BIG MESS is the second solo studio album by American singer, musician, and composer Danny Elfman. It was released by Anti- and Epitaph Records on June 11, 2021.
Demo Tracks
This section is strictly for you nerds and geeks (like me) who like to trace the origins of songs and how they started out before they got re-recorded, mixed and released. These are the demos I made while I was writing “Big Mess” in the 2020 lock-down. They were all written and recorded in a small writing room I have in my out-of-town place. Nothing fancy. My computer. A single hand-held mic. A single electric guitar. A single acoustic guitar. And a broken pair of headphones. In the end it wasn’t a problem. The limitations were fun. Even having no headphones was fun. Made no difference. This collection was the result of that period — April to August 2020. Forgive the funkiness of my sloppy guitar playing and crude production. Enjoy!
-Danny Elfman
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BIG MESS
Music & Lyrics by Danny Elfman
Produced by Danny Elfman
Recorded by Noah Snyder
Mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound
String Orchestration by Steve Bartek
Orchestration Assistant: Marc Mann
Midi Prep: Orlando Perez Rosso
Additional Audio Editing: Christopher Bartek
Technical Assistant: Giacomo Lamparelli
Additional Engineering: Nick Rives & Matt Tuggle
Female Choir: Holly Sedillos, Anna Schubert,
Danielle Withers
Female Vocal Soloist: Petra Haden
Strings - Featuring the Lyris Quartet
Orchestra: Budapest Art Orchestra
Conductor: Peter Pejtsik
ProTools Engineer: David Lukacs
Recording Engineer: Gabor Buczko
Contractor/Session Producer: Miklos Lukacs
Orchestra (“Happy” & “Sorry”): Budapest Scoring Orchestra
Conductor: Zoltán Pad
Orchestra producer: Bálint Sapszon
Orchestra coordinator: Bertalan Veér
Recording Engineer: Dénes Rédly
Recorded at: Studio Della Morte (LA), East Connection Music Recording / Studio 22 (Budapest), Capitol Studios (LA)
Executive Producer: Laura Engel
Project Producer: Melisa McGregor
Creative Direction, Album Art Direction & Graphic Design: Berit Gwendolyn Gilma
“Big Mess” Art Created by: Sarah Sitkin
Additional 3D: Hirad Sab
Danny Elfman’s Representation – Kraft-Engel Management
Remix Album:
Executive Produced by Laura Engel and Stu Brooks
Curated By Stu Brooks and Berit Gwendolyn Gilma
Additional Vocal Production: Janice Cruz Brooks
Special Thanks:
Brett Gurewitz, Andy Kaulkin, Doug Mark, Richard Kraft, Laura Engel, Melissa Karaban, George Doering,
Josef Zimmermann and Scott McRae
SORRY
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Mixed by Zakk Cervini
Mix Assistant: Nik Trekov
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar - Robin Finck & Nili Brosh
Percussion - Sidney Hopson
Additional Orchestration by Mikel Hurwitz
Choir Orchestration by Marc Mann
TRUE
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Mixed by Joel Hamilton
Mix Assistant: Francisco Botero
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
IN TIME
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Mixed by Joel Hamilton
Mix Assistant: Francisco Botero
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar – Robin Finck
EVERYBODY LOVES YOU
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Mixed by Joel Hamilton
Mix Assistant: Francisco Botero
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar - Robin Finck
DANCE WITH THE LEMURS
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Mixed by Noah Snyder
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar - Robin Finck
Percussion – Sidney Hopson
SERIOUS GROUND
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Mixed by Joel Hamilton
Mix Assistant: Francisco Botero
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar – Robin Finck
CHOOSE YOUR SIDE
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Mixed by Zakk Cervini
Mix Assistant: Nik Trekov
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar - Robin Finck
WE BELONG
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Mixed by Noah Snyder
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Bass - Stu Brooks
HAPPY
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Mixed by Randall Dunn at Strange Weather Recording
Mix Assistants: Ben Greenberg and Garrett de Block
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar - Nili Brosh
Additional Synth Design - Randall Dunn
JUST A HUMAN
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Mixed by Pete Rutcho
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar – Warren Fitzgerald
DEVIL TAKE AWAY
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Mixed by Pete Rutcho
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar –Robin Finck & Nili Brosh
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID
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Mixed by Zakk Cervini
Mix Assistant: Nik Trekov
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar - Nili Brosh
Percussion – Sidney Hopson
NATIVE INTELLIGENCE
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Mixed by Zakk Cervini
Mix Assistant: Nik Trekov
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar - Robin Finck & Nili Brosh
BETTER TIMES
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Mixed by Zakk Cervini
Mix Assistant: Nik Trekov
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar – Nili Brosh
CRUEL COMPENSATION
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Mixed by Pete Rutcho
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar – Robin Finck & Nili Brosh
Percussion – Sidney Hopson & Joe Martone
KICK ME
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Mixed by Pete Rutcho
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar – Warren Fitzgerald
Percussion – Sidney Hopson & Joe Martone
GET OVER IT
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Mixed by Zakk Cervini
Mix Assistant: Nik Trekov
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums - Josh Freese
Guitar – Nili Brosh
Bass - Stu Brooks
Percussion – Sidney Hopson
INSECTS
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Mixed by Noah Snyder
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums – Josh Freese
Bass - Stu Brooks
Guitar - Nili Brosh
Percussion – Sidney Hopson & Joe Martone