Miserylab
Encyclopedia
miserylab is the main music project of Porl King
, formed in the late nineties after the disbanding of Rosetta Stone
in 1998
.
and the Mercury Music Award winning Elbow
. The name was originally spelt “misery:lab” – but King chose to remove the colon in order to make it easier to find in Internet search engines. The name can be seen as both a serious comment on animal experimentation, and a self-deprecating comment on himself and his musical output. A number of tracks were written in 2000, but were not released whilst production work remained the priority.
, reworking and uploading some of his early miserylab material. In 2007 four of these tracks were made available as a free download, complete with downloadable artwork, known as the Vaporware EP.
Enthused by a positive response, and the successful relocation of his home studio to Leeds, King began writing the full-length Function Creep in November 2007. Released in April 2008 as both a download and limited edition CD, it had a more guitar-driven, post-punk feel than the previous EP. King had a preference for download-only releases, only making Function Creep available as a CD following requests from fans for a “hard copy”. Function Creep was immediately followed by a downloadable single, an extended version of the track Be There Tomorrow.
A second album, A Death That We Can Cure, was released on 5 November 2008. (It was consciously released on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot
). The unusual title is a Bushism
. A graph on the back cover shows, somewhat bluntly, that many more people die of starvation than as a result of terrorism.
A third album, Freedom is Work, was released in May 2009. Around the same time King was approached by a Russian record label, which resulted in a compilation becoming available in Russia in August that year. Lab Samples compiled a selection of tracks from the first two albums, plus ‘No Cure For Life’ from the Vaporware EP.
page. An additional three tracks from the album's recording session – Futile, Machines and Heart – were posted two months later on the audio distribution site SoundCloud
, under the name From Which No Light Out-Takes. The Terrorizer Magazine supplement Dominion gave the album a positive review, comparing the sound to Joy Division
and early Killing Joke
. Creative culture publication Glass Magazine described it as eloquent and dark, with a “defined maturity in the songs”. They also suggested a stronger New Wave
influence than early miserylab albums, and discussed the social commentary of the album.
On May 18, 2011 miserylab's single Appeal To Fears was made available for preview via Soundcloud. The track includes Kathryn Woolley as back-up vocalist. It was officially released to the public via miserylab's official website on May 19, 2011.
June 7, 2011 saw the release Gods Amongst Your Friends, a track that Porl has decided to not include in the fifth album. The track also includes back-up vocals by Kathryn Woolley.
The first track Children Of The Poor from miserylab's fifth album was released on July 21, 2011 as a free digital download. An accompanying video was also released on YouTube
. Describing a disenfrachised youth ignored by a political elite, the song preceded the 2011 England riots
by a matter of weeks. The track was also used by footwear retailer Schuh
in their 30th anniversary advertising campaign, which began on 22 August the same year.
The limited edition Void of Life album became available for order between the 9th and 15th of October, and was manufactured and shipped by the end of the month. An extended remix of Children of the Poor was made available for download with all orders, and the album was preceded by a promotional video for a new track, People.
The release exhibited higher production values than the original, pared back sound of early albums. Brutal Resonance e-zine gave the album a rating of 9/10, complimenting regimented guitar arrangements and the “unpleasant observations” within the lyrics. They also give high praise to the final track, ‘Last Day,’ commenting, “Not since The Cure did the song ‘The Top’ has a musical outing ever left me feeling so drained.”
; he has stated on numerous occasions that Miserylab will never perform live; quoted as saying "I have no urge… to posture to crowds of people. I avoid the music scene politics and social networks with respect to other bands and their inevitable gossip."
Porl King
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....
, formed in the late nineties after the disbanding of 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"....
in 1998
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
.
History
Miserylab was originally conceived as a moniker for remix and production purposes, such as work done for My VitriolMy Vitriol
My Vitriol are an alternative rock band from London, England. The band name, which is often misinterpreted, is taken from the novel Brighton Rock by Graham Greene...
and the Mercury Music Award winning 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...
