Danger Mouse
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- This article is about the music producer. For the British cartoon series, see DangerMouse.
| Danger Mouse | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Brian Burton | |
| Origin | Atlanta, GA | |
| Website | dangermousesite.com | |
Brian Joseph Burton, better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American Artist and producer whose most recent work is with Cee-Lo as the duo Gnarls Barkley. He came to prominence in 2004 when he remixed The Beatles (more commonly known as The White Album) and rapper Jay-Z's The Black Album to create The Grey Album.
He has also produced the second Gorillaz album, 2005's Demon Days, which earned him a Grammy nomination for Producer of the Year. In addition, he worked with rapper MF DOOM on the collaboration DANGERDOOM.
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[edit] Biography
Brian Burton was born in White Plains, New York; he spent much of his childhood in Spring Valley, New York and lived in Athens, Georgia for a long time where his electronica work was released under the name "Pelican City". He also remixed work by several local artists, including Neutral Milk Hotel[1] and DJ'd for Athens radio station WUOG-FM. From 1998 to 2003 Burton also created a series of remix CDs and records under the stage name Danger Mouse. He used to do sets in a mouse outfit because he was too shy to show his face, and took his name from the British cartoon series DangerMouse.
While in Athens, Burton took second place in a 1998 talent contest and was asked to open for a concert at the University of Georgia featuring OutKast and Goodie Mob. Afterwards, Burton approached Cee-Lo, a member of Goodie Mob, and gave him an instrumental demo tape. It would be several years before the pair made contact again, but the two would eventually collaborate as Gnarls Barkley.[2]
Burton moved to England for a couple of years, living in New Cross in London and working at the Rose pub near London Bridge. Whilst he was in the U.K., he sent a demo to Lex Records, who signed him. Burton's first original releases under the name Danger Mouse were his collaborations with rapper Jemini, including the album Ghetto Pop Life, released in 2003 on Lex Records. While the Danger Mouse debut was well received by critics, he did not rise to fame until he created The Grey Album, mixing a cappella versions of Jay Z's The Black Album over beats crafted from samples of The Beatles' White Album. The remix album, originally created just for his friends, spread over the Internet and became very popular with both the general audience and critics, with Rolling Stone calling it "the ultimate remix record"[3] and Entertainment Weekly ranking it the best record of the year.[4] He discusses his feelings about any controversy the album may have created in the documentary Alternative Freedom. Danger Mouse was also named among the Men of the Year by GQ in 2004 and won a 2005 Wired Rave Award.[5]
The Grey Album also got the attention of Damon Albarn, who enlisted Danger Mouse to produce the Gorillaz' second studio album, Demon Days (much to the dismay of Gorillaz' record company EMI, which also holds the rights to The Beatles' records and had previously served cease and desist orders against Danger Mouse over the use of their material on The Grey Album). Demon Days earned Burton a Grammy Award nomination for Producer of the Year.
Danger Mouse's next project was The Mouse and the Mask, a collaboration with MF DOOM (as DANGERDOOM) about and for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. The two had previously collaborated on the Danger Mouse remix of Zero 7's "Somersault", on the Prince Paul track "Social Distortion", and on Gorillaz' "November Has Come".
In 2006, Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo (as Gnarls Barkley) released their first album, St. Elsewhere, which included the international hit single "Crazy". "Crazy" became the first UK number-one single based solely on downloads.[6]
A collaborative album with Black Thought of The Roots is said to be in the works,[7] as well as another collaboration with Damon Albarn under the name The Good, the Bad and the Queen. He also produced two tracks on The Rapture's 2006 album Pieces of the People We Love.
