Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois is a prominent Canadian record producer, musician, songwriter, and recording engineer, born on September 19, 1951, in Hull, Quebec. He gained fame for producing or co-producing influential albums for renowned artists such as U2, Bob Dylan, and Peter Gabriel, playing a pivotal role in the development of their iconic sounds. Lanois's career began with the establishment of Grant Avenue Studio in Hamilton, Ontario, where he worked with various Canadian musicians before collaborating with Brian Eno, which significantly shaped his production style.
In addition to his production work, Lanois has released several acclaimed solo albums, including the notable Acadie and Belladonna, showcasing his versatility as a musician, particularly with the pedal steel guitar. He also formed the band Black Dub, contributing to their self-titled album and touring internationally. Lanois's talents extend to composing music for films and documentaries, further demonstrating his diverse skill set in the music industry. His contributions have earned him multiple awards, including several Grammy Awards and Juno Awards, solidifying his legacy as a significant figure in contemporary music.
Daniel Lanois
Record producer
- Born: September 19, 1951
- Place of Birth: Hull, Quebec
Contribution: Daniel Lanois is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, musician, vocalist, and recording engineer. He produced or co-produced albums for a range of artists, including U2, Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, and Bob Dylan. Lanois also created and released several award-winning albums of his own music and composed music for films. In addition, Lanois plays guitar for the band Black Dub.
Early Life and Education
Daniel Roland Lanois was born on September 19, 1951, in Hull, Quebec. As a young man, he quickly developed a love for music. The first instrument Lanois mastered was the pedal steel guitar. He played guitar in several small local bands and continued using that instrument throughout his musical career.
At the age of seventeen, Lanois and his brother, Robert, converted a room in their mother’s house into a recording studio. They began with just a cassette player but soon added a four-track recording machine to their home studio. The brothers later used what they had learned in that experience, as well as their growing local reputation, to found Grant Avenue Studio in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1974.
Career as a Record Producer
The reputation of Lanois and the Grant Avenue Studio spread. Canadian musicians such as Raffi, Simply Saucer, Ian Tyson, Sylvia Tyson, Luba, Parachute Club, and Martha and the Muffins recorded songs at Grant Avenue. The arrival of musician Brian Eno, however, brought the greatest change to Lanois’s life and career. Eno, known for his unique use of sound manipulation to create new forms of music, brought many new ideas and inspirations to Lanois’s work.
Eno also introduced Lanois to up-and-coming rockers U2. In 1984, Lanois and Eno co-produced U2’s The Unforgettable Fire. Lanois continued to work with U2, and their association brought Lanois to the attention of musicians and fans worldwide. He again collaborated with U2 in the production of the Grammy Award–winning album The Joshua Tree (1987). After working with many other artists, Lanois reunited with U2 in 2000 with his production of Grammy winners All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000), How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), and No Line on the Horizon (2010).
Lanois’s work with U2 gained the attention of Peter Gabriel, who enlisted Lanois to produce his hit albums So (1986) and Us (1992). Lanois worked with Bob Dylan, producing Dylan’s albums Oh Mercy in 1989 and his Grammy-winning Time Out of Mind in 1997. In addition, Lanois’s work included a diverse range of projects for musicians, including Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Scott Weiland, Dashboard Confessional, Robbie Robertson, and Sinéad O’Connor. In 2010, Lanois produced Le Noise for Neil Young. That year, Lanois was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles but recovered from his injuries.
Lanois also produced or contributed music to soundtrack albums for films including Birdy (1984), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Sling Blade (1996), The Million Dollar Hotel (2000), No Maps for These Territories (2000), and loudQUIETloud: A Film about the Pixies (2006). The 2008 Here Is What Is is a documentary film that presented a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Lanois’s work as a composer and producer. He continued to compose for films as well as television. He composed the music for an episode of the Public Television System series Independent Lens in 2015 and for the 2022 documentary Into the Weeds, which focuses on the terminally ill groundskeeper who took on the Monsanto company over its chemical weed killer.
