Daniel Lanois

Canadian record producer and musician (born 1951)

Not to be confused with Daniel Langlois.

Daniel Lanois

Lanois on pedal steel guitar

Background information
Birth name| Daniel Roland Lanois
Born|  (1951-09-19) September 19, 1951 (age 73)
Hull, Quebec, Canada
Origin| Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Genres|

* Rock
* alternative rock
* ambient

Occupations|

* Record producer
* musician
* songwriter

Instruments|

* Vocals
* guitar
* bass
* pedal steel
* omnichord
* keyboards

Years active| 1968–present
Labels|

* Opal
* Warner Bros.
* ANTI-
* Red Floor
* MapleMusic (Canada)

Website| daniellanois.com

Musical artist

Daniel Roland Lanois CM (/lænˈwɑː/ lan-WAH, French: [lanwa];[1] born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer and musician.

He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Harold Budd. He collaborated with Brian Eno to create the ambient genre and produce several albums for U2, including The Joshua Tree (1987) and Achtung Baby (1991). Three albums produced or co-produced by Lanois have won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Four other albums received Grammy nominations.

Lanois has released several solo albums. He wrote and performed the music for the 1996 film Sling Blade, and provided several vocal tracks for Red Dead Redemption 2.

## Biography

[edit]

### Early life and career

[edit]

Lanois was born in 1951 in Hull, Quebec, to Jill and Guy Lanois.[2][3] He began playing music at age nine with the penny whistle, before shortly after transitioning to the pedal steel guitar.[4] Lanois started his production career when he was 17,[5] recording local artists including Simply Saucer with his brother Bob Lanois in a studio in the basement of their mother's home in Ancaster, Ontario. Later, Lanois started Grant Avenue Studio in an old house which he purchased in Hamilton, Ontario.[6] He worked with a number of local bands, including Martha and the Muffins (for which his sister Jocelyne played bass), Ray Materick, Spoons, and the Canadian children's singer Raffi. Lanois attended Ancaster High School.

### Producer

[edit]

In 1981, Lanois played on and produced the album This Is the Ice Age by Martha and the Muffins. In 1985, he and two members of the band earned a CASBY award for their work on the band's (by then going by "M + M") 1984 album Mystery Walk.[7]

Lanois worked collaboratively with Brian Eno on some of Eno's own projects, one of which was the "Prophecy Theme" for David Lynch's film adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune. Eno invited him to co-produce U2's album The Unforgettable Fire. Along with Eno, he went on to produce U2's The Joshua Tree, the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year winner, and some of the band's other works including Achtung Baby and All That You Can't Leave Behind, both of which were nominated for the same award but did not win. Lanois once again collaborated with U2 and Brian Eno on the band's 2009 album, No Line on the Horizon. He was involved in the songwriting process as well as mixing and production.[8]

Lanois' early work with U2 led to him being hired to produce albums for other top-selling artists. He collaborated with Peter Gabriel on his album Birdy (1985), the soundtrack to Alan Parker's film of the same name, and then spent most of 1985 co-producing Gabriel's album So. The album was released in 1986 and became his best-selling release, earning multi-platinum sales and a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. Lanois later co-produced Gabriel's follow-up, Us which was released in 1992 and also went platinum.

Bono recommended Lanois to Bob Dylan in the late 1980s; in 1989, Lanois produced Dylan's Oh Mercy. Eight years later, Dylan and Lanois worked together on Time Out of Mind, which won another Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1997. The iconic Neve 8068, featured on the cover of Time Out of Mind, has a home at the historic The Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Purchased by Teresa Knox, it was carefully restored to factory settings. [9]In his autobiographical Chronicles, Vol. 1, Dylan describes in depth the contentious but rewarding working relationship he developed with Lanois.[10]

Wrecking Ball, his 1995 collaboration with Emmylou Harris,[3] won a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 1998, he produced and appeared on Willie Nelson's album Teatro.

