Daniel Lanois: Tiny Desk Concert

Bob Boilen — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 14:55:00 +0000

I came to know Daniel Lanois through his instrumental collaboration with Brian Eno, Apollo: Atmospheres And Soundtracks, in 1983. I fell in love with Lanois’ own music through his singing and the heartfelt, textured songs on albums like 1989’s lovely Acadie (with its New Orleans flavor) and 1993’s For The Beauty Of Wynona (with its haunting sounds and stories). Most fans know Lanois as a remarkable producer for the likes of Bob Dylan, U2 and Peter Gabriel.

What Daniel Lanois brought to the Tiny Desk recalled that early work while still sounding new: He led an all-instrumental, somewhat improvisational trio based on the sort of studio processing for which he’s become famous. In essence, he brought the studio out of the studio — with the aid of two great players, drummer Brian Blade and bassist Jim Wilson — and directly to my desk. The title of Lanois’ new album, Flesh And Machine, describes the music well. He never says a word, but he sculpts some serious, hypnotic sounds.

Set List

“Sci Fi”
“Elevator”
“Apres Calypso”

Credits

Producers: Bob Boilen, Maggie Starbard; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Colin Marshall, Maggie Starbard; Assistant Producer: Susan Hale Thomas; photo by Susan Hale Thomas/NPR

First Listen: Daniel Lanois, ‘Flesh And Machine’

Bob Boilen — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 23:02:53 +0000

Sometimes it helps to know where an artist is from. Geography can define a sound, but while Daniel Lanois is from Ontario, he might as well hail from Saturn. His new album, Flesh And Machine, defies categorization; it has no songs and no words, with voices used only to provide textures.

For a man who’s produced records for Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel and U2, as well as some brilliant albums of heartfelt songs on his own, Flesh And Machine is a deeply otherworldly adventure. After four decades of making records, Lanois has decided to chase sounds that have never been.

You can hear Lanois lay the groundwork for Flesh And Machine on two groundbreaking ambient albums with Brian Eno in the early ’80s, On Land and Apollo: Atmospheres And Soundtracks. But even those records are distant relatives to this one, so put on your headphones for Flesh And Machine and let yourself get lost in a place you’ve truly never visited.

Daniel Lanois – Bandwidth

Daniel Lanois: Tiny Desk Concert

First Listen: Daniel Lanois, ‘Flesh And Machine’