Xander Rawlins

Xander Rawlins, whose full first name is Alexander, attended Bedford School,{{cite web|url=http://www.bedfordschool.org.uk/default.asp?page%3D825%26news%3D1555%26va%3D |title=- Bedford School |access-date=16 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207190237/http://www.bedfordschool.org.uk/default.asp?page=825 |archive-date=7 December 2010 }} Bedford, England, and Oxford Brookes University. After graduating, he attended The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards in 2007. In 2009, he deployed to Afghanistan as an Infantry platoon commander in charge of 30 men.

BBC Three television broadcast a documentary series entitled Our War: 10 years in Afghanistan. The second of the three episodes covered Captain Alex Rawlins filming and interviewing his men from the 1st Battalion, the Grenadier Guards, about their experiences. It also captured events surrounding the death of Guardsman Jamie Janes, a soldier from his platoon, who died on 5 October 2009 after stepping on an IED.{{cite web|url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/GuardsmanJamieJanesKilledInAfghanistan.htm |title=Guardsman Jamie Janes killed in Afghanistan |work=Communique |publisher=Ministry of Defence |date=7 October 2009 |access-date=2 January 2011}} Janes' death increased the British public's awareness of the human cost of Improvised explosive devices (IEDs).{{YouTube|SF8waBWyw0Y|Part of BBC3 documentary Our War: 10 years in Afghanistan featuring footage from Captain Alex Rawlins work}} The documentary Our War won "Best Documentary Series" and "Best Multichannel Programme" at the Broadcast Awards 2012, and a BAFTA for "Best Factual Series".{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcast-awards-2012-shortlist-revealed/5034911.article|title=Broadcast Awards 2012 shortlist revealed|website=Broadcastnow.co.uk|access-date=1 August 2020}}

Rawlins began writing and recording music as a teenager. He co-created music with lifelong friend Sam Phillips, under the name "The RawLips". In 2005, while at university in Oxford, Rawlins formed the band "Pulling Claudia" (later changed to "The Rawlins") with Phillips on lead, brother Digby on keys, Henry Latham on drums, and Ben Dimond on bass. In 2009, while still in Afghanistan, Rawlins started singing as lead vocalist and guitarist in his platoon's band, "The Renegade Irritations," also nicknamed "The Helmand Philharmonic," to entertain the soldiers.

In 2020, Rawlins released the album "10 Years," so titled because it contained songs that had been recorded in Los Angeles a decade prior but never released. The EP "Alive I Dream (The Lost Songs") was released in 2024.

{{Infobox song

| name = 1000 Miles Apart

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| type = single

| artist = Xander Rawlins

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| released = {{Start date|df=yes|2010|12|13}} (on iTunes)

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| writer = Xander Rawlins

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| next_title = "We See You"

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}}

Rawlins started writing "1000 Miles Apart" in England and finished it in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in Christmas 2009. A tribute to Jamie Janes, it was about a soldier on the battlefield longing to be home for Christmas.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/musicvideo/8173361/Xander-Rawlins-1000-Miles-Apart.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203160905/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/musicvideo/8173361/Xander-Rawlins-1000-Miles-Apart.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 December 2010 |title=Video: Xander Rawlins – 1000 Miles Apart |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=1 December 2010 |access-date=4 December 2010 |location=London}} The recording, with extra footage from the battalion soldiers, was meant to be sent by them to their families and friends. British Forces Broadcasting Service radio and television, the British Forces News and mainstream news networks and newspapers promoted the release of 1000 Miles Apart as a potential No. 1 at Christmas. All proceeds were pledged to the Army Benevolent Fund The Soldiers' Charity (ABF){{Cite web|url=http://www.soldierscharity.org/|title=ABF Soldiers Charity|website=Soldierscharity.org|access-date=1 August 2020}} and to the Combat Stress charity for serving men and women suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues.

