“It’s good to be humble. We all do what we do because we love someone else’s work. I’m no exception. I came into my own work by being a fan of other artists,” Daniel Lanois told Studio 360 during a recent interview.
The acclaimed musician, composer and producer - Rolling Stone called "the most important record producer to emerge in the Eighties" - Lanois’ latest project Black Dub play The Fillmore Sunday, May 29.
Assembling the band in 2009, Black Dub features Lanois on guitar, bassist Daryl Johnson, drummer Brian Blade and vocalist Trixie Whitley. They have been listed among the bevy of talent on the 2011 Bonnarro lineup, with Spin proclaiming them a must-hear artist for Festival attendees.
From his first recording studio he and his brother Robert built in their basement in Ancaster, Ontario in 1960 to castles and dairy barns, Lanois has recorded in unconventional locations but has no less drawn spontaneous performances in his Grammy award winning albums.
It was at the brothers' Grant Avenue Studio where Lanois met Brian Eno who taught him the technique of guitar and studio ambience and sound manipulation techniques.
Lanois has drawn praise from around the world producing seminal albums for U2, Bob Dylan, Brian Eno, Willie Nelson and Neil Young. Lanois is what historians like to call a musician’s musician.
Lanois likens producing for others to cooking.
"I look at the raw materials and see what is unique to that situation and draw upon it," he explained.
"It's the same as if a chef walked into a stranger's kitchen and cooked with the available ingredients."
At Lanois' studio, Kings-way in New Orleans, he cut his own debut solo album, Acadie. The singer/songwriter received acclaim from critics for his moody, understated passion and the success of Acadie was followed by For the Beauty of Wynona in 1983.
Lanois’ non-stop production work included Luscious Jackson's Fever In, Fever Out, Emmylou Harris' Wrecking Ball, Dylan's 1997 Time Out of Mind and the Sling Blade soundtrack before returning to solo projects and releasing the instrumental Belladonna in 2005.
According to Lanois, Black Dub is essentially a three-piece band with a high level of musicianship.
“We don’t operate on a technological grid. Nor are we tied to a page of fixed notes. Black Dub is a live band, songs are fluid. One take. No overdubs. It’s a very old fashioned idea really.
“It’s clear that people still have an appetite for something honest and authentic with real musicians playing live. In these sad times of prepackaged music, people yearn to experience something soulful, heartfelt, something meaningful. As simple as it sounds, real music is a rare commodity these days.”
Black Dub at The Fillmore May 29
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