Career as a Musician
Lanois did not confine his musical talent to production. In 1989, in his Kingsway Studio in New Orleans, he created a solo album, Acadie, which critics have commented is marked with emotion and energy. He followed this debut with records such as For the Beauty of Wynona (1993) and Shine (2003). In 2005, Lanois released Belladonna, which was nominated for two Grammy Awards. In it, Lanois featured several instruments, most notably the pedal steel guitar.
In 2009, Lanois joined drummer Brian Blade, bassist Daryl Johnson, and singer Trixie Whitley to form the band Black Dub, with Lanois playing guitar for the group. The band recorded a self-titled album the following year and toured North America and Europe in 2011, promoting its 2010 album.
Lanois toured Scandinavia in December 2012 with fellow musicians Brian Blade and Jim Wilson. In 2013, he took a break from producing work by other artists in order to focus on his own music, including performances in North America and a 2014 solo project, You Are Wonder. In 2014, Lanois released the experimental but rhythmically focused Flesh and Machine. He released another solo album in 2016, Goodbye to Language, which features what many have described as haunting instrumentals. His collaborative effort with Venetian Snares, Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois, was released in 2018. Heavy Sun and Player, Piano were released in 2021 and 2022, respectively. On the latter, he eschewed the guitars for which he is most known in favor of piano. The heart of Player, Piano is the track "My All," with which he remembers his younger brother. He continued to work with Eno, producing and co-composing the soundtrack Eno and the album Eno: A Rather Deep Level, both in 2024.
Awards and Honors
Lanois has won critical acclaim for many of his works as a producer and musician. In 1993, he and Brian Eno both won a Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. He produced or co-produced three albums that won Grammy Awards for album of the year—U2’s The Joshua Tree in 1987 and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in 2005 as well as Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind in 1997. Four other albums under Lanois’s production were nominated for the same award. U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind won the 2001 Grammy for best rock album. Lanois has won four Juno Awards, for best producer of U2's "Beautiful Day" and "Elevation" in 2002; Jack Richardson Producer of the Year for "Here Is What Is" and "Not Fighting Anymore" in 2009 and "Hitchhiker" (Neil Young) and "I Believe in You" (Black Dub) in 2011; and for instrumental album of the year for Belladonna in 2006.
Lanois’s own album Belladonna was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2005. That year, Daniel Lanois was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame and memorialized with a star on the walk. On June 1, 2013, Lanois received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Personal Life
In addition to his late brother, Robert, he has a sister, actress and composer Jocelyne.
Bibliography
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Ciabattoni, Steve. "Daniel Lanois: My Life in 15 Songs." Rolling Stone, 19 Sept. 2016, www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/daniel-lanois-my-life-in-15-songs-w439550. Accessed 18 Mar. 2017.
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Graham, David A. "Finding the Magic:The Secrets of the Music Producer Daniel lanois." The Atlantic, 26 May 2016, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/05/daniel-lanois-interview-moogfest-bob-dylan-us-brian-eno/484421/. Accessed 18 mar. 2017.
Hale, James. "Daniel Lanois." The Canadian Encyclopedia, 4 Mar. 2015, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/daniel-lanois-emc. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
“Lanois, Daniel.” Current Biography International Yearbook 2005: n.pag. Biography Reference Bank. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
Lanois, Daniel. "Daniel Lanois on Why a 1,000-Year-Old Tree Informed His New Album 'Heavy Sun' & Working with Boby Dylan, U2." Interview by Morgan Enos. Grammy Awards, 24 Mar. 2021, www.grammy.com/news/2021-daniel-lanois-bob-dylan-u2-brian-eno-interview. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
Lanois, Daniel. Interview. Canadian Business 23 Nov. 2010: 67–68. Print.
Mervis, Scott. “Famed Producer/Guitarist Daniel Lanois Steps Out of the Studio with Black Dub.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. PG Publishing Co., 16 June 2011. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.