In August and September of 2006, Danger Mouse collaborated with British graffiti artist Banksy to replace 500 copies of Paris Hilton's album Paris in English music stores with altered album artwork and a 40 minute instrumental song containing various ridiculous statements she had made.[8]
[edit] Philosophy
In an interview for the New York Times Magazine, Danger Mouse described himself as an auteur, basing his music production philosophy on the cinematic philosophy of directors like Woody Allen. "Woody Allen was an auteur: he did his Thing, and that particular Thing was completely his own," he said. "That's what I decided to do with music. I want to create a director's role within music, which is what I tried to do on this album (St. Elsewhere).... I have to be in control of the project I'm doing. I can create different kinds of musical worlds, but the artist needs the desire to go into that world.... Musically, there is no one who has the career I want. That's why I have to use film directors as a model." [9]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Danger Mouse
- Danger Mouse & Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life (2003)
- Danger Mouse, Jay-Z, & The Beatles - The Grey Album (2004)
- Gorillaz - Demon Days (2005)
- DANGERDOOM (Danger Mouse and MF DOOM) - The Mouse and the Mask (2005)
- Gnarls Barkley (Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo) - St. Elsewhere (2006)
- DANGERDOOM - Occult Hymn (download EP, 2006)
- The Rapture - Pieces of the People We Love (2006)
- Sparklehorse - Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain (2006)
- The Good, the Bad and the Queen - The Good, the Bad and the Queen (set for 2007)
[edit] Pelican City
- Pelican City - The Chilling Effect (1999)
- Pelican City - Rhode Island (2000)
- Pelican City and Scanner - Pelican City vs Scanner EP (2002)
[edit] Promos (Rare and/or Out of Print)
- Danger Mouse - Danger Mouse Promo: Volume 1 (1998)
- Danger Mouse - Danger Mouse Promo: Volume 2 (1999)
- Danger Mouse - Danger Mouse Promo: Volume 3 (2000)
- Danger Mouse - Danger Mouse Promo: Volume 4 (2000)
- Danger Mouse - Danger Mouse Promo: Remix EP 12" White (2001)
- Danger Mouse - Danger Mouse Promo: Remix EP 12" Red (2002)
- Danger Mouse - Danger Mouse Promo: Remix EP 12" Yellow (2003)
[edit] Contributions
- Verve Remixed 3 (2005) - Dinah Washington - "Baby, Did You Hear?" Danger Mouse Remix
[edit] References
- ^ How's this for mash-up: Danger Mouse meets Cee-Lo. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on August 23, 2006.
- ^ The D.J. Auteur. New York Times Magazine. Retrieved on June 20, 2006.
- ^ "DJ Makes Jay-Z Meet Beatles". Rolling Stone. Retrieved on April 13, 2006.
- ^ "Records of the year". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on April 13, 2006.
- ^ The 2005 Wired Rave Awards. Wired. Retrieved on April 13, 2006.
- ^ "Crazy song makes musical history". BBC News. Retrieved on April 2, 2006.
- ^ "Danger Mouse - The man behind Gnarls Barkley" (Real audio stream). Lamacq Live on BBC Radio 1 . Retrieved on April 13, 2006.
- ^ "Danger Mouse, Banksy Burn Paris". Spin. Retrieved on September 8, 2006.
- ^ The D.J. Auteur. New York Times Magazine. Retrieved on June 20, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Mix of songs produced by Danger Mouse at The Art of the Mix
- Grey Tuesday
- Illegal-art.org: The Grey Album Download
- Cease and desist letter from EMI #1
- The 2005 Wired Rave Awards
- DangerDoom - Collaboration with MF Doom Official Website
- Dangermouse BBC Radio One Documentary (requires RealPlayer and Flash)
| Gorillaz |
| 2D | Murdoc Niccals | Noodle | Russel Hobbs |
| Gorillaz discography |
|---|
| Albums and EPs: Tomorrow Comes Today | Gorillaz | G-Sides | Laika Come Home | Demon Days |
| DVDs: Phase One: Celebrity Take Down | Demon Days Live | Phase Two: Slowboat to Hades |
| Singles: Clint Eastwood | 19-2000 | Rock the House | 911 | Tomorrow Comes Today | Lil' Dub Chefin' | Feel Good Inc. | DARE | Dirty Harry | Kids With Guns / El Mañana |
| Related articles |
| Britpop | Blur | Damon Albarn | Jamie Hewlett | Dan the Automator | Danger Mouse | Del tha Funkee Homosapien | Zombie Flesh Eaters | Passion Pictures | Deltron 3030 | Gorillaz movie | Rise Of The Ogre |
