Daniel Lanois: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

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. --BOB BOILEN

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

[cosmicphoto]

Brian Blade is the world's chillest drummer. When he plays, all is right with the world.

[karlboman]

Brian Blade is from a different planet! And that bass is sooo smooth and calming <3

[Paisan]

Brian Blade can do more with a the simplest kit set up than most drummers can do with twice as much.

[whoziee]

A hi-hat, a snare and a kick drum. That's all he needs to make it sound that good. Amazing!

[seamusin]

Daniel Lanois is immensely talented yet very underrated. He was instrumental in helping artists like Peter Gabriel, U2, Robbie Robertson, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and many others revive their careers through bringing his own unique and personal touch to their music. in particular, his sparse atmospheric sonic landscapes in many cases helped highlight and bring to the foreground voices of particular performers who might otherwise have gotten lost in excessive and over produced music devoid of true grit or soul. He has a particular knack and talent for showcasing that which makes an artist sound different from others.

In his own career, he has remained vital and current through being unafraid to take risks and explore different emotions, themes, and sounds in a way which comes across as truly authentic and genuine. He never seems to try to overpower the listener, rather he builds a feeling and momentum through his work which connects to people in a more visceral and instinctual way.

[andivax]

OMG! Daniel is used Delay as the main musical instrument! I've never seen such a miracle! Just WOW!

[michaelmadcat]

Of all the awesome performances out there, I think this is my all-time favorite NPR tiny desk concert.

[daniv]

The joy I feel when I hear Daniel Lanois is unlike any else. Specially this performance. Pure magic. 🙏
No wonder we loved the 80's.

[alexandriawallacew]

Brian Blade is just such a wonderful percussive.invation to the foundation and soul of every song he graces with his playing

[Sircumsczixszyo]

Great to see Brian Blade as good as I'd hoped he'd be. Great to see M. Lanois still topping the charts. And they're with a great young bassist. Thanks for the Great Free TV Concert!

[gordonstuart]

Just heard for the first time. Mind is blown. 😮

[churlishbeardo]

Rhythm section's killing it, here. The drummer's fantastic.

[bengerardo]

The sounds and rythems going through my heart in head. When there is no sound being made at all. Thanks ali.

[TheWolfboy]

Seriously, this is the best thing I've ever heard.
it's the freaking future

[Mervinlei]

Wish Daniel would make a full album like this with Brian Blade.

[letsif]

Brian Blade, one of the best drummers I've ever seen-heard.

[stephenrobbins]

Since there's so much controversy on this already and if any one wants a rundown on how DL runs this setup live:
He has already sampled tracks running through his mixer from the laptop, recorded onto pro tools. Lord knows what they are or how he made them but they're already there, complete with chord changes. My best guess is that Brian Blade (best drummer in the world) is playing to a click. DL pulls up faders for different tracks and instruments throughout the song: this is important, he PLAYS different already sampled parts live by basically pulling them off of mute. He is a performance mixer and does this all the time making recordings. He then runs those different tracks when he wants to through that (I believe) delay unit with the colored knobs and switches. He probably has a microphone pointed at the kit as well which he can turn up and take the drum parts being played live and feed those straight into the delay unit. This is my best guess, maybe it's right, maybe not. 
Cheers

[filiplaskovski]

“That’s the way it is” is one of his best songs ever

[chesneytube]

What an amazing drummer. A few seconds in to the set and I'm thinking 'what a luxury to have a drummer that can carry the whole set'! I've never heard of him before. Now I'm looking at the comments and more than half of them are about him!

[kingdomabundance]

Good wondering music. So chill. And that's probably happiest drummer I've seen all year. Brightens my day to see people enjoying music.