Back in the summer, Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton) announced plans to expand his focus from production to running his own label, 30th Century Records. Now, he's announced the company's first release: a compilation album called 30th Century Records Compilation Volume 1.
The label is distributed through Columbia Records, and the debut comp will be out on December 18. The full details of the tracklist haven't been announced yet, but the label intends to emphasize lesser-known acts over established stars. There will be songs from Dan Auerbach's band the Arcs, Apache Sun, Waterstrider, Nine Pound Shadow and Sam Cohen.
Burton told NPR:
I'm not trying to shape the way these bands sound on the label at all. I'm looking for things that I like or that I connect with in some way that maybe other people are not, other labels are not really jumping on for whatever reason. Or maybe something that I hear first and think, you know, I could help them and put them with this producer or put them with this person. And sometimes it's just, if somebody wants to bring me songs and say, 'What do you think of these?' I can even just tell them that way. That's still a way to help them.
Below, hear Nine Pound Shadow's swooning 6/8 pop ditty "Melody" and Sam Cohen's slinky, atmospheric electro-soul number "Lose Your Illusion." Both of the songs bear some similarities with Burton's fondness for classic song forms and futuristic synth production. The latter track was recorded with Danger Mouse himself, and it's the only song on the comp that he produced. The rest of the tracks were made without his input.
The label is distributed through Columbia Records, and the debut comp will be out on December 18. The full details of the tracklist haven't been announced yet, but the label intends to emphasize lesser-known acts over established stars. There will be songs from Dan Auerbach's band the Arcs, Apache Sun, Waterstrider, Nine Pound Shadow and Sam Cohen.
Burton told NPR:
I'm not trying to shape the way these bands sound on the label at all. I'm looking for things that I like or that I connect with in some way that maybe other people are not, other labels are not really jumping on for whatever reason. Or maybe something that I hear first and think, you know, I could help them and put them with this producer or put them with this person. And sometimes it's just, if somebody wants to bring me songs and say, 'What do you think of these?' I can even just tell them that way. That's still a way to help them.
Below, hear Nine Pound Shadow's swooning 6/8 pop ditty "Melody" and Sam Cohen's slinky, atmospheric electro-soul number "Lose Your Illusion." Both of the songs bear some similarities with Burton's fondness for classic song forms and futuristic synth production. The latter track was recorded with Danger Mouse himself, and it's the only song on the comp that he produced. The rest of the tracks were made without his input.
