Lawrence Arabia Announces Album Release Tour + Shares New Video

Lawrence Arabia is gearing up to release his long-awaited fourth studio album and to celebrate he has announced a nationwide release tour, and as a cherry on top he is sharing brand new video for lead single 'The Lake'. The forthcoming record, titled Absolute Truth, follows the birth of the musician's first child and the consequent songs have been described by Milne as a result of “hazy post-partum exhaustion". "It wasn't a time for self-indulgence or misery. Even the tiniest free moment of reflection felt like a blessing," he adds.

The video for 'The Lake' was conjured up by Arabia and his partner Anns Taylor, and follows the musician going through his morning ablutions before heading out to the forest to partake in an occult meeting. “I think the more regular a person's veneer, the deeper and more lurid their perversions," explains Arabia. Watch the brilliant clip below, and then check out the tour dates...

Lawrence Arabia ~ Absolute Truth Album Release Tour

Wednesday 13th July, Grainstore Gallery, Oamaru
Thursday 14th July, Sherwood, Queenstown
Friday 15th July, Maori Hill Coronation Hall, Dunedin
Saturday 16th July, Blue Smoke, Christchurch
Friday 22th July, Cabana, Napier
Saturday 23th July, San Fran, Wellington
Friday 29th July, Crystal Palace, Auckland

Tickets are available HERE at UTR

PRESS RELEASE:

LAWRENCE ARABIA PRESENTS ‘A LAKE’ VIDEO & ALBUM RELEASE TOUR

It’s no secret that NZ’s resident pop song-book connoisseur Lawrence Arabia has a penchant for penning earworms at once inspired and unsettling. His 2009 single Apple Pie Bed took out the prestigious APRA Silver Scroll, positioning Mr Arabia (real name James Milne) in the great Kiwi song hall of fame.

Fast forward a few years and the enigmatic chanteur is back, on the cusp of releasing his fourth solo album. Milne’s songwriting has reached a commanding new level of skill and control in the years following Chant Darling; 2012’s The Sparrow was a sparse, dark affair stripped back its essentials - stark imagery and unflappable hooks. Following The Sparrow came the birth of Milne’s first child, meaning that the songs to follow were written amidst “hazy post-partum exhaustion”, in Milne’s own words. “It wasn't a time for self-indulgence or misery. Even the tiniest free moment of reflection felt like a blessing.”

The result is Arabia’s strongest yet - aptly named Absolute Truth.

The album’s debut single ‘A Lake’ is at once personal and abstract; its haunting melody ushered gracefully along by a 60’s groove and four-on-the-floor stomps. The Line Of Best Fit described it as "a confident, assured sound and the overall feeling that he's finally happened upon the sound that works for him… with tracks as strong as this, there's every chance that Lawrence Arabia’s new album will give him the worldwide recognition his music deserves.”

Today, Lawrence Arabia releases the video for ‘A Lake’. Entirely made by Milne and his partner Anns Taylor. Filmed out at Riverhead (the “much loved forest of trail runners and magic mushroom hunters”), the video follows Milne through his morning preparations (coffee, baked beans, a shave) before heading to the woods for a spooky group session of ritual magic. Like the song itself, the video seeks to look beneath the surface of the everyday. “I think the more regular a person's veneer, the deeper and more lurid their perversions”, explains Milne. “I'm quite drawn to the idea of Freemasonry and how the most seemingly upstanding, so-called "pillars of the community" types are engaging in all kinds of esoteric traditions behind closed doors. And I suppose I enjoy the additional incongruity between that and the self-effacing informality of New Zealanders on the whole.”

The video’s exclusive, secluded vibe echoes the similarly reclusive, night-owl process of making the album, which was tracked entirely during dark hours at plastic moulding factory Gyro Plastics in the Hutt Valley. Mike Fabulous (Lord Echo, Fabulous/Arabia) co-produced the whole affair. “The street we recorded on is all heavy industry pretty much”, says Milne. “We weren't really allowed to make noise during work hours, so we'd work from mid afternoon till the early morning, while the suburb was totally deserted.”

Along with ‘A Lake’ comes the news that Lawrence Arabia is set to take Absolute Truth on tour around New Zealand following its release in July. Performing at an array of charming venues around the country, be among the first to see Lawrence Arabia deliver his latest and greatest cluster of pop gems with the magic only he can muster.