. The name was originally spelt “misery:lab” – but King chose to remove the colon in order to make it easier to find in Internet search engines. The name can be seen as both a serious comment on animal experimentation, and a self-deprecating comment on himself and his musical output. A number of tracks were written in 2000, but were not released whilst production work remained the priority.
Early years and first releases (2005–2009)
In 2005 King created a profile on MySpaceMySpace
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....
, reworking and uploading some of his early miserylab material. In 2007 four of these tracks were made available as a free download, complete with downloadable artwork, known as the Vaporware EP.
Enthused by a positive response, and the successful relocation of his home studio to Leeds, King began writing the full-length Function Creep in November 2007. Released in April 2008 as both a download and limited edition CD, it had a more guitar-driven, post-punk feel than the previous EP. King had a preference for download-only releases, only making Function Creep available as a CD following requests from fans for a “hard copy”. Function Creep was immediately followed by a downloadable single, an extended version of the track Be There Tomorrow.
A second album, A Death That We Can Cure, was released on 5 November 2008. (It was consciously released on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
). The unusual title is a Bushism
Bushism
Bushisms are unconventional words, phrases, pronunciations, malapropisms, and semantic or linguistic errors that have occurred in the public speaking of former President of the United States George W. Bush and, much less notably, of his father, George H. W. Bush. The term has become part of popular...
. A graph on the back cover shows, somewhat bluntly, that many more people die of starvation than as a result of terrorism.
A third album, Freedom is Work, was released in May 2009. Around the same time King was approached by a Russian record label, which resulted in a compilation becoming available in Russia in August that year. Lab Samples compiled a selection of tracks from the first two albums, plus ‘No Cure For Life’ from the Vaporware EP.
From Which No Light Escapes and Void of Life (2010–present)
From Which No Light Escapes, the fourth album, was released in February 2011. During its creation many of the lyrics were scrapped and replaced to better reflect the events of 2010. The album title also changed. The track Downplay was made available for preview via the miserylab FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page. An additional three tracks from the album's recording session – Futile, Machines and Heart – were posted two months later on the audio distribution site SoundCloud
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform which allows collaboration, promotion and distribution of audio recordings.-History:SoundCloud was originally started in Stockholm, Sweden, but was established in Berlin, Germany in August, 2007 by sound designer Alex Ljung and artist Eric Wahlforss...
, under the name From Which No Light Out-Takes. The Terrorizer Magazine supplement Dominion gave the album a positive review, comparing the sound to Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
and early Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
. Creative culture publication Glass Magazine described it as eloquent and dark, with a “defined maturity in the songs”. They also suggested a stronger New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
influence than early miserylab albums, and discussed the social commentary of the album.
On May 18, 2011 miserylab's single Appeal To Fears was made available for preview via Soundcloud. The track includes Kathryn Woolley as back-up vocalist. It was officially released to the public via miserylab's official website on May 19, 2011.
June 7, 2011 saw the release Gods Amongst Your Friends, a track that Porl has decided to not include in the fifth album. The track also includes back-up vocals by Kathryn Woolley.
The first track Children Of The Poor from miserylab's fifth album was released on July 21, 2011 as a free digital download. An accompanying video was also released on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. Describing a disenfrachised youth ignored by a political elite, the song preceded the 2011 England riots
2011 England riots
Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson....
by a matter of weeks. The track was also used by footwear retailer Schuh
Schuh
Schuh is a Scottish high street and internet branded footwear retailer, operating throughout the British Isles.-History:Schuh was established by Founding Director Sandy Alexander in 1981, with a single shop in North Bridge Arcade, Edinburgh. The company became part of the Glasgow-based Goldbergs...
in their 30th anniversary advertising campaign, which began on 22 August the same year.
The limited edition Void of Life album became available for order between the 9th and 15th of October, and was manufactured and shipped by the end of the month. An extended remix of Children of the Poor was made available for download with all orders, and the album was preceded by a promotional video for a new track, People.
The release exhibited higher production values than the original, pared back sound of early albums. Brutal Resonance e-zine gave the album a rating of 9/10, complimenting regimented guitar arrangements and the “unpleasant observations” within the lyrics. They also give high praise to the final track, ‘Last Day,’ commenting, “Not since The Cure did the song ‘The Top’ has a musical outing ever left me feeling so drained.”
