With a headline slot on this year’s heavily anticipated Stereosonic tour and a #6 slot in DJ Magazine’s latest Top 100 poll, Joel Zimmerman AKA Deadmau5 is clearly right at the top of the DJ/producer tree, just three years after he was languishing in near total obscurity. Chatting to ITM this week (via email, perhaps as a way of avoiding any more controversial outbursts) the Canadian producer admits that rewinding back three years, he was paying US$800 monthly rent on a tiny apartment while earning just $1,000 a month producing sound loops for a sample library and seriously contemplating finding a ‘real’ job, he admits.

“I was about one week away from stopping music altogether,” he says, “Then my now good friend Chris Lake came over to work with me and helped me get my shit together and asked his management if they would help me. And here we are today. It was close.”

What Chris Lake did was pass on his debut Deadmau5 track Faxing Berlin to Pete Tong, who promptly channelled Radio 1’s massive power behind the track, transforming Joel into an “almost-instant” club star, according to houseplanet.DJ. Following up with a string of massively popular singles and two albums, Random Album Title and the brand new stomper For Lack Of A Better Name, he rapidly became the biggest new crossover artist of dance music, nestling comfortably alongside trance veterans Tiesto and Paul Van Dyk.

However, behind his apparently effortless rise to the top stood ten years of making music with minimal reward apart from a taste of superstar success via a brief stint working with Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee. Teaming up with Lee at the tender age of 18, Joel recalled a surprisingly restrained period with the notorious bad boy rocker. “We never really went out and partied,” he says, “We just sat in his studio with Steve Duda and Aero and made tracks and got drunk there.”

And though the two apparently remain friends, he’s surprisingly sharp when asked how much wisdom and advice Tommy passed on. “Lol wisdom? ha ha ha ha,” he laughs, “Only how to get tattooed and drink Jaegermeister ‘til you pass out. You suck, Tommy.”

Outspoken comments aside, he’s clearly upbeat about his present situation, pumped about how rapturously his new album has been received, and no less excited about his return to Australia to play at the Stereosonic tour across the country.

You experienced enormous overnight success with your first track Faxing Berlin, how long did it take from you sending out the track to your career suddenly exploding?

The way that track really broke was down to James Zabiela and Nic Fanciulli who said to Pete Tong “You got to check this guy out and play his stuff”. So he did. And Faxing Berlin was born.

Had you made many other tracks earlier that you’d sent out similarly that had failed to break through?

No not really, I didn’t know how to get tracks to Pete Tong. Or anybody else at that stage.

DJ mag said in their Top 100 DJ issue that you’re ‘best known for: wearing a big mouse head’: how much do you believe you’d have achieved the same level of success without it?

It’s a monster, for sure. But I like to think I make good music too; it’s not all about the mau5 head. I think I get as big a cheer when I take it off as when I put it back on.”

How many masks do you own?

There are now four. And a new LED head is being built in Canada right now. The LED head is really starting to take shape, we are just not sure when it will be ready to unveil; maybe on New Year’s Eve.

How important is branding to you?

Branding has happened a little by mistake but now it a business in its own right, we have some great merchandise coming out over the next year, you can check this out on my new web site www.deadmau5.com especially the new speaker mau5.

• There’s a large sexual fetish subculture devoted to people dressing up in animal costumes: how much have you encountered these people or been to any parties?*

  Wow really? I had no idea. Is this just a UK thing? It would be really funny to go to one wearing the head. Maybe I’ll try when I’m back over there.

  How about lookalikes: have you met anyone wearing the same costume; or has anyone attempted to pass themselves off as you?

  There was one guy who did it early on in my live days but he got busted so quickly. Now I have tattoos everywhere so it’s nearly impossible for anybody to do it, but people coming to my shows have started making them. Last week in Los Angeles we counted 40 different Deadmau5 in the crowd. That is great to see so many people really making the effort and there are some really well made ones.

  Your comments about some DJs being ‘fucking cunts’ were widely reported: have you encountered any antagonism from any DJs; or anyone else as a result of that?

  This was taken out of all context. In fact I’m tired of talking about this and having to explain. DJs who know me know what I meant.

  In your follow up you added ‘this statement isn’t for you fucking elitist fuckheads’: how much do you see yourself as an outsider?

  Well for a start I’m not a disk jockey, I play live. So as a DJ yes I’m an outsider, but I have some good friends that are DJs. In fact, what does that word even mean anymore with everybody now playing off laptops? The whole word needs reinventing.

  How big a role has luck played in your story?

  None. I would like to think so, anyway. I work very hard and have a great team around me who also work very hard. It’s about building something people can get into and love and feel they are a part of. The fans have been amazing and without them it would have never happened.

  What advice would you offer to someone out there considering DJing in a costume (eg Darth Vader or a furry?)

  Make sure you have it air cooled, it get fucking hot in there.

  Deadmau5’s For Lack Of A Better Name is out now through Ministry of Sound and Universal. inthemix is a proud presenting partner of Stereosonic in 2009! Keep your eyes peeled to our Festival Page at inthemix.com.au/stereosonic and check out the national tour dates below…

  Sat 28th November – Moore Park, Hordern, RHI & Surrounds, Sydney
  Sat 28th November – Foreshore, Canberra
  Sun 29th November – Claremont Showground, Perth
  Sat 5th December – Royal Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne
  Sat 5th December – Bonython Park, Adelaide
  Sun 6th December – Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane