The Veldt (song)

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"The Veldt"
Single by Deadmau5 featuring Chris James
from the album Album Title Goes Here
Released8 May 2012 (2012-05-08)
Recorded17–18 March 2012[1]
GenreProgressive house, ambient house
Length11:40 (original mix)[2]
8:40 (8-minute edit)
2:50 (radio edit)
Label
  • mau5trap
  • Ultra (US/Canada)
  • EMI (rest of world)
Songwriter(s)Joel Zimmerman, Chris James
Producer(s)deadmau5
deadmau5 singles chronology
"Maths"
(2012) 		"The Veldt"
(2012) 		"Professional Griefers"
(2012)
Chris James singles chronology
"Totally Worth It"
(2012) 		"The Veldt"
(2012) 		"Together We Are"
(2013)
The Veldt EP

"The Veldt" is a song by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5, featuring vocals by Chris James. The song ranked number 48 on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 best songs of 2012.[3]

Background and composition[edit]

"The Veldt" was inspired by the 1950 short story of the same name by Ray Bradbury. The song was initially created during a 22-hour live streaming session in March 2012. The following day, Zimmerman (Deadmau5) found Chris James, who created his own vocal rendition of the song, via Twitter.[4] Zimmerman was impressed with James' vocals, particularly with the lyrical references to the Ray Bradbury story,[5] and confirmed that the official release of the song would include James' vocals. The song's production was captured on a live streaming session via his official website.[6]

"The Veldt" is a progressive house song with a tempo of 128 beats per minute and is written in the key of A major.[7]

Release[edit]

On April 20, 2012, Zimmerman and Ultra Records uploaded the eight minute-plus version of the song onto their YouTube channels, with the radio edit being uploaded onto Ultra Records' channel on May 7, 2012. Both versions of the song were released the following day.[8][9][10]

The Veldt EP was released on June 24, 2012, and includes the eleven minute-plus original mix of the song, remixes by Freeform Five and Tommy Trash and an original song called "Failbait" featuring Cypress Hill.[11] The original mix of "The Veldt" features a tribal drum intro.

The song was included on the album Album Title Goes Here released late September 2012, in an again slightly differently mixed eight-minute version. The tribal drum intro of the original mix has been left out in this version. The track "Failbait" from The Veldt EP was included on the album as well.

The song was also used during rallies for Justin Trudeau's campaign to become the Canadian Liberal Party Leader, and eventually Prime Minister of Canada.[12]

The title of the song served as inspiration for the name of VELD, an annual musical festival in Toronto that inaugurated in 2012 a few months after the song's release.[13]

Music video[edit]

An official music video was posted to Zimmerman's official YouTube page on June 25, 2012. It was produced by Qudos Animations.[14]

As with the song, the video is based on the short story "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury. It shows two children entering "The Nursery", and running through a savannah landscape with lions and vultures eating bloody dead remains. They stop, and the boy begins to climb up a small mountain. He then suddenly finds his sister standing on the edge of a precipice. He then approaches her and, after pushing her off the edge, jumps off. They slide down the ledge and meet at the ground. The video ends with the two children holding hands as a lion walks off in the distance, leaving behind broken glasses and a trail of blood, presumably of their parents. The video is dedicated to Bradbury, who died weeks before the video was published. The video's art style, which makes heavy use of dark silhouettes and puppet-like animation, bears a strong resemblance to the independent video game Limbo.

Track listing[edit]

Digital download – Single[15]
No.TitleLength
1."The Veldt" (Radio Edit)2:50
2."The Veldt" (8 Minute Edit)8:39
Digital download – EP[16]
No.TitleLength
1."The Veldt" (featuring Chris James) (Original Mix)11:34
2."Failbait" (featuring Cypress Hill) (Original Mix)4:49
3."The Veldt" (featuring Chris James) (Freeform Five Remix)3:11
4."The Veldt" (featuring Chris James) (Tommy Trash Remix)6:52

Charts[edit]

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format Label
Worldwide (except U.S. & Canada) 8 May 2012 Digital download EMI, Mau5trap
U.S. & Canada Ultra Records

References[edit]

  1. ^ "DJ Mag". Archived from the original on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  2. ^ "The Veldt EP - Digital Albums - the Deadmau5 Official Store". Archived from the original on 2012-06-27. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  3. ^ "50 Best Songs of 2012". Rolling Stone. 5 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Chris Jamesさんのツイート: "@deadmau5 did some unique shoegaze-ish vocals over "The Veldt" based on the story. Hope you enjoy"". 13 February 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-02-13. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Deadmau5 finds the vocals for The Veldt March 20 2012 - YouTube". YouTube. 22 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-05-22. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  6. ^ Alanbay, Kelly (May 8, 2012). "DEADMAU5 'THE VELDT'". Mixmag. Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  7. ^ "The Veldt (Original Mix) by deadmau5 ft. Chris James from Ultra". Beatport. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  8. ^ "deadmau5 feat. Chris James - The Veldt". YouTube. April 20, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  9. ^ "deadmau5 feat. Chris James - The Veldt". YouTube. April 20, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  10. ^ "deadmau5 ft. Chris James - The Veldt (Radio Edit)". YouTube. May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  11. ^ "deadmau5 - Failbait featuring Cypress Hill". YouTube.
  12. ^ "Musical politics: How election campaigns choose their songs". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Deadmau5 Plays to Enraptured Crowd at Inaugural Veld Music Festival". Rolling Stone. August 5, 2012.
  14. ^ "deadmau5 feat. Chris James - The Veldt (Music Video)". YouTube. June 25, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  15. ^ "The Veldt (feat. Chris James) - Single by deadmau5 on Apple Music". Apple Music. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  16. ^ "The Veldt - EP by deadmau5 on Apple Music". Apple Music. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  17. ^ "Deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  18. ^ "Deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt" (in French). Ultratip.
  19. ^ "deadmau5 Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "deadmau5 Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  21. ^ "deadmau5 Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  22. ^ "Deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt" (in French). Les classement single.
  23. ^ "Chart Track: Week 27, 2012". Irish Singles Chart.
  24. ^ "Deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  25. ^ "Deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt". Swiss Singles Chart.
  26. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  27. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  28. ^ "Latest Music News, Band, Artist, Musician & Music Video News | Billboard.com". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  29. ^ "deadmau5 Chart History - Hot Dance/Electronic Songs". Billboard Charts. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  30. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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