Lawrence Arabia

James Milne, operating under the pseudonym Lawrence Arabia, describes his pop / folk-rock / psychedelic sound as ‘new old fashioned pop music.’

Delicate guitar riffs, 1960s nostalgia, and Milne’s irrepressibly wry humour combine to aurally indulge listeners with catchy tunes.

Accompanied by his band ‘The Reduction Agents’, Lawrence Arabia produced a successful debut album ‘The Dance Reduction Agents’ (2006). His undeniable talent has seen him write with internationally successful pop group The Brunettes, play bass with American band Okkervil River, tour with Feist, The Ruby Suns and Liam Finn, and produce music for Taika Waititi’s film Eagle vs Shark.

Following Lawrence Arabia’s Grand Tour of Europe and Great Britain and the release of his Chant Darling album in 2009, Lawrence Arabia was awarded the APRA Silver Scroll for Best New Zealand Song that year for Apple Pie Bed. His third album, The Sparrow (2012), draws particularly on the influence of symphonic late-sixties production.

The fact that Lawrence Arabia is, of late, splitting his time between international excursions and residence in his native Aotearoa means that you had better grab any chance to see this talented musician.