Danger Mouse (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Danger Mouse
Danger Mouse performing with Broken Bells in 2010
Background information
Birth name	Brian Joseph Burton
Born	(1977-07-29) July 29, 1977 (age 48) White Plains, New York, U.S.
Genres	Trip hop hip hop alternative rock electronica
Occupation(s)	Musician record producer songwriter
Instruments	Keyboards bass drums percussion guitar
Years active	1998–present
Labels	30th Century BMG Capitol Lex Records Parlophone

Brian Joseph Burton (born July 29, 1977), known as Danger Mouse, is a famous American musician and music producer. He became well-known in 2004. This was after he released The Grey Album. This album mixed songs from Jay-Z's The Black Album with music from The Beatles' The Beatles, also called The White Album. In 2008, Esquire magazine said he was one of the "75 most influential people of the 21st century".

Danger Mouse started the band Gnarls Barkley with CeeLo Green in 2006. He produced their albums St. Elsewhere and The Odd Couple. In 2009, he teamed up with James Mercer from the band The Shins to form Broken Bells. This band has released three albums. Their most recent one is Into the Blue (2022). Burton also worked with rapper MF Doom as Danger Doom on The Mouse and the Mask. He also collaborated with rapper Black Thought on Cheat Codes.

Danger Mouse produced the second Gorillaz album, Demon Days, in 2005. He also produced Beck's 2008 album Modern Guilt. He worked on four albums with The Black Keys: Attack & Release, Brothers, El Camino, and Turn Blue. In 2016, he produced, played on, and helped write songs for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' album The Getaway. He has produced and co-written albums for Norah Jones (Little Broken Hearts), Electric Guest (Mondo), Portugal. The Man (Evil Friends), Adele (25), and ASAP Rocky (At.Long.Last.ASAP). He has been nominated for 22 Grammy Awards and has won six. He won the Producer of the Year award in 2011.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Brian Joseph Burton was born on July 29, 1977, in White Plains, New York. He grew up in Spring Valley, New York. Later, Burton moved to Stone Mountain, Georgia, near Atlanta. He went to Redan High School there. He then lived in Athens, Georgia. He studied telecommunications at the University of Georgia on a scholarship. While he was a student, he released his early trip hop music. These works included The Chilling Effect (1999), Rhode Island (2000), and Pelican City / Scanner – Pelican City vs. Scanner (2002).

At the University of Georgia, he discovered bands like Nirvana, Pink Floyd, and Portishead. He also learned about the indie rock music scene in Athens. He remixed music by local artists, including Neutral Milk Hotel. He also worked as a DJ for the University of Georgia radio station WUOG-FM.

Music Career Highlights

1998–2004: Early Work and The Grey Album

While in Athens, Brian Burton came in second place in a talent show in 1998. He was asked to open a concert at the University of Georgia. The concert featured OutKast and Goodie Mob. After the show, Burton met CeeLo Green, a member of Goodie Mob. He gave CeeLo a demo tape with his music. He later worked with CeeLo on a remix. When they met for this project, Burton shared more of his music. This led them to start working together as Gnarls Barkley.

From 1998 to 2003, Burton made many remix CDs and records. He used the stage name Danger Mouse. He wore a mouse outfit when he performed because he was shy. He got his name from the English cartoon show Danger Mouse.

Burton moved to Britain for a few years. He lived in New Cross in London and worked at a pub. While there, he sent a demo to Lex Records, who signed him. Burton then moved to Los Angeles. His first original music as Danger Mouse was with rapper Jemini. They released the album Ghetto Pop Life in 2003 on Lex Records. Critics liked this album.

However, he became truly famous after he created The Grey Album. This album mixed the singing parts of Jay-Z's The Black Album with music made from samples of The Beatles' album, also known as The White Album. He originally made this remix album just for his friends. But it became very popular online. Both regular listeners and music critics loved it. Rolling Stone called it the best remix album ever. Entertainment Weekly said it was the best record of that year. Danger Mouse was named one of the "Men of the Year" by GQ in 2004. He also won a 2005 Wired Rave Award.

2004–2007: Gorillaz and Gnarls Barkley

The Grey Album caught the attention of Damon Albarn. He asked Danger Mouse to produce Gorillaz' second album, Demon Days. This album earned Burton a Grammy Award nomination for Producer of the Year.

Danger Mouse's next project was The Mouse and the Mask. This was a collaboration with MF Doom (as Danger Doom). It was made for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. They had worked together before on other songs. A year later, Danger Doom released a short album called Occult Hymn. This 7-track album had new songs and remixes. It was given away for free on Adult Swim's website.

In 2006, Danger Mouse and CeeLo, as Gnarls Barkley, released their first album, St. Elsewhere. This album included the worldwide hit song "Crazy". "Crazy" was the first song in the UK to reach number one based only on downloads. Gnarls Barkley went on tour. They were a main opening act for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium World Tour.

In 2006, Danger Mouse also worked with British artist Banksy. They secretly replaced 500 copies of Paris Hilton's album Paris in UK music stores. They changed the album covers and put in a 40-minute instrumental song.