In 2012, Rawlins co-founded Soldier in Blue, a consultancy firm that provides serving and ex-service personnel and their dependents to the entertainment industry as extras and advisors. They have worked on productions such as the musical Les Miserables, the programme Monuments Men, the BBC documentary Our World War, the films Fury, Testament of Youth, Suffragette and the Star Wars saga.

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = LAIKIPIA

| image =

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| origin = Los Angeles, California

| genre = Electronic music

| years_active = 2017–present

| label = LAIKIPIA Music

| associated_acts =

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| current_members = Xander Rawlins
Taylor Harrison

| past_members =

}}

In 2017, Xander co-founded the trans-Atlantic Indie electronic duo LAIKIPIA and the record company LAIKIPIA Music with the American classically trained musician and electronic music producer Taylor Harrison. Xander is the lead vocalist and producer of the duo, developing a distinct sound that combines harmony-driven storytelling, dance floor beats, and melody-rich instrumentals. The singles released include the debut "Hello Dreamer", followed by "Down Down' that featured Thurz, "Living Outside" and "I Know Love".{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/laikipia-release-first-works-new-videos-must-watch-now-xander-rawlins|title=LAIKIPIA release their first works. New videos are a MUST WATCH. Now featured on Spotify Discover Weekly, EARMILK and Vital EDM.|website=Linkedin.com|access-date=1 August 2020}} Further releases include "That Feeling" in 2019 and "Big Fish" in 2020.

In 2021, LAIKIPIA released their debut album [https://earmilk.com/2021/11/04/laikipia-unveil-their-eclectic-new-album-all-hail-hyperion/ "All Hail Hyperion"], leading to them being named one of People Magazine's "Emerging Artists of 2022".[https://people.com/music/2022-emerging-artists-gallery/]

During the COVID pandemic, Rawlins lived in a shed overlooking the River Dart. It was here that work began on the new project [https://www.youtube.com/@PallyInk Pally Ink], dubbed 'The world's oldest Korporation'.

• 2020: "10 Years" - Xander Rawlins
• 2022: "All Hail Hyperion" - [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]

• 2010: 1000 Miles Apart EP - Xander Rawlins
• 2018: "Heartbeats & Echoes" - [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]

Xander Rawlins

• 2010: "1000 Miles Apart" – [https://www.instagram.com/xanderrawlins/ Xander Rawlins]
• 2013: "We See You" – [https://www.instagram.com/xanderrawlins/ Xander Rawlins]
• 2020: "10 Years" Album - [https://www.instagram.com/xanderrawlins/ Xander Rawlins]
• 2024: "Alive I Dream (The Lost Songs)" EP - [https://www.instagram.com/xanderrawlins/ Xander Rawlins]

LAIKIPIA

• 2017: "Hello Dreamer" – [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/videos/1780824278912979/|title=LAIKIPIA – "Hello Dreamer"|website=Facebook.com|language=en|access-date=1 April 2017}}
• 2017: "Down Down" (feat Thurz) – [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/photos/pb.1489696008025809.-2207520000.1494119212./1793747247620682/?type=3&theater|title=LAIKIPIA|website=Facebook.com|language=en|access-date=7 May 2017}}
• 2017: "Living Outside" – [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]
• 2017: "I Know Love" – [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]
• 2019: "That Feeling" – [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]
• 2020: "Big Fish" - [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]
• 2021: "The Hits Keep Coming" - [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]
• 2021: "Fly By" - [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]
• 2021: "All Hail Hyperion" - [https://www.facebook.com/wearelaikipia/ LAIKIPIA]

• 2024: "Midnight Love" - [https://www.instagram.com/pallyink/ Pally Ink]
• 2024: "Take A Look At Me" - [https://www.instagram.com/pallyink/ Pally Ink]
• 2024: "The Gamble (Foreverever)" - [https://www.instagram.com/pallyink/ Pally Ink]

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.facebook.com/xanderrawlins Xander Rawlins Facebook]
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Category:Grenadier Guards officers

Category:English male singers

Category:Living people

Category:British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Category:People educated at Bedford School

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)