Robbie Robertson

Bob Dylan and The Band’s complete Basement Tapes resurface at last

Toronto duo largely responsible for lifting the veil off “the most sought after and mysterious recordings from the post-nuclear, pre-digital era.” Nick Krewen Music, Published on Wed Nov 05 2014   Sitting at Johnny Rockets, a ’50s-style burger joint in Yonge-Dundas Square, my dining companion pulls out a cardboard envelope and hands it over. “Open it up and have a look. Have a little whiff,” he insists. Inside is a…


Clairvoyant peek inside Robbie Robertson

Clairvoyant peek inside Robbie Robertson | Toronto Star It took a while — a long while — before Robbie Robertson was ready to address the topics in songs on How to Become Clairvoyant.       Nick Krewen Special to the Star Published on Mon Mar 28 2011 Thirteen years between albums may seem like ages, but it’s not as though Robbie Robertson has been idle. Prior to this Tuesday’s…


Ryuichi Sakamoto works with giants and with glaciers

Composer found music even in the frigid waters of the Arctic Sea.  Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Mon Oct 25 2010 Over 80 albums and 32 years, revered Japanese cultural icon Ryuichi Sakamoto — who made a rare Toronto concert appearance Sunday at the Queen Elizabeth Centre — has dabbled in a lot of genres. Since he graduated from his electronic music studies at Tokyo’s University of Art, Sakamoto,…


Daniel Lanois on recording

PUBLISHED IN CANADIAN MUSICIAN IN OCTOBER ’97 DANIEL LANOIS ON RECORDING Nick Krewen   Over the years, Daniel Lanois has chosen some pretty exotic locales to conduct his business: a New Orleans mansion, a Mexican cliff side dwelling, and a converted Californian porn theatre among them. The reason for his choices, however, isn’t as scientific as one might presume. “Hey, you’ve got to keep yourself amused,” chuckles Lanois, whose multifaceted…


Summers at Six Nations

  Where Robbie Robertson Learned To Play At The Feet Of His Mohawk Cousin   NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator October 6, 1994   TORONTO:  As a kid growing up in Toronto, Jamie Robbie Robertson had little interest and awareness in music. That all changed at the age of 11, when Robertson, who would later co-found The Band, started spending his summer vacations visiting relatives at the Six Nations Reserve just…