2007–Present: Continued Success and Collaborations

Danger Mouse and CeeLo Green performed as Gnarls Barkley in 2007.

In January 2007, Danger Mouse produced another album with Damon Albarn. This was for the band The Good, the Bad & the Queen. The album was called The Good, the Bad & the Queen.

In March 2008, The Odd Couple was released. This was the second album from his Gnarls Barkley project with CeeLo Green. In May 2008, an album with Martina Topley-Bird, called The Blue God, was released. Also in May 2008, Replica Sun Machine was released. This was an album with the band The Shortwave Set.

Danger Mouse produced and created music for Beck's album Modern Guilt, which came out in July 2008. In April 2009, he and Helena Costas released an album as Joker's Daughter called The Last Laugh. Esquire magazine listed Danger Mouse as one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century.

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse released an album in July 2010. It was called Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul. It also came with a photo book by David Lynch.

On November 8, 2009, Paste magazine named Danger Mouse the "Best Producer of the Decade (2000–2009)."

Danger Mouse (using his real name, Brian Burton) formed Broken Bells with James Mercer. They announced this project in September 2009. Their first song, "The High Road", was released as a free download in December 2009. Their first album, Broken Bells, came out in the U.S. on March 9, 2010.

In 2010, Danger Mouse started producing U2's album Songs of Innocence, which was released in 2014. He was credited as a co-producer on 7 of the album's 11 songs. He was the only producer on two other songs. He also produced U2's song "Ordinary Love" in 2013.

In 2005, Danger Mouse began working on a "Spaghetti Western" style album. He worked with composer Daniele Luppi and singers Jack White and Norah Jones. The album was called Rome and was released on May 16, 2011.

On February 13, 2011, Danger Mouse won a Grammy for Best Producer. This was for his work on The Black Keys' Brothers, Broken Bells' album, and the Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse album Dark Night of the Soul.

Danger Mouse produced the band Electric Guest's first album Mondo, released in April 2012. On May 1, 2012, Norah Jones released her album Little Broken Hearts, which Danger Mouse produced.

Danger Mouse produced Portugal. The Man's album Evil Friends, released in June 2013. He also produced At.Long.Last.ASAP, the 2015 album by rapper ASAP Rocky.

In November 2015, Danger Mouse started his own record label, 30th Century Records.

Danger Mouse was chosen to produce the Red Hot Chili Peppers' eleventh album. This was a big change because Rick Rubin had produced their previous six albums. Production started in February 2015. It was paused because the band's bassist Flea got injured. It started again in August 2015 and continued into early 2016. The Getaway was released in June 2016. Danger Mouse played on and helped write many of the songs.

In April 2017, he released Resistance Radio: The Man in The High Castle. This was a collection of songs produced with Sam Cohen. It was connected to Amazon's TV show The Man in the High Castle. The album had covers of 1960s songs by artists like Beck and Norah Jones.

In June 2017, Portugal. The Man released Woodstock. Danger Mouse produced this album, as well as their earlier album Evil Friends. In June 2017, he worked with Run the Jewels and Big Boi to create the song "Chase Me" for the 2017 movie Baby Driver.

In May 2018, he produced the album Wide Awake! by Parquet Courts. In 2019, he worked with Karen O to create the album Lux Prima. Critics generally liked this album.

On August 12, 2022, he released a collaborative album called Cheat Codes with The Roots rapper Black Thought. In the same year, he released a third Broken Bells album with James Mercer, titled Into the Blue.

His Approach to Music

In an interview, Danger Mouse was compared to a film director. He bases his music production ideas on how directors like Woody Allen make movies. He said, "Woody Allen was an auteur: he did his thing, and that particular thing was completely his own. That's what I decided to do with music. I want to create a director's role within music... 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." This means he likes to have a strong creative vision for the music he produces.

Awards and Recognition

Since 2005, Danger Mouse has been nominated for many Grammy Awards. He has won six of them. He won two Grammy Awards in 2006 for Best Alternative Album and Best Urban Alternative Performance. He also won in 2017 for his work as a producer on Adele's album 25.

Grammy Awards

Other Awards

• 2004 Entertainment Weekly's Album of the Year (Danger Mouse – The Grey Album)
• 2004 GQ Magazine's "Men of the Year"
• 2005 Wired Magazine's Rave Award (Music)
• 2005 Q – Best Producer
• 2006 Entertainment Weekly's Album of the Year (Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere)
• 2006 Q (Song of the Year – Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy")
• 2008 Rolling Stone – Best Producer in Rock
• 2009 Esquire – 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century
• 2009 GQ Magazine's Album of the Year (Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse – Dark Night of the Soul)
• 2009 Paste – Producer of the Decade
• 2010 Rolling Stone – Song of the Decade (Gnarls Barkley – "Crazy")
• 2013 Music Producers Guild – International Producer of the Year
• 2014 71st Golden Globe Awards (winner) (Best Original Song – "Ordinary Love")
• 2016 74th Golden Globe Awards (nominee) (Best Original Song – "Gold")
• 2023 Berlin Music Video Awards (nominee) (Best Low Budget - Strangers)

Discography

See also

In Spanish: Danger Mouse (músico) para niños