Brian Burton

Brian Burton, better known by his stage name Danger Mouse (taken directly from the show of the same name), is a record producer responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed albums of the past few years. His work seems to slide between hip-hop and alternative, but has included pop and electronic rock.

Known primarily for his collaborations, he rarely produces works on his own. He first found fame in 2004 with a mash-up of Jay Z's The Black Album with The Beatles' The White Album, creatively titled The Grey Album.

Danger Mouse's first big collaboration was with underground rapper MF DOOM and Adult Swim to create The Mouse and the Mask, a rap album featuring songs explicitly about shows in the Adult Swim lineup (including voices from many of the shows' casts).

Burton's next big project was a team-up with Cee Lo Green, a group named Gnarls Barkley. The two produced their first album, St. Elsewhere, in 2006. It included the single Crazy, which hit #1 in the UK charts and #2 on the Billboard Top 100. The group followed this up with the 2008 album The Odd Couple.

Burton's other collaborations include:

• Dark Night of the Soul (2009) with Sparklehorse, accompanied by a photo book created by David Lynch. Each song featured a different vocalist, with guest artists including Julian Casablancas and Iggy Pop. The album received attention after its release became uncertain due to legal disputes and only the book was released, sold with a blank cd and the note "For legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will." The album was eventually officially released, but not until after the unrelated suicide of Sparklehorse's Face of the Band Mark Linkous.
• Broken Bells, (2010) a collaboration with The Shins Face of the Band James Mercer. In addition to its amazing music, the album is notable for a music video featuring Christina Hendricks in space. Was nominated for a Grammy Award, but lost to The Black Keys' album Brothers (which Danger Mouse also produced). A second album is in production.
• Rome, (2011) co-written with Italian composer Daniele Luppi (who wrote the orchestral parts of Broken Bells), this album is directly inspired by the works of Ennio Morricone and features Jack White and Norah Jones on vocals.

Burton is also a notable producer (having won the Grammy for Best Producer in 2010), and has produced such albums as Gorillaz' big album Demon Days in 2005, Beck's album Modern Guilt in 2008, and The Black Keys Grammy award-winning album Brothers in 2010. He is slated to produce an album with U2 sometime in the future.