Lawrence Arabia is the musical guise of New Zealand artist and composer James Milne. In 2006, Lawrence Arabia released his self-titled debut album and the debut album from his band

The Reduction Agents The Reduction Agents are a New Zealand band fronted by James Milne, who also records under the name Lawrence Arabia. In 2006 the band released their debut album '' The Dance Reduction Agents''. In the same year, Milne released his debut solo alb ...

, ''

The Dance Reduction Agents ''The Dance Reduction Agents'' is the debut album from New Zealand band The Reduction Agents. It was written and produced by James Milne, who also creates music under the pseudonym Lawrence Arabia. It was released simultaneously with the debut L ...

''. Both albums were nominated for several bNet awards, New Zealand's public voted alternative radio awards. In 2009 he released his sophomore solo album ''Chant Darling,'' recorded between London and Sweden, which resulted in an

APRA Silver Scroll The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members. APRA hold the annual Silver ...

Award for the song "Apple Pie Bed" (with co-writer,

The Phoenix Foundation The Phoenix Foundation is a New Zealand indie rock band formed in Wellington in 1997. History Early years and ''China Cove'' The band was founded by Conrad Wedde, Samuel Flynn Scott, and Luke Buda in 1994 while students at Wellington High ...

's Lukasz Buda). In 2010 ''Chant Darling'' was awarded the inaugural

Taite Music Prize The Taite Music Prize is an annual New Zealand music award event. It features the same-named prize awarded for the best album from New Zealand. The prize is named after respected New Zealand music journalist and broadcaster Dylan Taite, who die ...

. In August 2009, Lawrence performed with a new band called BARB on a New Zealand tour, with a band consisting of

Connan Mockasin Connan Tant Hosford, better known by the stage name Connan Mockasin and sometimes credited as Connan Hosford, is a New Zealand musician, composer and record producer. Critically acclaimed and described as "a psych-funk oddball...a contrarian", ...

Liam Finn Liam Mullane Finn (born 24 September 1983) is a New Zealand singer and musician. Born in Melbourne, Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child. He is the son of musicians Sharon and Neil Finn. In 2020, he joined his father's band, Crowded ...

, Eliza Jane Barnes, Seamus Ebbs, Jol Mulholland and Wild Bill Rickets. Their album (recorded at

Roundhead Studios Roundhead Studios is an Auckland-based sound recording studio owned by singer-songwriter Neil Finn. It was officially opened in June 2007, however by the time of its opening, several international artists had already used it whilst the studio was ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

) was released 10 August 2010. In October 2011 he released another collaborative album with Mike Fabulous (

The Black Seeds The Black Seeds are a reggae inspired musical group from Wellington, New Zealand.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)The Black Seeds, rooted in reggae, ''Jamaica Observer'', 27 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013 Their rocksteady song "One ...

, Lord Echo), ''Unlimited Buffet,'' with Fabulous composing the instrumentals and Milne the vocal melodies and lyrics. In July 2012, Lawrence Arabia released his third album titled ''The Sparrow''. The same album won a

VNZMA The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant tha ...

for Best Male Solo Artist in 2013. His fourth album, ''Absolute Truth,'' was recorded with Mike Fabulous in the Hutt Valley, Wellington and was released by

Flying Nun Records Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringin ...

in July 2016. It was nominated for Best Alternative Album and Best Male Solo artist at the 2016

s and won Best Alternative Album. The artwork by Anns Taylor won a 2016

for best album cover. 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. Milne has been a member of the pop group

The Brunettes The Brunettes were an indie pop or twee pop group from New Zealand formed in 1998 to 2009. The band consists of core members Jonathan Bree and Heather Mansfield, with additional contributions from part-time members such as Ryan McPhun and Chel ...

and has toured as bass player for American band

Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...

. He has also produced music for film and theatre including songs that appeared in Taika Waititi's film ''

Eagle vs Shark ''Eagle vs Shark'' is a 2007 New Zealand romantic comedy film written and directed by Taika Waititi (in his directorial debut) and financed by the New Zealand Film Commission. The film had its world premiere at Sundance in the World Cinema Drama ...

''.

Solo discography

References

External links

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Lawrence Arabia on bandcamp
APRA Award winners Living people Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand musicians Lil' Chief Records artists Musicians from Christchurch Flying Nun Records artists Bella Union artists {{Authority control