Porl King
Encyclopedia
Porl King, born 19 October 1967 on the Wirral Peninsula
in England
, first achieved public acclaim and success as the singer, songwriter
and guitarist
for the goth
band Rosetta Stone
from their inception in the late 1980s through to their demise in 1998.
Since disbanding Rosetta Stone in 1998, he has pursued a career in digital audio and Pro Tools
production.
King has also taken the opportunity to work with the French progressive act Mellow
, for whom he has done many remixes - which culminated in the production of material which King developed from their musical score created for the Roman Coppola
art-house movie CQ
. He has also continued to play and write guitar for the critically acclaimed Liverpool
band Mulu
.
. On 17 July 2007, miserylab has released the vaporware ep, consisting of four tracks, for free download via the community website MySpace
.
Describing King's remix style: Xfm Radio
said in their review of the song Coming Second by Elbow
, "misery:lab's Porl King - delivers something that sounds not unlike Depeche Mode
at their heaviest" - and made it single of the week.
King admits that miserylab has more of a political edge, driven by his frustration at the artificial horror imagery that clouded perceptions of Goth music. He says, "I wanted to provide a more grounded realistic sense of horror. I really don’t feel that anything works properly in our supposedly civilized infrastructure: governmental priorities are all wrong, pseudo-Christian morality, and apart from all the obvious views on the war in Iraq and my thoughts on animal rights, there are more ordinary issues. The fact that few workers can afford to buy homes where they live, that poor wages are propped up by tax credits and benefits, these things prove fundamentally that capitalism just doesn’t work."
in Leeds
and was taken by ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary
, where he survived and was put on an eight week recovery programme.
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, first achieved public acclaim and success as the singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
for the goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
band Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone (band)
Rosetta Stone were a British goth band formed in the mid 1980s by Porl King and Karl North , plus their drum machine and synthesizer rack nicknamed "Madame Razor"....
from their inception in the late 1980s through to their demise in 1998.
Since disbanding Rosetta Stone in 1998, he has pursued a career in digital audio and Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
production.
King has also taken the opportunity to work with the French progressive act Mellow
Mellow (band)
The original concept came from founder Patrick Woodcock, a multi-instrumentalist, who had befriended Nicolas Godin while they were getting their architecture degree in Versailles...
, for whom he has done many remixes - which culminated in the production of material which King developed from their musical score created for the Roman Coppola
Roman Coppola
Roman Coppola is an American film director and music video director.-Early life:Coppola was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, the son of set decorator/artist Eleanor Coppola and Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola was born in the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine while his father was in Paris...
art-house movie CQ
CQ (film)
CQ is a 2001 film written and directed by Roman Coppola. It was screened out of competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.It is a homage to 1960s European spy/sci-fi spoofs like Barbarella and Danger: Diabolik and the documentary spoof David Holzman's Diary. The cinematography is done by Robert...
. He has also continued to play and write guitar for the critically acclaimed Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
band Mulu
Mulu (band)
Mulu were a British trip hop duo of the late 1990s, who released one album, Smiles Like a Shark, on 4 August 1997. The duo consisted of singer Laura Campbell, and producer Alan Edmunds, who had worked as a remixer for Utah Saints, Fluke and Björk....
.
miserylab
King began writing and recording his own material again late in 2005 under the guise of miserylabMiserylab
miserylab is the main music project of Porl King, formed in the late nineties after the disbanding of Rosetta Stone in 1998.-History:Miserylab was originally conceived as a moniker for remix and production purposes, such as work done for My Vitriol and the Mercury Music Award winning Elbow...
. On 17 July 2007, miserylab has released the vaporware ep, consisting of four tracks, for free download via the community website MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
.
Describing King's remix style: Xfm Radio
Xfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
said in their review of the song Coming Second by Elbow
Elbow (band)
Elbow are an English rock band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!, released in March 2011...
, "misery:lab's Porl King - delivers something that sounds not unlike Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
at their heaviest" - and made it single of the week.
King admits that miserylab has more of a political edge, driven by his frustration at the artificial horror imagery that clouded perceptions of Goth music. He says, "I wanted to provide a more grounded realistic sense of horror. I really don’t feel that anything works properly in our supposedly civilized infrastructure: governmental priorities are all wrong, pseudo-Christian morality, and apart from all the obvious views on the war in Iraq and my thoughts on animal rights, there are more ordinary issues. The fact that few workers can afford to buy homes where they live, that poor wages are propped up by tax credits and benefits, these things prove fundamentally that capitalism just doesn’t work."
Health
On 11 September 2007, King suffered a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and was taken by ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary
Leeds General Infirmary
Leeds General Infirmary, also known as the LGI or, more correctly, The General Infirmary at Leeds, is a large teaching hospital based in the centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is part of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust....
, where he survived and was put on an eight week recovery programme.