Some bands work better in the context of an outdoor summer music festival than others. And Gnarls Barkley is one that excels at creating the right vibe and making the proper music to score a evening under the stars.
Ever since it broke in the summer of ’06 with the smash single “Crazy,” debuting its elaborate, costume-laden live show at the Coachella Music Festival in Southern California, the group has been a festival favorite the world over. In fact, the band — fronted by R&B singer Cee-Lo Green and super-producer Danger Mouse — is taking a break from a slate of European music festivals to play the one-off SoCo Music Experience in Denver Saturday night.
The SoCo festival — also featuring Blonde Redhead, Bassnectar, Dead Confederate and Eagle Seagull alongside some Denver bands — is a solid lineup. And while Danger Mouse, a.k.a. Brian Burton, loves playing music festivals, he doesn’t like attending them as a fan.
“I tried it once, and it wasn’t for me,” Burton said from his hotel room in Paris last week. “Especially the camp-out festivals. I went to one in Leeds in England in 2001, and I can’t be around that many people. I get a little freaked out by that.”
Unfortunately, Colorado doesn’t yet have a large-scale, camping-oriented music festival like Leeds, Coachella or Bonnaroo. The SoCo event is a one-day fest with no promises for next year. The two-day Mile High Music Festival in mid-July will be staged in Commerce City with no camping offered. And September’s two-day Monolith Festival at Red Rocks also offers no convenient camping.
Regardless, music festivals can still be great places for artists, especially those whose careers thrive on the spirit of collaboration, such as Burton.
“The crowds at festivals are usually really great, and it’s also good getting out and meeting other bands,” Burton said. “Plus, they’re pretty relaxed, so it’s good to get out during the summertime and travel because the weather’s always nice.”
Burton doesn’t have to rely on networking so much as he used to. The producer used to bartend nights to subsidize his passion of making original music and mash-ups. But then came 2004’s “The Grey Album,” a mash-up of the Beatles’ “White Album” and Jay-Z’s “Black Album,” and the illegal record became a calling card for Burton, changing everything in his world.
“The Grey Album” was an underground success, but it was nothing compared with the pandemonium surrounding “Crazy,” which found its initial surge online in the U.K. and later migrated to FM airwaves everywhere. But Gnarls Barkley wasn’t Danger Mouse’s introduction to the big time. Nor was it Green’s, who had experienced a decent amount of success with the ’90s rap outfit Goodie Mob.
“It wasn’t as crazy as it may have seemed,” Burton said of Gnarls Barkley’s break-out year in 2006. “For us, it was little by little. It didn’t happen all at once. For us, we both had had songs that were pretty big the previous year. Cee-Lo wrote ‘Don’t Cha’ for the Pussycat Dolls, and I had done ‘Feel Good’ with Gorillaz. And so hearing (‘Crazy’) out and about wasn’t that crazy. It just happened. Luckily we were old enough to have seen other things and to know to not get too sucked up into that.”
While the band is known for elaborate stage shows that include costumes and string sections, their Denver date will be a more straightforward rock show with them playing as a six-piece. That’s not to say it won’t be zany. One listen to Cee-Lo’s post-apocalyptic – and sometimes nonsensical – lyrics and it’s obvious that this duo is hardly hurting for personality.
As for future Danger Mouse work, Burton is keeping quiet about the stuff in the works, but he was happy to talk about some of the collaborations that are already recorded. Some new albums he’s worked on include:
• The Black Keys: “Attack & Release” was released in April to raving reviews. “They’re really good guys,” said Burton, “and we had a lot of fun with that record.”
• Martina Topley Bird: “The Blue God” was released last month. “It’s really poppy at times, but it’s also dark and melancholy,” Burton said. “We were listening to a bunch of stuff while recording this record, and it’s really eclectic, more so than the stuff she did with Tricky.”
• The Shortwave Set: “Replica Sun Machine” came about when Burton befriended the band after hearing its debut record. “I has a kind of Beatles, Mamas and the Papas vibe to it,” he said. “It’s a psychedelic pop record … and they came to L.A. to record, and we got some string arrangements from Van Dyke Parks. It was cool working with him. He’s a unique guy, and he brought a lot to the record.”
• Beck: A to-be-named, 10-song, 30-minute album is due this summer from Beck. “He didn’t need a whole lot of help, but I did the best I could,” Burton said. “He’s a great musician.”
Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com
SoCo Music Experience Featuring Gnarls Barkley
Rock. Central Parking Lot, Coors Field on Saturday with Blonde Redhead, Bassnectar, Dead Confederate, Eagle Seagull, Hot IQs, the Swayback and others. 2 p.m. free, 21-plus
