''W:/2016ALBUM/''

W:/2016ALBUM/
Studio album by deadmau5
Released	2 December 2016
Genre	EDM[1]
Length	67:42
Label	mau5trap
Producer	Joel Zimmerman
deadmau5 chronology
while(1<2) (2014)String Module Error: Match not found2014 W:/2016ALBUM/ (2016)
Singles from W:/2016ALBUM/
"Snowcone" Released: May 27, 2016 "Let Go" Released: November 18, 2016

W:/2016ALBUM/ is the eighth studio album by Canadian record producer deadmau5, released on 2 December 2016 digitally by his vanity record label mau5trap Recordings, and on Vinyl and CD on February 17 and March 17 respectively.^[2][3] The album's title, which was suggested by fans on Twitch, refers to a computer directory on Zimmerman's network-attached storage server used to store the master tracks of the songs on the album.^[4] The album features several tracks Zimmerman uploaded to his SoundCloud account, prior to it being compromised.^[5] W:/2016ALBUM/ is also his first studio album to be released only by mau5trap. Two singles from the album have been released: "Snowcone" and "Let Go" featuring Grabbitz.^[6]

Background

deadmau5 first announced the album's release during an interview with Pete Tong of BBC Radio 1 on 7 November 2016. Zimmerman stated that the album would have "an 80's sci-fi fantasy vibe," which he credits to his purchase of a Prophet 10 synthesizer.^[4] Shortly afterwards, the album's track list was leaked on Reddit, based on one that appeared briefly during a Twitch stream made by Zimmerman a month before.

Zimmerman eventually revealed that he was not satisfied with the album, stating that he felt it was "slapped together".^[7] He had previously hinted that he was already working on his next album.^[8] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Zimmerman said he was dissatisfied with the album because "it's not written from start to finish; it's over a year's worth of work that doesn't correlate".^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	5.8/10[10]
Metacritic	63/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Exclaim!	6/10[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
The Guardian	[1]
Pitchfork	5.9/10[15]
The Irish Times	[16]
Drowned In Sound	[17]

Upon release, W:/2016ALBUM/ received mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 63, indicating "generally favourable reviews", based on 8 reviews. The Guardian gave the album a mostly positive review, stating: "This might be far from a perfect album, but it's certainly nothing to be ashamed of". Rolling Stone gave a mostly positive review as well saying "Fist-pumpy EDM cheese this most certainly is not. Instead, W:/2016ALBUM/ works equally in a field, car or headphones, the latest catalog entry from an artist who continues to delight in bucking expectations". Clash Magazine also gave a positive review saying "An album free from the shackles of a major label and its consequential rampant commercialism was always going to produce something that didn't immediately pander to its keg fuelled audience. The surprise is just how well deadmau5 pulls it off. If he actually makes a record he likes - it could be ground-breaking".

The Irish Times gave it a mostly negative review, stating "The problem is that Zimmerman obviously didn’t care too much about the final outcome to bother his hoop on the spit and polish process. Maybe W:/2017ALBUM/ will be better." scoring it 2/5 stars. Jon Falcone from Drowned In Sound gave it a overwhelmingly negative review, noting that "nothing goes anywhere, and yet every song is so long. It's painful" awarding it only 1/10.

Track listing

Notes

• All copies of the vinyl format replace the standard version of "Let Go" with the extended version.
• Some pre-release copies of the CD had the extended version of "Let Go" instead of No Mana's remix of Strobe.^[18]

Charts

Release history

References

External links

• deadmau5 - W:/2016ALBUM/minimix