Daniel Lanois

Join REFLECTIONS for an evening of sound and light with legendary ambient producer Daniel Lanois and fourth world trio Total Blue, co-presented by KCRW and Synth History. Blending studio-to-stage techniques, Lanois will perform a solo ambient set for pedal steel and sampler, using a multitrack setup to reimagine his existing material in real time. Don’t miss this chance to experience Lanois live in a gorgeous cathedral, immersed in transcendent light.

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DANIEL LANOIS is a producer, singer, pedal steel guitarist, and visionary sound designer, born in Quebec, Canada, now based in Los Angeles.

With his production partner Brian Eno, Lanois made a series of timeless records that practically define the ambient genre. 1982’s Ambient 4: On Land. 1983’s Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks. 1984’s The Pearl. Each one evokes a sense of weightlessness and gentle abstraction, bringing to the foreground a series of ethereal, yet visceral, landscapes.

Further albums with Jon Hassell, Harold Budd, U2, Bob Dylan, and Peter Gabriel further expanded the idea of studio-as-instrument, making every part of the production an integral component of the overall texture, and striking the perfect balance between avant-garde experimentation and straightforward pleasure.

His first major pop production effort was on U2’s The Unforgettable Fire (1984). His work attracted the attention of Peter Gabriel, who hired Lanois to produce the album So (1986). Combined with the commercial success of So, Lanois’s work on U2’s The Joshua Tree (1987) and Achtung Baby (1991) made him the most sought-after producer in rock music.

Yet Lanois is a songwriter, and his solo work mines the spiritual expanse of his lived experience. With his gliding pedal steel guitar, his albums explore grassroots music, French impressionism, electronic soundscapes, dub, Mexican ballads, gospel… in other words, a world of depth and emotion, crystallized in song and sound.

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TOTAL BLUE is the atmospheric fusion trio of Nicky Benedek, Alex Talan, and Anthony Calonico. based in Los Angeles. Their self-titled debut was released on Music From Memory in 2024, an etheric vision of ambient soundtracks, minimal house, and shimmering fourth-world landscapes.

Painting with a lush palette of digital synths, Akai EVI wind synthesizer, fretless bass, and guitar, the trio masterfully balance texture and color, evoking wide expansive vistas that stretch from LA right out to the furthest reaches of sky and sea. This is “Total Blue” — a place of time and timelessness where echoes of history and tradition merge with rootless inhuman sonics.