Daniel Lanois Tells it Like it 'Is'

photo by Adam Samuels

With a hand in works ranging from U2’s The Joshua Tree and Peter Gabriel’s So to Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball and his own equally elegant (if less ubiquitous) solo work, artist/producer Daniel Lanois is one of modern music’s most accomplished craftsmen. Indelibly stamping every record he touches, he creates deeply layered, naturalistic chord structures and lush instrumental beds. On his new CD/DVD set, Here Is What Is, Lanois steps back, surveying the creative process with a profound sense of purpose. The project includes sonic tone poems, offers insight into his songwriting and captures his philosophical conversations with Brian Eno in the midst of the Moroccan recording sessions for the last U2 record.

“Everyone has access to the same tools,” Lanois softly intones while discussing What Is. “I think it’s a matter of emphasis. I’m looking at my fireplace right now and it has this beautiful herringbone pattern. If my fire was bigger and roaring then I might not be able to appreciate the herringbone.” So it is, he explains, with the songwriting process—in addition to blazing anthems, Lanois strives to capture “the in-between moments of life,” allowing instruments room to breathe so they can create overtones and add new textures. He also does his best to inspire the artists he works with to find new facets of themselves. “You will wake up one morning,” he says, “holding a license to something you could never do before.”