Michael Brook with Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois - Hybrid (1985)

“Hybrid” is an album by Michael Brook with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. A specialist in timbre and texture, Brook pioneered the infinite guitar, a guitar outfitted with a feedback transducer to produce non-decaying sustain of any note, which makes its first notable appearance on this album
The mid-'80s proved to be a prolific and exploratory time for the producer/performer team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who this time out take guitarist Michael Brook under their ambient wing to create an album of considerable beauty and restraint. Taking a "less is more" approach to the project, Brook adapts quite easily as a group member in co-creating these organic pieces (although composer credits go to him alone), and within a few minutes one forgets that he is a guitar player. Hybrid is not an especially dynamic or exciting album, but its depth is nonetheless rewarding. There is substance within the shadows, and the musicians take the necessary time to properly explore them. Highlights include the title cut, "Hybrid," which takes on the tone of a sleepy journey through underwater Morocco, plus "Pond Life," a barely audible meditation that is in its own right the strongest on the disc by simply trusting its atmosphere, assisted in no small part by visiting contributor Gordon Philips. In future recordings, Brook would prove to be a more energetic performer than “Hybrid” would suggest, but it's nice to have evidence that there is a zen master behind all the kung fu. For Eno and Lanois, it was only a year earlier that they delivered U2's groundbreaking album, “The Unforgettable Fire” (which is still considered a landmark recording for the band), so the “Hybrid” project probably seemed like a welcome sigh of relief for them.


01.  Hybrid  - 6:18
02.  Distant Village  - 4:03
03.  Mimosa  - 6:20
04.  Pond Life  - 3:40
05.  Ocean Motion  - 5:5
06.  Midday  - 5:59
07.  Earth Floor  - 4:45
08.  Vacant  - 5:00

Credits
Michael Brook  - Mbira, Steel Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Vibraphone [Vibes]
Brian Eno - Bass, Synthesizer, Percussion (Swamp), Piano, Effects [Treatments]
Daniel Lanois  - Bass, Percussion, Effects [Treatments]
Dick Smith  - Percussion, Congas
Gordon Phillips - Bagpipes [Northumbrian Pipes]
Mixed By - Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno
Composed By – Michael Brook
Engineer [Assistant] – David Bottril
Photography By [Additional] – David Buckland
Photography By [Cover] – Gregory Brook
Artwork, Design – Russell Mills
Producer – Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Michael Brook
Remastered By – Michael Brook, Tony Cousins

Notes
Recorded at Bob & Dan Lanois' studio
Many thanks to: Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Robert Lanois, Anthea Norman-Taylor & Opal Ltd. for their generous assistance & encouragement on this project
Genre - Ambient, Experimental Electronic
Length - 41:56
© 1985 Label EG Records