Lanois was working on Neil Young's record Le Noise in June 2010 when he was hospitalized after suffering multiple injuries in a motorcycle crash in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.[11] He has since recovered.[12]

Lanois' production is recognizable and notable for its 'big' and 'live' drum sound, atmospheric guitars and ambient reverb.[13] Rolling Stone called Lanois the "most important record producer to emerge in the Eighties."[14]

### Recording artist

[edit]

Lanois (center) performing live

As well as being a producer, Lanois is a songwriter, musician and recording artist. He has released several solo albums and film scores; his first album, Acadie was released in 1989.[3][15] A number of Lanois' songs have been covered by other artists, including Dave Matthews, Jerry Garcia Band, Willie Nelson, Tea Party, Anna Beljin, Isabelle Boulay, and Emmylou Harris. His albums have had some success, particularly in Canada. Lanois plays the guitar, pedal steel, and drums. Belladonna, an instrumental album released in 2005 was nominated for a Grammy.[16]

Lanois' song "Sonho Dourado" was included in the 2004 Billy Bob Thornton film, Friday Night Lights.[17] In 2005 with the re-release of his first solo album, Acadie, a late-1980s version of the song appears on the additional tracks called "Early Dourado Sketch". Lanois had performed the song numerous times in the intervening years, including on a Toronto television program in 1993 where it was credited as "Irish Melody" on a recording of the performance.[18] Though the melody does indeed feel Irish, the title is Portuguese and means golden dream. Lanois also provided an instrumental score for LOUDquietLOUD, a 2006 documentary about the Pixies.[19]

Lanois premiered a documentary entitled Here Is What Is at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007. The film chronicles the recording of his album of the same name and includes footage of the actual recording. The album Here Is What Is was released, first by download, then on compact disc, in late 2007 and early 2008. Soon after that, Lanois released a three-disc recording called Omni.

In October 2009, Lanois started a project called Black Dub which features Lanois on guitar, Brian Blade on drums, and Daryl Johnson on bass, along with multi-instrumentalist/singer Trixie Whitley. They released a self-titled album in 2010.[20] In 2014, Lanois played with Emmylou Harris as a sideman and opening act on a tour focused on the Wrecking Ball material he produced.[21]

### Solo career

[edit]

On October 28, 2014, Lanois released an album titled Flesh and Machine on ANTI- Records, based on Brian Eno's ambient albums. The instrumental album consists primarily of original atmospheric and process-based sounds,[22] blending pedal steel guitar and a variety of digital and analog sound processing devices. He was assisted by the drummer Brian Blade.[23] In 2016, he released the album Goodbye to Language with Rocco Deluca.[24][25]

The collaborative album Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois was released on Venetian Snares' label Timesig in May 2018.

Lanois also contributed to the composition and production of the soundtrack for the 2018 video game Red Dead Redemption 2, released by Rockstar Games.[26] He was given seven composition credits, including one for the song "Table Top".

## Awards

[edit]

Lanois was invested in the Order of Canada in 2018.[27] Lanois has received seven Grammy Awards for his work with various artists, including Bob Dylan, U2, Emmylou Harris and Neil Young,[28] and several Juno Awards and nominations.[29]

Daniel Lanois' star on Canada's Walk of Fame

In 2005, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.[30] In June 2013, he received a lifetime achievement award at the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.[31]

## Discography

[edit]

### Studio albums

[edit]

Title  | Album details

|

Acadie |

* Released: September 26, 1989
* Label: Opal, Warner Bros.
* Formats: LP, streaming, CD, cassette

For the Beauty of Wynona |

* Released: March 23, 1993
* Label: Warner Bros.
* Formats: LP, streaming, CD, cassette

Shine |

* Released: April 22, 2003
* Label: Anti-
* Formats: LP, streaming, CD

Belladonna |

* Released: July 12, 2005
* Label: Anti-
* Formats: LP, streaming, CD

Here Is What Is |

* Released: December 15, 2007
* Label: Red Floor
* Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD

Flesh and Machine |

* Released: October 27, 2014
* Label: Anti-
* Formats: LP, digital download, streaming

Heavy Sun |

* Released: March 19, 2021
* Label: Maker Series
* Formats: Digital download, streaming

Player, Piano |

* Released: September 23, 2022
* Label: BMG, ADA
* Formats: LP, digital download, streaming, CD

### Collaborative albums

[edit]

Title  | Album details

|

Black Dub
(as Black Dub) |

* Released: September 2010
* Label: Jive Records
* Formats: LP, CD, streaming

Goodbye to Language
(with Rocco DeLuca) |

* Released: September 9, 2016
* Label: Anti-
* Formats: LP, digital download, streaming, CD

Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois
(with Venetian Snares) |

* Released: May 4, 2018
* Label: Timesig, Planet Mu
* Formats: LP, digital download, streaming, CD

### Live albums

[edit]

Title  | Album details

|

Harvest Festival 2011 |

* Released: 2011
* Label: Self-released
* Formats: CD

### Compilation albums

[edit]

Title  | Album details

|

Rockets |

* Released: 2004
* Label: Self-released
* Formats: CD

My Music for Billy Bob |

* Released: 2014
* Label: Self-released
* Formats: CD

### Box sets

[edit]

