Venetian Snares‘ Aaron Funk and Grammy Award-winning producer/musician Daniel Lanois began collaborating in the Summer of 2016. An unlikely pairing on the surface, the duo reports they discussed the project back in 2014 after Lanois reached out to Venetian Snares as a fan. Two years later, the two would begin working in Toronto, with Funk bringing his gear by Lanois’ former Buddhist temple-turned-studio while on a stop between shows. With Venetian Snares providing rhythm and Lanois playing pedal steel guitar, the two would begin recording live. Describing their collaboration as “a body of work driven by exploration,” Lanois likens their efforts to the Jazz experiments of the 50s, with the two musicians searching for “a splintering,” as they follow their “appetite for the unknown.”
The result is the Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois LP due out May 4th via Planet Mu and Funk’s Timesig label. Look for the first 1000 copies of the LP to ship with a limited edition CD-R that includes alternate versions of tracks and exclusive material. Today we listen in on the album’s first single, “Mag11 P82.” The track’s initially pastoral strains reverberate in a seemingly open air panorama while cosmic whistles gurgle across the landscape. It’s not long, though, before Funk’s colossal drum strikes begin to echo like explosions in the night. Triggering Venetian Snare’s schizoid breakcore, Lanois’ floating ambiance is soon subjected to wild flurries of erupting rhythm. Accompanied by the pair’s vividly glowing production, this meeting of musical minds might seem difficult on the surface, but the result is a unique and challenging foray into uncharted sonic space.
Venetian Snares and Daniel Lanois will play a handful of live dates later this Spring and early Summer. You can checkout the list after the Soundcloud embed below…
Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois Live Dates
April 29 – Donaufestival – Krems, Austria
May 3 – Funkhaus – Berlin, Germany
May 4 – Village Underground – London, UK
June 14 – (Le) Poisson Rouge – New York City
