Gnarls Barkley

Gnarls Barkley is a duo formed by producer Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) and singer Cee-Lo Green, coming together in the mid-2000s to fuse soul, funk and alternative pop into a strikingly cinematic sound. The pairing produced two studio albums before drifting into a long hiatus, but their impact on mainstream soul and alternative music was immediate and lasting.

The duo broke through with «Crazy», a song built on a haunting sample and Green’s operatic, unhinged vocal delivery that became one of the defining singles of its era, reaching number one in the UK on downloads alone before physical release. Follow-up tracks like «Who’s Gonna Save My Soul», «Smiley Faces» and «Going On» continued to explore themes of mental instability, materialism and isolation, wrapped in Danger Mouse’s lush, retro-tinged production.

Gnarls Barkley’s music sits at the intersection of classic soul revivalism and experimental pop, drawing on Motown and psychedelic influences while sounding thoroughly modern. Cee-Lo’s vocal range and theatrical delivery paired with Danger Mouse’s meticulous sample-based production made the group a critical and commercial success, influencing a generation of neo-soul and alternative R&B acts that followed.