Danny Elfman on His First Solo Album in 37 Years and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”

The famed, prolific composer, and multi-instrumentalist, Danny Elfman, is a walking, talking opus. While some artists make a career of performance art, Elfman’s career is often seemingly performance art, embodied or personified. The artist, who just about everyone knows from is work as the composer for Batman, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Men in Black, Spider-Man, and many more globally-famous movies, got his start in the theater, performing avant-garde works. He’d later achieve some fame with his band, Oingo Boingo.

Elfman, who found himself involved in music later in his life than most professionals, has an affinity for pushing boundaries and buttons. Creatively, he’s always wanted to enter spaces where he wasn’t initially allowed. As such, he’s lived many careers, from composer to performer to rock musician. In that vein, Elfman is set to release his latest solo album (and his first in 37 years), The Big Mess, today via ANTI- and Epitaph. We caught up with the artist to ask him about his life, career, and what went into this new provocative work.