Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse, has announced 30th Century Records, his imprint in collaboration with Columbia Records. Beginning this fall, the world-renowned artist, songwriter and producer will oversee a label comprising artists he is personally signing. 30th Century Records will debut with his first signing, Autolux, who are currently at work on the full-length follow-up to 2010's Transit Transit.
Last year marked the 10th anniversary of Danger Mouse's release, The Grey Album, which fused a cappella strains of Jay Z's Black Album with the instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.
Since 2004 and The Grey Album, other artists have sought out Danger Mouse. Burton’s songwriting and production work as Danger Mouse can be heard on such notable releases as Gorillaz’s Demon Days, Beck’s Modern Guilt, Norah Jones' …Little Broken Hearts, The Black Keys’ single “Tighten Up” and their album El Camino. More recently, Burton's talents and expertise can be heard on U2's Songs of Innocence and A$AP Rocky's AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP.
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Aside from his work as a producer, Burton has established himself as an artist, composer and songwriter. In 2006, Burton teamed up with CeeLo Green to form Gnarls Barkley. This partnership gave birth to two full-length albums and of course the single, “Crazy.” In 2010, Burton collaborated with Sparklehorse and David Lynch to create Dark Night of the Soul, a studio album featuring guests such as James Mercer, Black Francis, Wayne Coyne, Julian Casablancas and Iggy Pop, among others. The album's release was accompanied by a photo book consisting of photos taken by Lynch, which provided a visual narrative for the music. Burton would eventually go on to showcase his talents as a composer in 2011 when he joined Daniele Luppi to craft the epic Rome, featuring Jack White, Norah Jones and the original musicians who performed composer Ennio Morricone's Italian film scores.
Burton has dedicated much of his time during the last seven years to his band Broken Bells, which he formed with James Mercer of The Shins in 2008. This partnership resulted in two full-length, Columbia-released albums: their 2010 self-titled debut and 2014's After the Disco.
Through the years, Burton's work has been heavily praised and recognized by the music world's governing bodies. Among his 21 GRAMMY nominations that span nine years, Burton has won five awards including Producer of the Year in 2011. In 2014, Burton won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for his writing and production work with U2 on their song "Ordinary Love."
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