Daniel Lanois demonstrates performance mixing

I've always been a fan of Lanois's and his productions. Loved this video — inspirational stuff. Sharing here for fans of Lanois and his aesthetic.

 

Whenever I see the name Daniel Lanois on a production I know it will be worth a listen. Thanks for the post - really enjoyed it.

 

Thank you for sharing.

There's another great video where he creates/mixes with Pharrell.
Unfortunately they kind of ruined it for me, bringing in a naked girl.
I don't know why they had to do that, but I stopped watching his stuff after that.

So again, thanks for this clip. Made a lot more sense.

Best,
Anders

 

Yeah it was the same for me. To be fair, pharrel was the one who brought the girl, Lanois was surprised on the spot.

 

Coming from a live/stage sound roots, this video brings up an important point. In live sound it’s called “riding the faders” but it’s not just faders, can be eq or a low pass filter or reverb... but essentially it’s working the mix on many channels as the music plays in real time. Often with live music reverb and effects are bought up and down to emphasis certain phrases or a chorus section, but subtle level changes can also help a phrase to be more expressive- and this is normally the point. A mixer fixes issues and creates a balance mix, but then beyond that (if all is going well) adds to the expressiveness.

A good application for composers is doing a pass like this during a final mix, after you’ve added all the expressiveness you can with midi and the instrument, try adding a subtle volume boost to the end of a phrase, or more subtle fade out, or a swelling reverb tail. These are things I’ll tweak by hand sometimes, but starting with a “live” motorized touch fader can really help to build your skills at this live type of mixing. Get a feel for it like an instrument, and it can really help your mixes to sound more expressive. Try to force yourself to do long chunks without stopping, some great stuff comes out of that “in the moment” mixing (like a live instrument playing with accents and ornaments). Also, it can speed up your mixing by a large margin.

 

He borrowed my markers this summer. That's my biggest claim to fame to date.

 

how can you wrong with a track that features a pedal steel???

Seriously, riding the faders is an art form, and he is quite good at it.

 

Yes I’m with you a 100%!

I do a lot of (tv) post work and my Artist mix is a lifesaver or should I say, timesaver.
Only thing to keep in mind is to be able to “let go”, see the mix as a live performance/broadcast and unless there’s a big error just let the minor issues be a part of “your sound”.

Cheers,
/Anders

 

That's why I describe the process of mixing as "offline conducting", sometimes.

 

I know, you just can't go wrong. Every time I hear pedal steel in a Lanois production I'm trying to track down a pedal steel to buy...every single time.

 

I was suckered (?) into purchasing a pedal steel a long time ago by my then guitar instructor, who kept one in his teaching studio. Pretty hard to resist!!!

 

I always enjoy these. He always reveals concepts so clearly. I got to work with him in the early stage of his career and it was great. Every night was an education. Dan is a prince of aguy with real skill in every area. Real focus and genuine skills. When he steps back from the ambient stuff he is a scary good guitarist too. I still learn from his stuff all the time