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 Turkm ...

ian-born record producer and DJ based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

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 ...

. 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 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 dyna ...

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 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'' 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 alb ...

. Ben Thompson of '' The Telegraph'' 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'' 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). S ...

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

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (1998) * '' Courtesy of Choice'' (2000) * '' Blood Looms and Blooms'' (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