Title  | Album details

|

Omni Series |

* Released: 2008
* Label: Red Floor
* Formats: CD

### Soundtracks

[edit]

* Trip: Soundtrack Collection (self-released, 1993) – compilation
* Sweet Angel Mine (1996)
* Lost in Mississippi (1996)
* Sling Blade (1996)
* All The Pretty Horses (unreleased, 2000)
* Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) – game

## Videography

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Description

|
|

1993  | Rocky World | Documentary about Lanois' music and travels in the early 1990s.
2007  | Here Is What Is | Documentary about the creation of the album Here Is What Is

## Production credits

[edit]

Production credits  Year | Album | Artist | Notes

|
|
|

1974 | Demo | Simply Saucer | not released commercially until 1989 album Cyborgs Revisited
1976 | Blues and Sentimental | Jackie Washington | As "Dan Lanois"
1977 | Hobo's Taunt | Willie P. Bennett | Engineered as "Dan Lanois," with Bob Lanois
1977 | More Singable Songs | Raffi | Recording credit as "Dan Lanois"
1978 | Can't Wait For Summer | Ron Neilson |
1978 | Choice Cuts | Crackers | As "Dan Lanois"
1979 | Desperate Cosmetics | Scott Merritt |
1980 | The Millionaires (EP) | The Millionaires | As "Danny Lanois", included two members of Teenage Head
1981 | This is the Ice Age | Martha and the Muffins |
1981 | Dream Away | Bernie LaBarge |
1982 | Mama Quilla, KKK, Angry Young Woman | Mama Quilla II | 3-song 12" Album
1982 | Dance After Curfew | Nash the Slash |
1982 | Ambient 4: On Land | Brian Eno | Engineered as "Danny Lanois"
1983 | Danseparc | Martha and the Muffins |
1983 | Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks | Brian Eno |
1983 | Parachute Club | Parachute Club |
1984 | The Pearl | Harold Budd and Brian Eno |
1984 | Mystery Walk | M + M |
1984 | The Unforgettable Fire | U2 |
1984 | Secrets and Sins | Luba |
1985 | Thursday Afternoon | Brian Eno |
1985 | Hybrid | Michael Brook |
1985 | Birdy | Peter Gabriel |
1985 | Voices | Roger Eno |
1986 | Power Spot | Jon Hassell |
1986 | So | Peter Gabriel |
1987 | The Joshua Tree | U2 |
1987 | Robbie Robertson | Robbie Robertson |
1988 | Flash of the Spirit | Jon Hassell/Farafina |
1989 | Acadie | Daniel Lanois |
1989 | Oh Mercy | Bob Dylan |
1989 | Yellow Moon | Neville Brothers |
1990 | Home | Hothouse Flowers |
1991 | Achtung Baby | U2 |
1992 | Us | Peter Gabriel |
1992 | The Last of the Mohicans movie soundtrack |  |
1993 | For the Beauty of Wynona | Daniel Lanois |
1994 | Ron Sexsmith | Ron Sexsmith |
1995 | Wrecking Ball | Emmylou Harris |
1996 | Night to Night | Geoffrey Oryema |
1996 | Fever In Fever Out | Luscious Jackson |
1997 | Time Out of Mind | Bob Dylan |
1998 | Brian Blade Fellowship | Brian Blade |
1998 | 12 Bar Blues | Scott Weiland |
1998 | Teatro | Willie Nelson |
2000 | The Million Dollar Hotel: Music from the Motion Picture movie soundtrack |  |
2000 | All That You Can't Leave Behind | U2 |
2003 | La Bella Vista | Harold Budd | secretly recorded in Lanois Los Angeles living room
2004 | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb | U2 | track "Love and Peace or Else"
2006 | Dusk & Summer | Dashboard Confessional | produced with Don Gilmore
2006 | loudQUIETloud movie soundtrack |  |
2007 | Back Where You Belong | Sinéad O'Connor |
2007 | Let It Go | Mother Superior |
2006 | Snake Road | Bob Lanois |
2009 | No Line on the Horizon | U2 | plus songwriting credits
2009 | "Mind Games" & "Night Nurse" | Sinéad O'Connor |
2009 | Mercy | Rocco DeLuca and the Burden |
2010 | Flamingo | Brandon Flowers |
2010 | Le Noise | Neil Young |
2012 | Honest Mistake | Jim Wilson |
2012 | Battle Born | The Killers | co-writer on tracks "The Way It Was", "Heart of a Girl", and "Be Still"
2014 | Rocco Deluca | Rocco Deluca |
2019 |  Red Dead Redemption 2 video game soundtrack That's The Way It Is | various artists | produced at Lakeshore Records
2025 | Pink Elephant | Arcade Fire |

