Lawrence Arabia | |
|---|---|
 Lawrence Arabia in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Milne |
| Born | Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Genres | Indie pop |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Lawrence Arabia is the musical guise of New Zealand artist and composer James Milne. [1]
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In 2006, Lawrence Arabia released his self-titled debut album and the debut album from his band The Reduction Agents, The Dance Reduction Agents . Both albums were nominated for several bNet awards, New Zealand's public voted alternative radio awards. [2]
In 2009 he released his sophomore solo album Chant Darling, recorded between London and Sweden, [3] which resulted in an APRA Silver Scroll Award for the song "Apple Pie Bed" (with co-writer, The Phoenix Foundation's Lukasz Buda). [4] In 2010 Chant Darling was awarded the inaugural Taite Music Prize. [5]
In August 2009, Lawrence performed with a new band called BARB on a New Zealand tour, with a band consisting of Connan Mockasin, Liam Finn, Eliza Jane Barnes, Seamus Ebbs, Jol Mulholland and Wild Bill Rickets. [6] Their album (recorded at Roundhead Studios in Auckland) was released 10 August 2010. [7]
In October 2011 he released another collaborative album with Mike Fabulous (The Black Seeds, Lord Echo), Unlimited Buffet, with Fabulous composing the instrumentals and Milne the vocal melodies and lyrics. [8]
In July 2012, Lawrence Arabia released his third album titled The Sparrow. The same album won a VNZMA for Best Male Solo Artist in 2013. [9]
His fourth album, Absolute Truth, was recorded with Mike Fabulous in the Hutt Valley, Wellington [10] and was released by Flying Nun Records in July 2016. [11] It was nominated for Best Alternative Album and Best Male Solo artist at the 2016 VNZMAs [12] and won Best Alternative Album. [13] The artwork by Anns Taylor won a 2016 VNZMA for best album cover. [14]
In 2019 he released fifth album Singles Club made up of 12 songs written, recorded and released one a month between 27 January 2018 and 25 December 2018.
He has toured extensively throughout Australia, North America and Europe, including shows with Feist, Beach House, and Crowded House. [15]
Milne has been a member of the pop group The Brunettes and has toured as bass player for American band Okkervil River. [16] He has also produced music for film and theatre including songs that appeared in Taika Waititi's film Eagle vs Shark . [17]