“L!lburne’s lyrics are evocative and relatable, sometimes heartbreaking or darkly witty. His musical influences are vast, his style morphing with the stories set in fantastic or mundane worlds of iPhones and snoring.”
BERNADETTE NEELING
Perth Now
Songwriter|singer !an L!lburne crafts classic songs in the key of Cohen―acoustic songs for sensitive souls. His lyrics are reflective and poetic while his musical influences range from The Beatles and Bowie through the avantgarde pop of Laurie Anderson and John Cale to the American minimalism of Steve Reich.
He has on current release three solo albums, !ns!de Out + Back to Front, Ghosts 1|2 and Mystery of the Rose, and two singles, Ludwig (with John Harris) and Creepy Thing featuring singer|soundartist Sam Ray. All are available from the shop page and through Bandcamp. Click on the links below for sample tracks.
Lyrical Influences
On his lyrics, L!lburne says:
‘My style has been influenced by prose fiction and poetry as much as popular song. I love the wordplay and trickery you find in the great modernist writers, while the narrative twists of spy stories have provided a rich seam to mine in shaping my songs. But my main lyrical influence remains Leonard Cohen. As a teenager, when I first heard Laughing Lenny, a bomb went off. It has been reverberating through my imagination ever since.’
Interview
In late spring 2020, !an L!lburne was interviewed on film by artist Julie Fearns-Pheasant for her series Creatives in Isolation and Beyond. He spoke at length about his artistic practice as a songwriter, musician and photographer as well as his extensive career in the arts.
The interview can be viewed in full in the Clips section of the Gallery page.