Lawrence LJ Johnson (FRSL HONS)
Sensing a call to move in a new direction in his musical journey out of LCGC, Nu Colours was birthed. Through their vibrant take on gospel, they went on to make great waves across the country and inroads internationally as well, with hits including Greater Love and Desire. Nu Colours also holds the milestone of being the first MOBO award winner for “Best Gospel Act”. This was followed up by putting together the UK R&B trio Truce (formerly signed to Big Life Records).
LJ is arguably best known for being a vocal arranger to the stars following a call from music mogul Simon Cowell, the first project of which was for Gary Barlow which then opened the door to a host of opportunities. From working on “Popstars: The Rivals” with ‘Girls Aloud’ as head vocal coach from their inception, he was then called upon as the vocal producer for the Fame Academy album released via Universal. He then followed that up in the same role for Lemar's two critically acclaimed albums Dedicated and Time To Grow.
He started the charitable initiative One Voice Collective, along with his close friend Les Moir, where over the past 18 years they have brought together artists across the entire Christian community in response to various devastations including the 2004 Tsunami, the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, 2019 Cyclone Idai and the issue of social injustice which nearly reached breaking point on a global scale in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.
In the midst of all his exploits, his heart remains deeply rooted in the gospel space. He previously served as the Creative Director at New Wine Church in London for 18 years, where he oversaw all artistic and media-related aspects, managing various departments, including video production, musicians, singers, audio engineers, and stage production personnel.
For several years, he brought a number of the X Factor winner's singles to life with his arrangements for the backing choirs, which served to be the jumpstart for the likes of Shayne Ward, Alexandra Burke and Leona Lewis along with others, many of which went to no.1 on the UK charts for Christmas.
Amid the albums LJ has worked on for artists, he has had multiple opportunities under his belt to assume his role as a vocal arranger for film soundtracks, from Give My Regards to Broad Street featuring Sir Paul McCartney and the Disney-remake of Aladdin (curated by composer Alan Menken).
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