Bringing It All Back Home

The Return of Gnarls Barkley

originally published August 6, 2008

Danger Mouse, AKA Brian Burton, the musical mastermind behind the neo-soul/hip-hop outfit Gnarls Barkley, is one of this decade’s most sought-after producers. Most recently he teamed up with The Black Keys, Beck, and The Good, the Bad and the Queen. Danger Mouse was even selected as one of Esquire's 75 most influential people of the 21st century. During the late 20th century, however, Danger Mouse was renowned here in Athens for producing music under the moniker Pelican City, regularly hosting gigs at now defunct establishments, Mean Mike’s and Candy, and for being one of the most influential clerks at our own Wuxtry Records.

“He was the hip-hop buyer in the late '90s,” recounts former co-worker and musician John Fernandes (Olivia Tremor Control, Circulatory System, etc.). “People would hear the stuff he played during his sets, and he’d tell them what he was ordering. A whole crowd of people we had never even seen come into the store before would come in to look specifically for his stuff.”

The late '90s marked a pivotal point in Burton's development. While living here, Burton was exposed to a whole new genre of music, something he recently recounted with "Fresh Air"’s Terry Gross. “I grew up listening to Motown, '80s pop, and hip-hop, but… classic rock like The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix inspired me to make music. I didn’t grow up with that kind of music around me… it made other music make more sense. I saw how closed off I had been… it showed how I needed to break out of being like everyone else.”

“He had a curious mind about learning about other types of music,” Fernandes concurs. “I turned him onto a lot of '60s and '70s psychedelic music.”

Fernandes also introduced him to Athens' Elephant Six Collective. Burton regularly attended their shows and began his first forays into putting beats behind psychedelia, remixing songs by the Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel, a tactic that would take the world by storm in 2004, when he mashed up The Beatles' White Album with Jay-Z’s Black Album to produce the Grey Album. It was in Athens, during a 1998 show on the UGA campus, that Danger Mouse first met Cee-Lo, a founding member of Atlanta’s celebrated hip-hop/R&B/soul collective Dungeon Family.

At the time, Cee-Lo was performing with the Goodie Mob. The two didn’t join forces until after Cee-Lo embarked on a critically acclaimed solo career (appearing at Tasty World in 2001), when he guested on the Danger Mouse/ Jemini collaboration Ghetto Pop Life II in 2003. Soon after the combined influences of Dungeon Family and Elephant 6 coalesced, and Danger Mouse and Cee-lo created Gnarls Barkley. Their first single, "Crazy," became a top 10 hit on three continents and scored a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.

Currently the duo is touring in support of its second album, The Odd Couple, a darker, more psychedelia-infused effort, with Danger Mouse sampling Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, Francoise Hardy, and '70s French funk ensemble T.N.T.H., Cee-Lo soulfully delving into loneliness and despair while simultaneously celebrating life’s brighter moments. Smatterings of xylophone, hand claps, and choruses accent various songs. Fast-paced tracks like "Run" and "Surprise" get your body shaking, slower numbers like "Who’s Gonna Save My Soul" get stuck in your head. The accompanying videos are worth a trip to the duo’s website.

For the past three months, Elephant Six alum Heather McIntosh (the Instruments, Elf Power, Of Montreal, etc.) has supported Gnarls Barkley on bass and keys. Flagpole reached McIntosh just a few hours after L.A. was rocked by an earthquake, but she was still riding high after the thrill of appearing on "The Tonight Show" the night before. “It's the third T.V. thing we've done, but was the first one where we were made-up and costumed-out all the way, which I thought was pretty fun. I have a strong affection for the zombie, undead, ghoulie style, so I was in heaven.”

“The band is really excited about playing at the 40 Watt Club,” she says. “I was really hoping a show back home would work out from pretty early on. The Elves and Gnarls Barkley at the 40 watt? Heck, yes, it's gonna be a blast. Hopefully, I'll get to jam on the tambourine for a song or two with the Elves like back in the olden days!”

Deirdre Sayre

WHO: Elf Power, Gnarls Barkley
WHERE: 40 Watt Club
WHEN: Tuesday, August 12
HOW MUCH: $25