## Collaborations

[edit]

* Peter Gabriel, So (Charisma, 1986)
* Robbie Robertson, Robbie Robertson (1987)
* Bob Dylan, Oh Mercy (1989)
* Peter Gabriel, Us (1992)
* Emmylou Harris, Wrecking Ball (1995)
* Ron Sexsmith, Ron Sexsmith (1995)
* Bob Dylan, Time Out of Mind (1997)
* Gordon Lightfoot, A Painter Passing Through (1998)
* Natalie Merchant, Ophelia (1998)
* Joe Henry, Fuse (1999)
* Peter Gabriel, Up (2002)
* Solomon Burke, Don't Give Up on Me (2002)
* Emmylou Harris, Stumble into Grace (2003)
* Brandon Flowers, Flamingo (2010)
* Leonard Cohen, Thanks for the Dance (2019)
* Annie Barbazza, Vive (2020)

## See also

[edit]

* Music portal
* Canada portal

* Canadian Music Hall of Fame
* List of ambient music artists
* Music of Canada

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "NLS Other Writings: Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures". Library of Congress. December 17, 2008. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
2. ^ Nolan, Daniel (November 23, 2020). "Obituary: Life lessons from the 'cool' mother of musician Dan Lanois". The Hamilton Spectator.
3. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 734\. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
4. ^ "Daniel Lanois: Live From On Air Fest | Broken Record". Pushkin Industries.
5. ^ Bateman, Jeff (March 4, 2015). "Lanois, Daniel". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
6. ^ Shepherd, John; Horn, David; Laing, Dave; Oliver, Paul; Wicke, Peter (March 6, 2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 1: Media, Industry, Society. A&C Black. p. 662\. ISBN 978-1-84714-473-7.
7. ^ Kirk LaPointe (May 11, 1985). "CASBY Awards: The people speak". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 74–. ISSN 0006-2510.
8. ^ "No Line on the Horizon". U2.com. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
9. ^ "Tulsa's Legendary Church Studio Rises Again". May 12, 2023.
10. ^ Dylan, Bob (2004). Chronicles, Vol. 1. Simon & Schuster. pp. 176ff.
11. ^ "Daniel Lanois injured in motorcycle crash". cbc.ca. Archived from the original on June 10, 2010.
12. ^ Sterdan, Daniel. "Lanois, Daniel: Lanois back in action after crash". Canoe Inc. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013.
13. ^ "Electronic Musician Feature". Emusician.com. October 13, 2011. Archived from the original on September 15, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
14. ^ "Candadaswalkoffame.com". Canadaswalkoffame.com. September 19, 2011. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
15. ^ "25 best Canadian debut albums ever". CBC Music. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
16. ^ "The Complete List of Grammy Nominations". The New York Times. December 8, 2005.
17. ^ "Friday Night Lights (2004)". IMDb.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
18. ^ "Cool Water (CD)". Amoeba.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
19. ^ Lee, Nathan (September 29, 2006). "loudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies - Review - Movies". The New York Times.
20. ^ "Story on Bob Shaw". Regina Leader-Post. April 14, 2011. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
21. ^ Doole, Kerry (April 15, 2014). "Emmylou Harris/Daniel Lanois – Concert Review". Exclaim Magazine. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
22. ^ "First Listen: Daniel Lanois, Flesh and Machine". Npr.org. October 19, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
23. ^ "Albums from Jerry Lee Lewis and Daniel Lanois". The New York Times. October 27, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
24. ^ Moon, Tom (September 1, 2016). "Review: Daniel Lanois, 'Goodbye To Language'". NPR.org. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
25. ^ Kupper, Oliver Maxwell; Bowie, Summer (January 28, 2016). "Transcending the Blues: An Interview With Legendary Record Producer Daniel Lanois". Autre Magazine. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
26. ^ "The Music of Red Dead Redemption 2 featuring Daniel Lanois". NTS.live. August 21, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
27. ^ "Mr. Daniel Roland Lanois". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
28. ^ "Daniel Lanois". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
29. ^ "Daniel Lanois". The JUNO Awards. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
30. ^ "DANIEL LANOIS: 2005 INDUCTEE". Canadaswalkoffame.com. September 19, 1951. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
31. ^ "NFB shorts: Stories Sarah Tells, Canadian Famous and Daniel Lanois". Toronto Star. June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daniel Lanois.

