Famed producer/guitarist Daniel Lanois steps out of the studio with Black Dub
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Music producer Daniel Lanois, second from left, gets his chance to shine on stage with Black Dub -- Brian Blade, left, Trixie Whitley and Daryl Johnson.
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In the spring of 1984, Brian Eno invited Daniel Lanois, an engineer with a resume of minor production credits (including Raffi), to help produce U2's "The Unforgettable Fire" in Dublin.
U2's sonic upgrade was a launching pad for a production career that has included some of the biggest and most important pop albums of the past three decades, including U2's "The Joshua Tree," Peter Gabriel's "So," Bob Dylan's "Oh Mercy" and "Time Out of Mind," and, most recently, Neil Young's "Le Noise."
Around the time Mr. Lanois was working with U2 on "Achtung Baby," Chris Whitley's debut album, "Living With the Law," was being recorded at his house in New Orleans with Lanois protege Malcolm Burn.
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It would create the seed for the latest Lanois project, a band called Black Dub with the late Mr. Whitley's daughter, Trixie Whitley. Mr. Lanois, who made his debut as a recording artist with a solo album in 1989, plays guitar and produces; Brian Blade plays drums, Daryl Johnson bass and Trixie Whitley adds bluesy vocals.
"I'd always had a connection with her father, and I only knew her as a little girl," the producer says, "but when I saw her in Belgium she was grown up and writing songs and singing and was pretty fascinating all around. I had an opportunity to invite an artist of my choice when I did a visiting prof day at Berklee College in Boston. Trixie came in for that and it went pretty well, and I invited her up to Toronto to record a song of mine called 'I Believe in You.' I thought, this is going pretty good, maybe we should put a band together."
Black Dub debuted last year with a self-titled album that adds her soulful vocals to a swampy mix of blues, funk, rock and Jamaican dub. The band was set to tour last summer, but those plans were scrapped when Mr. Lanois went down on his motorcycle in LA.
"I'm almost back 100 percent," he says. "I broke 10 bones [including eight rib bones], so it was serious. I almost died. Now, I'm making every minute count, and I'm just happy that our promoters were patient, still having us, and we're making up for lost time."
First Published June 16, 2011 12:00 am
