The Veldt (song)

"The Veldt"
Single by deadmau5 featuring Chris James
from the album Album Title Goes Here
Released	8 May 2012
Format	Digital download
Recorded	17–18 March 2012[1]
Genre	Progressive house, ambient house
Length	11:40 (Original Mix)[2] 8:40 (8 Minute Edit) 2:50 (Radio Edit)
Label	mau5trap Ultra Records (US/Canada) EMI (Rest of world)
Writer(s)	Joel Zimmerman, Chris James
Producer(s)	deadmau5
deadmau5 singles chronology
"Maths" (2012) "The Veldt" (2012) "Professional Griefers" (2012) Chris James singles chronology "The Veldt" (2012)

"The Veldt" is a progressive house song by Canadian electronic music producer deadmau5, featuring guest vocals by Chris James.

The song ranked number 48 on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 best songs of 2012.^[3]

Background

"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 found Chris James, who created his own vocal rendition of the song, via Twitter. Zimmerman was impressed with James' vocals, particularly with the lyrical references to the Ray Bradbury story,^[4] 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.^[5]

Composition

The song is in the key of A major, at a tempo of 128 beats per minute (BPM).

Release

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.^[6][7][8]

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.^[9] 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.^[10]

Music video

An official music video was posted to Zimmerman's official YouTube page on June 25, 2012. It was produced by Qudos Animations.^[11]

As with the song, the video is based on "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 Ray 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

Single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Veldt" (Radio Edit)	2:50
2.	"The Veldt" (8 Minute Edit)	8:40

EP

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Veldt" (Original Mix)	11:34
2.	"Failbait" (featuring Cypress Hill)	4:51
3.	"The Veldt" (Freeform Five Remix)	3:13
4.	"The Veldt" (Tommy Trash Short Edit)	4:13

Chart performance

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[12]	35
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[13]	19
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[14]	24
France (SNEP)[15]	149
Ireland (IRMA)[16]	31
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17]	63
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18]	68
UK Dance (Official Charts Company)[19]	16
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[20]	68
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[21]	43

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Worldwide (except U.S. & Canada)	8 May 2012	Digital download	EMI, mau5trap
U.S. & Canada			Ultra Records

References

1. http://www.djmag.com/news/detail/3333
2. http://www.deadmau5store.co.uk/deadmau5/Digital-Albums/The-Veldt-EP/11HM102HY000;jsessionid=24AE30287EDCF979BA0FBE2BCB74DFDC
3. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-songs-of-2012-20121205/deadmau5-the-veldt-19691231
4. "Deadmau5 finds the vocals for The Veldt March 20, 2012" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgeWHnSmPKE
5. Alanbay, Kelly (May 8, 2012). "DEADMAU5 'THE VELDT'". Mixmag. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
6. "deadmau5 feat. Chris James - The Veldt". April 20, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
7. "deadmau5 feat. Chris James - The Veldt". April 20, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
8. "deadmau5 ft. Chris James - The Veldt (Radio Edit)". May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
9. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/preorder/the-veldt-ep/id530665679.
10. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/musical-politics-how-election-campaigns-choose-their-songs-1.3224419
11. "deadmau5 feat. Chris James - The Veldt (Music Video)". June 25, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
12. "Ultratop.be – Deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
13. "Ultratop.be – Deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt" (in French). Ultratip.
14. "deadmau5 – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for deadmau5.
15. "Lescharts.com – Deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt" (in French). Les classement single.
16. "Chart Track: Week 27, 2012". Irish Singles Chart.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
18. "Swisscharts.com – Deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt". Swiss Singles Chart.
19. "Archive Chart: 2012-05-19" UK Dance Chart.
20. "Archive Chart: 2012-05-19" UK Singles Chart.
21. http://www.billboard.com/news#/column/chartbeat/chart-highlights-mumford-sons-i-will-wait-1007816352.story