Although Daniel Lanois became known in the eighties as a producer of top acts such as U2, Bob Dylan and Peter Gabriel, he does not shy away from experimentation. Just like producer and ambient pioneer Brian Eno - with whom he has worked extensively - he knows what the general public likes without closing his eyes to obscure influences. On his solo records he usually combines pop songs with strange
… instrumental passages. The balance on Flesh And Machine (2014) turns to its experimental side. Lanois was looking for sounds no one had heard before and said he spent hours and hours in his lab trying to find them. The image of a crazy professor doing scientific experiments in his own kitchen fits well with the disarming ambient of Flesh And Machine. Without it becoming really avant-garde and inaccessible, Lanois regularly manages to mislead the listener. (JE)more