Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi Lift the Lid on 'Rome' -- Video Interview

Posted on May 13th 2011 7:28AM by Stephen Dowling
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Frank W. Ockenfels

In the late 1960s and early '70s, the Western film genre got a much-needed kick in the chaps from the most unlikely direction: Italy. A clutch of Italian producers and directors brought their own take to big-screen horse operas, adding a Continental touch to tales of revenge and revolution, and making stars of up-and-coming actors such as Clint Eastwood along the way. And the soundtracks weren't too bad either.

Films such as 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' and 'A Few Dollars More' featured iconic scores from Ennio Morricone, recorded in a crypt-like studio in Rome, and used a cast of Italian session musicians. Among the music's devotees is one Brian Burton -- better known to fans of Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz and Sparklehorse as Danger Mouse -- who had wanted to pay homage to the genre since his days working in an Athens, Ga. record store. And where better to go for that authentic feel than Rome itself.

Hooking up with Italian composer Daniele Luppi, whom he had already worked with on Broken Bells' debut record, Burton enlisted the help of two A-list vocalists to help bring the music to life: Jack White and Norah Jones. Five years in the making, the album, recorded in Rome's Forum Studio, saw Burton and Luppi using some of the original musicians from the Spaghetti Western scores -- musicians now in their 70s and 80s -- vintage instruments and recording equipment. Here they tell Spinner all about it.