Out of the Recording Mix : Producer Daniel Lanois to Make His Own Music at Coach House

The worlds of contemporary and traditional music often seem at odds, like religions with diametrically opposed value systems whose adherents will defend their respective dogmas to the death. True believers from both camps often seem defensive in their zeal, as purveyors of new sounds and ideas struggle to attain perceived legitimacy, and adherents of roots music sometimes wrestle with an aura of irrelevance.

As a performer and a producer, Daniel Lanois--who plays Monday night at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano--has managed to negotiate a seamless synthesis of the two sides. Incorporating the best elements of both, he enthuses the brash upstart and the stubborn traditionalist alike: Old and new school supporters both claim him as one of their own.

Lanois, 41, perhaps is best known for his production of such diverse talents as Bob Dylan, U2, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, the Neville Brothers and Brian Eno, but he’s been steadily cementing a reputation as a vital, innovative musician in his own right. His emotive vocals, otherworldly guitar work and Impressionistic songwriting have secured him a growing, devoted following and one day may obscure his efforts on behalf of others.

“Acadie,” his 1989 debut album, earned critical raves for its adventuresome spirit, technical brilliance and unrestrained, firmly entrenched roots in French-Canadian folk music. The recently released “For the Beauty of Waynona” follows in the first album’s footsteps while adding harsher tones, deeper grooves and a bit more tension.

“I’m of the opinion that roots really affect an artist,” Lanois said during a recent phone interview. “A lot of musicians take what they learn from the family and pass it on, as I have. Others deny that it ever happened and say, ‘I hate everything about myself and I’m going to invent something new,’ but that’s still being affected by your roots.”

He grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, a town he calls “the Pittsburgh of Canada,” where he listened to the regional folk songs his parents sang and to the radio as it blasted psychedelic music by Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane. When he was 14, the Lanois family opened a small recording studio, where Daniel eventually became chief engineer and producer.

“I grew up with technology. Hamilton was far, far away from the hub of the music industry, but that was a blessing in disguise, because working there gave me a chance to hone in on my skills and get some of the laboratory work out of the way.

“In the late ‘60s, I was excited by current music--what was happening on the street at the time--and I developed my skills around the music I was excited about. It wasn’t until later that I actually began to dig into the past a little deeper for some of my songs. I already had the skills, and I just blended the two together.

“I’ve had a lot of musical influence from New Orleans,” he continued. “I like the steaminess. I like the bottom. I like the rhythm--the way the beats are almost falling over themselves. Early on, I also was into a lot of soul music--Joe Tex, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett. I’d say in terms of phrasing and sexuality, that music left a big impression on me.”

By the early ‘80s, his growing reputation as a master technician and eclectic musical mind grabbed the attention of fellow studio whiz Eno, who recruited Lanois for a series of co-production projects that culminated with U2’s “Unforgettable Fire” album.

The commercial and artistic success of the album thrust Lanois firmly into the spotlight, and he remains one of the industry’s most in-demand producers. His most famous production work may have been on U2’s multimillion- selling “Achtung Baby” album.

“I really never had any specific intentions of being a record producer everybody would know about,” he said. “I just kept my nose to the grindstone and got on with my work. If you do something unique, eventually you’ll surface somehow.”

His sound has an atmospheric, ethereal vibe that permeates everything he records, from the simplest acoustic folk song to the most elaborately staged production showcase. He leaves a similarly personal, signature-like stamp on his own work, whether he’s coming off like a French-singing Leadbelly or a musical refugee from a sci-fi film.

“Songs are visual. You can paint a picture with sound if you’re good at working with it; you can conjure up a visual image for the listener. The music that I do is quite moody, and it all adds up to being visual in approach.”

Lanois’ music is so identified with his shimmering production technique that one wonders if he can pull off a live show. In any case, Lanois said he prefers playing concerts to twisting knobs in the studio.

“There’s a tremendous gratification with live performance, an instant gratification in the sense that it’s a vast communication that you hear through the ears of an audience. There’s nothing like that. It’s like throwing yourself off the deep end. Your resourcefulness is at its peak, and you only get one shot at it, so you have to really push to make it work.”

Weary of recording albums that take years to complete and eager to get on with his own career, Lanois said he has decided against undertaking any further exhaustive studio projects. But he confesses that it’s part of his makeup to work until he’s worn out.

“I’m really driven,” he said. “It’s just unbelievable--I can’t take myself sometimes. It’s not healthy. The only way I can ever even give my mind a rest is by writing down information. If an idea comes into my head, and I can’t store it someplace, I get totally frustrated.”

* Daniel Lanois plays Monday at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Alejandro Escoveda opens at 8 p.m. Tickets: $16.50. Information: (714) 496-8930.

Lanois’ Journal of Rock Wisdom

Over the years, Daniel Lanois has kept with him in the studio a journal in which he has written down some things said by artists he has produced and others. During his interview with Buddy Seigal last week, Lanois shared a few of his favorite quotes:

“The first idea is usually the right one.”

--Bob Dylan

“Don’t play the game you can’t win.”

--Peter Gabriel

“You are what you are, and you do what you do.”

--Iggy Pop

“Taste is the enemy of art.”

--Brian Eno

“The long road makes you sweat, but the short road makes you bleed.”

--Unidentified Jamaican musician