deadmau5′ mau5trap Releases ‘We Are Friends Vol. 12’ Discovery Compilation

Following 2025 releases from its label leader deadmau5, BlackGummy, Becking, Screamarts, Skellytn and Lamorn, mau5trap fires into 2026 with the first of two disks for its 12th volume of the compilation series We Are Friends Vol 12 today, January 9. mau5trap continues its dedication to nurturing new and future forward projects with the collections focus track “1 of My Kind” from The XTTC following singles “Supersonic Electronic (on acid)” from Ciauru and “Strobe” (&friends, Moeaike Retake), the featured remix in disk 1.

The XTTC is an anonymous collaboration between two creatives: an electronic music producer/DJ and a visual artist with roots in comics and large-scale concert visuals. It’s a high-concept music and art project built around the fantasy lives of three characters; X, Ruby Knives, and Lil C. A trio of masked vigilantes who exist to disrupt symbols of power, bend social order, and inject chaos into a system that thrives on obedience. All soundtracked by driving electro, seductive vocals, and dark-room energy, and presented as cinematic story-telling.

This is not a virtual band. It’s a deliberate use of alter-egos.  In a time when identity is scraped, tracked, packaged, and fed into algorithms designed to predict and control behavior, The XTTC chooses anonymity as resistance. The characters aren’t hiding a lack of humanity, they’re protecting it. They allow two artists to step outside authorship, ego, and visibility culture, and to manifest a space where rebellion, contradiction, and freedom can exist without consequence.  The project is an invitation to all outsiders to join the unified resistance. Dance and Destroy.

The XTTC sits alongside other unique artists on WAF12. Hailing from Italy Ciauru, lead the charge with club-oriented track “Supersonic Electronic (on acid)” packed with tribal rhythms, beeps and bloops punching in all the right places. For the only remix on disk 1, mau5trap tapped emerging artists &friends and Moeaike for a retake on deadmau5 classic “Strobe.” &friends continues to solidify his place as one of the most exciting and intentional artists in the global electronic scene following the breakout success of his singles “Temptation” with Bipolar Sunshine and “Jackie B.” Italian duo Moeaike known for their 2024 breakout hit “Mala Fama” are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the electronic music scene. Exclusively for WAF 12, together they join a prestigious list of artists which include Layton Giordani, Dimension and Lane 8 to officially remix “Strobe.”  Alongside these two releases, other featured new artists to discover include Avis Vox, Hreez, ELAC, Me & You, Penultimate and more.