunes that will definitely be stuck in your head long after you’ve heard it.

Phantoms Can’t Hang is unbelievably good. It is quite possibly the best production on the album. The multiple layers of synths work very well for the track and the track continues to impress once it goes into the progressive house mode. The breakdown that kicks in midway through the track will leave you speechless and make you wonder how so much can be expressed through one track.

Disc Two takes off where Disc One left, and we get some more tracks set on the dark theme that influences a large part of this album.

Invidia is another soulful piano solo, that continues that feeling of sadness from the 7 EP, where this track was originally featured. While the other tracks from that EP get an uplift in the album, this track and its saddening piano melody is left untouched, and it is a feeling of incompleteness that Joel beautifully executes and expresses through this album.

Errors In My Bread features a very edgy Daft Punk or Depeche Mode like sound. This is probably the most edgy track and would be very effective if used as a background score in a thriller. It breaks into a piano solo in the middle, making a remarkable mood shift before building up and getting back to the edgy sound. It is a well produced, catchy track that remains one of the highlights of the album.

The beauty of Silent Picture lies in how simple it is. There is no intention to go over the top, just a simple guitar that is so peaceful to listen to. In an album with so much diversity, a track with a guitar sound could not possibly be left out. And this is the simple guitar tune you can hum.

Mercedes features stylishly crafted synth sounds that are a delight to listen to with the massive build up that is the into, and when the song kicks in to the progressive mode, this is as good as any track you will listen to. It is a no-nonsense intense track that will keep you engrossed till the very end.

All in all a very diverse album, and one that sets the bar higher for Deadmau5’ next album (whenever it comes). We can only hope its at least as good as this one.

Download on iTunes.

Stream the 2 discs below.

Deadmau5 – While 1<2 (2014) [PART 1]

Deadmau5 – While(1<2) 2014 [PART 1] by T.H.E – Music Encyclopedia on Mixcloud

Deadmau5 – While 1<2 (2014) [PART 2]

Deadmau5 – While(1 2) 2014 [PART 2] by T.H.E – Music Encyclopedia on Mixcloud

– Review by Shantanu Puro

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