Personal life
Suffering from a form of social anxiety, glossophobiaGlossophobia
Glossophobia or speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking. The word glossophobia comes from the Greek glōssa, meaning tongue, and φόβος phobos, fear or dread...
; he has stated on numerous occasions that Miserylab will never perform live; quoted as saying "I have no urge… to posture to crowds of people. I avoid the music scene politics and social networks with respect to other bands and their inevitable gossip."
Discography
| Title | Format | Label | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vaporware EP | download EP | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2007-07 |
| Function Creep | download album / CD | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2008-04 |
| Be There Tomorrow (Extended Version) | download single | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2008-05 |
| Will We Ever Learn | download single | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2008-07 |
| Up In Arms | download single | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2008-10 |
| A Death That We Can Cure | download album / CD | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2008-11 |
| Making a Bomb | download single | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2008-12 |
| In the Line of Fire (Extended Remix) | download single | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2008-12 |
| Freedom is Work | download album / CD | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2009-05 |
| Lab Samples (Compilation Compilation album A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter... ) |
download album / CD | Shadowplay Records | 2009-08 |
| Dystopian / The Skin Thing | download EP | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2009-09 |
| From Which No Light Escapes | download album / CD | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2011-02 |
| Lab Samples (Compilation Compilation album A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter... , re-release) |
download album / CD | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2011-03 |
| From Which No Light Out-Takes | download EP | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2011-04-15 |
| Appeal To Fears | download single | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2011-05-19 |
| Gods Amongst Your Friends | download single | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2011-06-07 |
| Cut : To Bits [Extended Remix] | download single | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2011-07-07 |
| Children Of The Poor | download single | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2011-07-21 |
| Void of Life | download album / CD | Carbon Neutral Digital | 2011-10-26 |
Remixes
| Artist | Title | Label | Number | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mellow Mellow Mellow may refer to:*Mellow , 2004*Mellow , 1997*Mellow... |
Shinda Shima | Atmospheriques | ATM24016 | 2001 |
| Nylon Pylon | Sister Siam | Booneytunes | BOONCD1 | 2001 |
| 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... |
Coming Second | V2 Records V2 Records V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI.... |
VVR5018708 | 2002 |
| My Vitriol My Vitriol My Vitriol are an alternative rock band from London, England. The band name, which is often misinterpreted, is taken from the novel Brighton Rock by Graham Greene... |
The Gentle Art Of Choking | Infectious Records Infectious Records Infectious Records is a record label whose bands have included Ash, Local Natives, Symposium, My Vitriol, Seafood, The Paradise Motel, General Fiasco and The Subways. Infectious was established by Korda Marshall after leaving RCA, and became part of Marshall's Mushroom Records UK operation in the... |
INFEC 107CDSX | 2002 |
| Mellow | Take Me Higher | Rivolizione Sessantanove Atmospheriques | B00008LOLM | 2003 |
| New Skin | Sweettalk | Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music... |
CLP 1630-2 | 2006 |
External links
- miserylab (Official Site)
- miserylab on WordPressWordPressWordPress is a free and open source blogging tool and publishing platform powered by PHP and MySQL. It is often customized into a content management system . It has many features including a plug-in architecture and a template system. WordPress is used by over 14.7% of Alexa Internet's "top 1...
- miserylab on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- miserylab on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace 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....
- miserylab on SoundcloudSoundCloudSoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform which allows collaboration, promotion and distribution of audio recordings.-History:SoundCloud was originally started in Stockholm, Sweden, but was established in Berlin, Germany in August, 2007 by sound designer Alex Ljung and artist Eric Wahlforss...
- miserylab on purevolumePureVolumePureVolume was the first independently run website of its type, allowing for the upload and stream of music files. It was created in 2003 by Jennifer Welch , in conjunction with the Unborn Media team; Brett Woitunski, Nate Hudson, and Mitchell Pavao; all from the University of...
- miserylab on Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
- miserylab on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....