Leila Arab ( fa, لیلا عرب, born in 1971), professionally known as Leila, is an

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian-born record producer and DJ based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She has released music on the labels Rephlex, XL and

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

. She has also worked extensively with Icelandic singer

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Biography

Arab was born in

Pahlavi Iran The Imperial State of Iran ( fa, کشور شاهنشاهی ایران, ), also known as the Imperial State of Persia, was the official name of the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. It was formed in 1925 and lasted until 197 ...

and spent part of her childhood there. Her family fled to London following the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

in 1979. She became interested in DJing and keyboards, and left college to perform with singer

1994, later working with her as a

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

and live mixer. She met Richard D. James while both were on tour with Björk, and both James and

Grant Wilson-Claridge Rephlex Records was a record label launched in 1991 in Cornwall by electronic musician Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) and Grant Wilson-Claridge. The label coined the term ''braindance'' to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists ...

suggested she release her solo recordings on their label

Rephlex Records Rephlex Records was a record label launched in 1991 in Cornwall by electronic musician Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) and Grant Wilson-Claridge. The label coined the term ''braindance'' to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists ...

. In 1998, Leila released her debut album, ''

Like Weather ''Like Weather'' is the debut studio album by English electronic musician Leila. It was released on 30 March 1998 by Rephlex Records. Critical reception Reviewing ''Like Weather'' for AllMusic, John Bush noted the album's "tremendously eclect ...

'', on Rephlex. In 2000, she released ''

Courtesy of Choice ''Courtesy of Choice'' is the second studio album by electronic music artist Leila, released by XL Recordings in 2000. It features vocal contributions from Roya Arab, Donna Paul, and Luca Santucci. Critical reception Denise Benson of ''Exclaim! ...

'' on

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six album ...

. Ben Thompson of ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' called referred to these releases as "two collections of spooky electronic soul which ..established her as an integral member of the Nineties' golden generation of British writer-producers." After a hiatus following the death of her parents, she released ''

Blood Looms and Blooms ''Blood Looms and Blooms'' is the third studio album by electronic music artist Leila, released by Warp in 2008. It peaked at number 33 on the UK Dance Albums Chart. Critical reception At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out o ...

'' in 2008 on

. It included vocal contributions from Terry Hall and

Martina Topley-Bird Martina Gillian Topley-Bird (''née'' Topley; born 7 May 1975) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained fame as the featured female vocalist on trip hop pioneer Tricky's debut album, ''Maxinquaye'' (1995). Sh ...

. In 2009, she contributed a cover of an Aphex Twin song, "Vordhosbn", to the ''

Warp20 (Recreated) ''Warp20 (Recreated)'' is a compilation album released by Warp Records in 2009. It contains covers of Warp artists, such as Aphex Twin, LFO, Boards of Canada and Grizzly Bear, by other Warp artists, such as Plaid, Autechre and Mira Calix. ''War ...

'' compilation album. In 2012, she released her fourth LP '' U&I'' on Warp. In 2015, she released a collaborative EP with

Zebra Katz Ojay Morgan (born 1987), better known as Zebra Katz, is a Berlin-based Jamaican-American rapper, producer and songwriter who has collaborated with artists including Busta Rhymes and Gorillaz. Fashion designer Rick Owens featured Zebra Katz's s ...

, titled ''Nu Renegade'', on ZFK Records.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2000) * ''

'' (2008) * '' U&I'' (2012)

EPs

* ''Nu Renegade'' (2015)

Singles

* "Don't Fall Asleep" (1997) * “Space, Love" (1998) * "Feeling" (1998) * "Sodastream" (1999) * "Mettle" (2008) * "Deflect" (2008) * "(Disappointed Cloud) Anyway" (2011)

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1971 births Living people Iranian emigrants to England Iranian DJs Iranian exiles Musicians from London Warp (record label) artists English people of Iranian descent English women in electronic music English record producers XL Recordings artists Rephlex Records artists