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Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker' Is A Family Affair

Leonard Cohen (left) and Adam Cohen speak at an event for the release of <em>You Want It Darker</em>.
Frank Micelotta
/
Courtesy of the artist
Leonard Cohen (left) and Adam Cohen speak at an event for the release of You Want It Darker.

Leonard Cohen's new album, You Want It Darker, certainly delivers on the promise of its title. It's a meditation on mortality that soars to the highest of musical heights and sinks to the lowest of vocal and existential depths. The record is truly one of the 82-year-old Cohen's best — and it was produced by his son, fellow musician Adam Cohen.

The experience saw Adam flying to Montreal to record the congregation of his family's old synagogue, dancing in front of speakers with his old man and delving deeper into a father-son relationship than most of us couldn't dream possible. In this interview, hear Adam discuss the pressure — and the joy — of producing a record for a living legend who just happens to be your dad.

Copyright 2016 XPN

Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.