New Lanois album to download in high-quality format

Canadian musician and producer Daniel Lanois plans to offer the digital release of his new album, Here Is What Is, in high-quality WAV format. It will be one of the first downloads offered in CD-quality WAV format, according to Billboard.

Singer-songwriter and producer Daniel Lanois performs at the Canada For Asia tsunami relief in January 2005. The documentary film Here Is What Is follows him over the course of a year.

WAV has better audio quality than the more commonly used MP3 format, but results in a larger file that is slower to download.
Lanois, who has produced artists such as Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel and U2, also is a songwriter and musician.

Here Is What Is features Lanois in collaboration with drummer Brian Blade and the Band keyboardist Garth Hudson. Lanois's 1989 album Acadie is No. 20 in Bob Mersereau's controversial book, The Top 100 Canadian Albums.

He is releasing the WAV download in December, in collaboration with independent record label RedFloorRecords.com, which Lanois backs. It will be out on CD from RedFloor in March, the same time the documentary film Here Is What Is will be released.

The film follows him over the course of a year as he works in the studio and tours from Toronto to Morocco, working frequently with longtime friend Brian Eno. It was first screened this September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

(Mike Cassese/Associated Press)