“… graceful indie rock… that blends serene guitar melodies, crisp piano notes and dreamy falsetto vocals.” - Oregon Public Broadcasting

"Arthur C. Lee meticulously finds the fringes of summertime pop... with trembling vocals backed by sugary harmonies, jangling guitars and tinkling pianos."  - East Oregonian

“An artist like Arthur C. Lee grabs my ear and confounds my attempts at guitar accompaniment. His defiance of standard progressions is liberating. Lee is both a student and teacher of music and his love of and immersion in jazz shows in his chord stylings.” - Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly

Arthur C. Lee - Surf songs from the PNW, echoing the experimental noise pop of Yo La Tengo, raw energy of Wilco, and the introspective soundscapes of Brian Eno.

New record ‘Natural Light’ out 12/17/21. Check out ‘the burning sun’, ‘the storm’, + ‘I’ll take my chances’.

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NEW full length - ‘NATURAL LIGHT’ // released december 17th, 2021.

Arthur C. Lee is a man who doesn’t ask for much.  But early on, he knew what he wanted; to be with those who understood where he came from.  To take in the silence of nature.  And when he started playing the guitar at 12, he knew he wanted to play music that would affect people to their core.  He remembers playing a simple etude on his guitar days before moving out of his childhood home, and his mother crying in the kitchen when hearing the song.  Or the lovers dancing on the lawn as his band closed out the summer evening.  And the echo in the room when he heard his father play Amazing Grace on the saxophone for the first time.  This is what matters most to Lee, and is fully dedicated to his craft.  His songs are a reflection of these simple moments that are sometimes the most meaningful.  

Stepping out of the shadow as a side-man that he has been so known for, the jack of all trades that every band needs, it was time his songs saw the light of day. No stranger to bigger venues as the multi-instrumentalist with Sean Flinn and the Royal We, Ezza Rose, et al, Lee worked out new songs for his 2nd full length at smaller shows and open-mics, giving him the freedom to ease into completing them in an intimate setting. He brought on-board Latin Grammy Award winner Be Hussey as co-producer (Radar Bros, Haunted Summer, Morsel) and their relationship has been fruitful as a building block to a deeper sound. I sit back and marvel at the meticulousness Lee puts into his songs, and the effortlessness and ease of delivery. Listening to these gives me a technicolor experience next to the black and white movie that was his first record, ‘History Of’. Finally out of the side-man’s shadow, he is fully himself on these new songs, and it’s magic.

The Band: Anders Bergstrom (Climber, Pacific Mean Time) on drums, Matthew Casebeer (Derby, The Loved) on keys, and Peter Rodocker (Yellow Room Recording) on bass. Scott Magee (Ural Thomas and the Pain, Y La Bamba) also filled in on drums to fit.

About

Arthur C. Lee is a multi-instrumentalist in Portland, OR, heavily influenced by the Pacific Northwest alternative and indie rock bands of late 90s to early 00s.  He has toured and recorded guitar, keys, accordion, banjo, and bass (among other things) with bands from Portland to Los Angeles. He has worked at the legendary KCRW and currently DJs for opbmusic.

Arthur has vivid memories of being a young teen in Portland, OR catching local jazz musicians at the old Jimmy Mac’s, soaking in the sun and the blues at the Waterfront Park Blues Festival, and sharing guitar licks with musicians around town.  But his life changed when he popped in a cassette tape of U2’s ‘Achtung Baby’ in his mom’s tape deck and was introduced to the world of rock n’ roll.  He soon picked up the dusty guitar lying around and urged his mom for lessons.  He joined bands and played at high school dances, friend’s parties, the large stages at the Rose Festivals, and all the underage venues in downtown Portland.  He went on to study music at UCLA and was immersed in the local jazz, folk, rock, and punk scenes in Los Angeles, again joining bands and playing at venues all around town.  He started teaching piano and guitar, showing his students the ropes of music, as well as holding student recitals twice a year.  At the same time he worked as a web-video producer for ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic’, at the world-renowned public radio station, KCRW.  There, he worked and met with some of the most respected musicians in the world, including Adele, KD Lang, Flaming Lips, Scarlett Johansson, Jack White, Pink Martini, M. Ward, Death Cab For Cutie, and much more.