DJ Danger Mouse

Brian Burton, better known under his stage name Danger Mouse, is a producer and dj who came to prominence in 2004 by remixing The Beatles' The White Album and Jay-Z's The Black Album to make The Grey Album. Brian Burton was born in White Plains, New York, spent much of his childhood in Spring Valley, New York and lived in Athens, Georgia for a long time where his electronica work under the name Pelican City was released.

Brian Burton was born in White Plains, New York, spent much of his childhood in Spring Valley, New York and lived in Athens, Georgia for a long time where his electronica work under the name Pelican City was released. He also re-mixed work by several local artists, including Neutral Milk Hotel. From 1998 to 2003 Burton also created a series of remix CDs and records under the stage name Danger Mouse (inspired by the British cartoon series DangerMouse).

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' The 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" and Entertainment Weekly ranking it the best record of the year. Danger Mouse was also named among the Men of the Year by GQ in 2004 and won the 2005 Wired Rave Award. The Grey Album has been banned by EMI (the copyright holders of The White Album) for copyright infringement and distribution of The Grey Album is illegal.


The Grey Album also got Danger Mouse the attention of Damon Albarn, who tracked him down 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. It was followed by The Mouse and the Mask, an album by Danger Mouse and MF DOOM about and for Adult Swim. The two had previously colaborated on the Danger Mouse remix of Zero 7's "Somersault", on the Prince Po track "Social Distortion" and on the Gorillaz' "November Has Come".

In 2006 Danger Mouse released St. Elsewhere, a collaboration with Cee-Lo as Gnarls Barkley, and is set to release Kill Your Heroes, his second album with Jemini. Also, a collaborative album with Black Thought of The Roots is said to be in the works, as well as another collaboration with Damon Albarn.

His song, A Dark March, is also featured as the theme music for Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

In may 2009, he released an album produced in collaboration with Sparklehorse, entitled Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul. Because of an ongoing dispute with EMI, the physical release artwork will contain a blank CD-R and a 100+ photo book with photographs by David Lynch. The songs can be found free online, through the NPR (National Public Radio) website.
The project features a wide range of singers including James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, David Lynch, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils; these singers also had a hand in composing and producing the work.