* Official website
* Entry at discogs.com
* Daniel Lanois at AllMusic

* v
* t
* e

Daniel Lanois

Studio albums|

* Acadie (1989)
* For the Beauty of Wynona (1993)
* Shine (2003)
* Rockets (2004)
* Belladonna (2005)
* Here Is What Is (2007)
* Black Dub (2010)
* Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois (2018)

* v
* t
* e

Canadian Music Hall of Fame

1978-1990|

* Guy Lombardo (1978)
* Oscar Peterson (1978)
* Hank Snow (1979)
* Paul Anka (1980)
* Joni Mitchell (1981)
* Neil Young (1982)
* Glenn Gould (1983)
* The Crew-Cuts (1984)
* The Diamonds (1984)
* The Four Lads (1984)
* Wilf Carter (1985)
* Gordon Lightfoot (1986)
* The Guess Who (1987)
* No inductee (1988)
* The Band (1989)
* Maureen Forrester (1990)

1990-2000|

* Leonard Cohen (1991)
* Ian & Sylvia (1992)
* Anne Murray (1993)
* Rush (1994)
* ~~Buffy Sainte-Marie~~ (1995)
* David Clayton-Thomas (1996)
* Denny Doherty (1996)
* John Kay (1996)
* Domenic Troiano (1996)
* Zal Yanovsky (1996)
* Gil Evans (1997)
* Lenny Breau (1997)
* Maynard Ferguson (1997)
* Moe Koffman (1997)
* Rob McConnell (1997)
* David Foster (1998)
* Luc Plamondon (1999)
* Bruce Fairbairn (2000)

2001-2010|

* Bruce Cockburn (2001)
* Daniel Lanois (2002)
* Tom Cochrane (2003)
* Bob Ezrin (2004)
* The Tragically Hip (2005)
* Bryan Adams (2006)
* Bob Rock (2007)
* Triumph (2008)
* Loverboy (2009)
* April Wine (2010)

2011-2020|

* Shania Twain (2011)
* Blue Rodeo (2012)
* k.d. lang (2013)
* Bachman–Turner Overdrive (2014)
* Alanis Morissette (2015)
* Burton Cummings (2016)
* Sarah McLachlan (2017)
* Barenaked Ladies (2018)
* Steven Page (2018)
* Corey Hart (2019)
* Andy Kim (2019)
* Bobby Curtola (2019)
* Chilliwack (2019)
* Cowboy Junkies (2019)
* No inductee (2020)

2021-2030|

* Jann Arden (2021)
* Deborah Cox (2022)
* Nickelback (2023)
* Terri Clark (2023)
* Trooper (2023)
* Oliver Jones (2023)
* Diane Dufresne (2023)
* Maestro Fresh Wes (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

* Thom Bell (1974)
* Arif Mardin (1975)
* Stevie Wonder (1976)
* Peter Asher (1977)
* Bee Gees (Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb & Robin Gibb), Albhy Galuten & Karl Richardson (1978)
* Larry Butler (1979)
* Phil Ramone (1980)
* Quincy Jones (1981)
* Toto (1982)
* Michael Jackson & Quincy Jones (1983)
* James Anthony Carmichael & Lionel Richie / David Foster (1984)
* Phil Collins & Hugh Padgham (1985)
* Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (1986)
* Narada Michael Walden (1987)
* Neil Dorfsman (1988)
* Peter Asher (1989)
* Quincy Jones (1990)
* David Foster (1991)
* Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois / L.A. Reid & Babyface (1992)
* David Foster (1993)
* Don Was (1994)
* Babyface (1995)
* Babyface (1996)
* Babyface (1997)
* Rob Cavallo (1998)
* Walter Afanasieff (1999)
* Dr. Dre (2000)
* T Bone Burnett (2001)
* Arif Mardin (2002)
* The Neptunes (2003)
* John Shanks (2004)
* Steve Lillywhite (2005)
* Rick Rubin (2006)
* Mark Ronson (2007)
* Rick Rubin (2008)
* Brendan O'Brien (2009)
* Danger Mouse (2010)
* Paul Epworth (2011)
* Dan Auerbach (2012)
* Pharrell Williams (2013)
* Max Martin (2014)
* Jeff Bhasker (2015)
* Greg Kurstin (2016)
* Greg Kurstin (2017)
* Pharrell Williams (2018)
* Finneas O'Connell (2019)
* Andrew Watt (2020)
* Jack Antonoff (2021)
* Jack Antonoff (2022)
* Jack Antonoff (2023)
* Dan Nigro (2024)

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