In the two years since releasing his 2022 single “XYZ,” deadmau5 has been on an extended collaborative streak, teaming up with his protégé Rezz (as REZZMAU5) and releasing an album with fellow North American dance-music superstar Kaskade (as Kx5). The Canadian artist also celebrated his 25th anniversary in music. some ep is a return to solo status and to the classic sounds that have made deadmau5 a singular name. The opening track “Quezacotl” is an exercise in tension-release, as looming waves of enveloping drones and beaming synths crest into his signature progressive-house melodies. “Sever” leans more eerie, its kick drum rhythm speeding past ominous blaring synths and sidewinding accents, and “Input Output”—a tribute to the late producer and mau5trap affiliate i_o—is a nearly 10-minute odyssey of swelling chord progressions and thundering drops. some ep also revives deadmau5’s techno-centric TESTPILOT alias, which started in 2013 and released one track in 2014. New addition “Wet” is unadulterated warehouse techno, dark, slippery, and squelching as if it were submerging into murky depths.
- No Mana, Feed Me & Bertie Scott
- Kaskade & Just_us
- Tiësto, Lucas & Steve, Silent Child & Sān-Z
- TESTPILOT
- Skrillex, Hamdi & Taichu