Deadmau5’s got some of the best light show/visuals in the business with his “normal” set equipment. But projecting those visuals onto a London skyscraper? Hot damn.
The stunt was ostensibly for the release of Nokia’s new Lumia 800 phone, though calling it “4D” is a bit hokey. What, did that light travel across time? Nevertheless, that Lumia is still a mighty sexy phone and associating it with pretty colors and a popular DJ can’t do it any harm.
I’ll admit, Deadmau5’s latest album, 4×4=12, wasn’t exactly my favorite mix of songs. Sure, it had some nice tracks (“Some Chords,” “Right This Second”), but it doesn’t come close to some of his other mixes or previous albums. It just felt a bit disjointed and not quite memorable.
Fortunately, his new song, “HR 8938 Cephei,” is pure awesome. It has a more “traditional” electronica trance-y feel, eliciting visions of a journey through space. (Which makes sense, given that the title of the track is the name of a distant star.)
Best listened to while driving at night or on a rainy day or when you just need some music to get you through the workday. Clocking in at just under 11 minutes, it’s an epic soundtrack for when you have to just do shit.
DJ Hero gets a bad rap for being another tendril of Uncle Bobby Kotick’s profit machine. While I won’t argue the shamelessness of charging $149.99 for a game with plastic peripheral, the actual gameplay of DJ Hero harkened back to the halcyon days of music gaming before expensive plastic peripherals entered the picture. I’m talking about games like Frequency or Amplitude which were more about good music and good hand-eye coordination skills, rather than cramming in motion captured artists or non-fail gameplay modes so Grandma can strum a plastic guitar with the family.
Activision announced the sequel a couple of days ago, and it’s looking like they’re trying to make it a “party” game. Microphone support and “battle” gameplay modes are the big additions. I’m not too excited about pretending to “outscratch” my friends at social gatherings, but I am excited for some awesome new mixes. The mash-ups in DJ Hero were by and large very cool and stuff I wouldn’t be embarrassed to listen to away from the game.
Case in point: They’re giving away a free Lady GaGa – Let’s Dance vs. Deadmau5 – Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff DLC for owners of the original game until June 14th. I’ve played it and it’s good times. It’s worth dusting off the old plastic turntable for.
Download the GaGa/Deadmau5 mix for free on Xbox Live Marketplace.
At first I was like, “Yesssss, this shit PUMPS ME UP!” Then I was like, “I like it, but it’s not anything groundbreaking”. Now I find myself outside randomly wishing I could hear it right now.