Daniel Lanois
Belladonna

Thirteen days. Thirteen meditations to the sound of "Belladonna" by Lanois. In tracklist order, here is what I visualized, day by day, track by track: a moon landing on the first day; a deserted beach swept by the wind, and devoid of any form of vegetation, on the second. The third day, my solitude on a full moon night in Machu Picchu. On the fourth, terrible traffic on a sort of ring road on the outskirts of a megalopolis in the southern hemisphere. Me, stuck between the blades of the guardrail straddling the two carriageways, impassive under a scorching sun. And what a smell of frying rapeseed oil! Fifth day, a cowboy strangely rides a donkey... They wander through the desert, both neither tired nor sad. The sixth day, more modestly a garden. Another garden on the seventh, but of a Japanese temple. Only, I had the impression that the temple was in another nation, not in Japan. A feeling of reconciliation on the eighth day. On the ninth, desolation, the sad awareness that calms and turns into placid indifference, accompanied by a providential sense of emptiness. On the tenth, the sea of a strait appears separating Mexico from the United States, and I swim in these warm, sweeping currents. Day eleven (as per the track's title) the nocturnal vision of a city from a hilltop viewpoint. The twelfth, the sweet and harmonic flickering of a votive candle's flame, in the gentle wind. Finally, a slow nighttime ascent.

I would like to clarify that, in listening to these tracks, I never took an interest in knowing their titles, as this could have influenced my visualizations, giving them an immediate "indication" of what to focus on right away. A bit like when you see the psychiatrist on TV saying to the patient: I say a word and you respond with the first one that comes to mind... This can also happen in visualization: a title is without a doubt a suggestion...

All this to explain that "Belladonna" is one of his entirely instrumental works, classifiable within, albeit with the peculiarities of the character, ambient music. Again (and always) halfway between roots, root and tex-mex, and studies/knowledge/ambient inspirations, this Brian Eno country mixes the abstraction of certain space pop, ambient indeed, and new age with the instruments and sounds of his juicy musical roots, pedal steel guitar first and foremost, of which he is a great enthusiast and expert.

An excellent record, which will undoubtedly appeal to those who are already inclined toward such creations, but which may also be appreciated by "songwriters" like me, provided they distill the listening or use a less traditional and more creative approach than usual. Maybe not overdoing it by mistaking it for subliminal music, as I did, but better than falling asleep on the fourth track, right?