January 19, 2010 18:03

James Mercer: 'Broken Bells started because The Shins got too heavy' – video

Shins mainman and Danger Mouse reveal new project inspiration

Broken Bells – aka Danger Mouse and The Shins' James Mercer – have revealed that they formed a band together because life in The Shins became "heavy" for the singer.

Mercer told NME.COM in a video interview (which you can watch on the right) that he had considered releasing a solo album before he hooked up with DJ/producer Danger Mouse, real name Brian Burton.

The pair are set to release their debut self-titled album on March 8.

"As things started to wind down for me I wanted to try something totally different," Mercer explained. "It'd had started to feel heavy [in The Shins]. I didn't know what I wanted to do, maybe a solo thing or a new band. And Brian happened to be having the same kind of ideas."

Burton added: "I didn't want to produce other records anymore. I thought it'd be great to try something with James. We just started working on it as a band."

Watch the full video interview with Broken Bells on the right, plus stay tuned for the second part of the video interview which will be on NME.COM later this week.