Danger Mouse Preps New Record Label, Signs Autolux
Danger Mouse has announced his own Columbia Records imprint, 30th Century Records, which will feature artists personally signed by the songwriter-producer. Danger Mouse – best known for high-profile collaborations (Gnarls Barkley, Broken Bells) and production work (U2, the Black Keys, Beck) – will debut the label with his first signing, experimental rock trio Autolux, who are currently working on their follow-up to 2010’s Transit Transit.
“In the dreamless world of the music industry, it’s rare to find a champion who wants to use the business to promote the art rather than the art to promote the business,” Autolux tells Rolling Stone. “When Brian heard our record, it was clear he understood what we are doing and where we want to go.”
Danger Mouse is rumored to be producing two of the most two heavily anticipated new LPs from artists at opposite ends of the sonic spectrum: Red Hot Chili Peppers and Adele. In February, Chili Peppers bassist Flea tweeted – in a since-deleted post – “Bout to start recording. Danger mouse producing….. Let’s hang soon,” Alternative Nation reports.
“We’ve got lots of songs, and we’re working with an unnamed producer who is really challenging us to find new ways to come up with new music,” drummer Chad Smith told Rolling Stone in December 2014. “We’ve done the ‘guys get in the room and jam out songs, everybody playing together all at once’ thing. And we wrote a bunch of songs that way. And we’re now going to try another method that will be really challenging for us and will bring new, exciting results for the band.
“We’ve written and recorded in a way that we’ve never done before, so the record is going great,” Smith added. “We all have high hopes that it’s going to take off and we’re going to do something very different and unique for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.”
Last week, Billboard reported that Danger Mouse had started work with Adele on her hyped third LP, a follow-up to 2011’s Grammy-winning 21, noting that it’s unclear whether the material will end up on the finished album.