ABSTRACT
Born in Hull, Quebec, Lanois has been one of the most influential pop producers of the 1980s and 1990s. When Lanois was 12, his parents separated and he moved to a suburb of Hamilton, Ontario, where he began playing the guitar and making home recordings, working with his brother. In 1970 the duo opened a primitive studio in their home, and began working with local acts. During the late 1970s, Lanois did his first work for noted producer/composer Brian Eno. Eno became a mentor for the young producer. In 1984, Eno invited Lanois to coproduce the next U2 album, The Unforgettable Fire. His work on this record impressed Peter Gabriel, who invited him to produce his 1986 album, So. A year later he joined again with Eno to produce U2’s smash album, The Joshua Tree, and his reputation was launched. In the late 1980s he set up a studio in New Orleans, Louisiana, called Kingway, and worked with a variety of artists, including producing Bob Dylan’s 1989 Oh Mercy album, the best-received recording by Dylan in years. Lanois reunited in the 1990s with U2 (1991’s Achtung Baby), Gabriel (Us from 1992), and Dylan (the Grammy-winning 1997 album, Time Out of Mind), and produced Emmylou Harris’s 1995 hit album, Wrecking Ball. Lanois’s production work is highly atmospheric; he creates an evocative sonic landscape for his artists, recalling classic sounds of the 1950s and 1960s while updating them through the use of new technologies. Lanois has also recorded a few albums on his own, although without achieving the same level of success as the acts that he has produced.
