Wikipedia

Miserylab

Miserylab is a music project of Porl King, formed in the late 1990s after the disbanding of Rosetta Stone in 1998.

miserylab
OriginLiverpool
Leeds, England
GenresPost-punk, alternative rock
Years active1998–2012
LabelsCarbon Neutral Digital
Shadowplay Release
MembersPorl King

History edit

Miserylab was originally conceived as a moniker for remix and production purposes, such as work that King had done for My Vitriol and the Mercury Music Award-winning Elbow. The name was originally spelled "misery:lab", but King chose to remove the colon 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 King and his musical output. A number of tracks were written in 2000, but were not released whilst production work remained the priority.[2][3]

Music edit

Early years and first releases (2005–2009) edit

 
Early physical releases from miserylab: Function Creep, miserylab T-shirt, A Death That We Can Cure, Freedom Is Work, Lab Samples.

In 2005, King created a profile on MySpace, 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.[2][4][5]

Encouraged by a positive response, and with 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, the album had a more guitar-driven, post-punk feel than did the previous EP. King had a preference for download-only releases, only making Function Creep available as a CD following requests for physical version. Function Creep was immediately followed by a downloadable 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.[6] A graph on the back cover shows that many more people die of starvation than as a result of terrorism.

A third album, Freedom Is Work, was released in May 2009.[7] Around the same time, King was approached by a Russian record label, which resulted in the release of a compilation album 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 (2010–2011) edit

From Which No Light Escapes, the fourth album, was released in February 2011.[8][9] During its creation, many of the lyrics were scrapped and replaced to better reflect the events of 2010, and the album title also changed.[10] The track "Downplay" was made available for preview via the miserylab Facebook page.[11] 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.[12][13] The Terrorizer magazine supplement Dominion gave the album a positive review, comparing the sound to that of Joy Division and early Killing Joke.[14] Glass magazine described it as eloquent and dark, with a "defined maturity in the songs." They also detected a stronger new wave influence than was present on early miserylab albums, and discussed the album's social commentary.[15]

On 18 May 2011, miserylab's single "Appeal to Fears" was made available for preview via SoundCloud. The track includes Kathryn Woolley as a backup vocalist.[16][17] It was officially released to the public via miserylab's official website on 19 May 2011.[18][19]

The track "Gods Amongst Your Friends", a track that Porl had decided to not include in the fifth album, was released on 7 June 2011. The track also includes backup vocals by Woolley.[20][21]

The first track, "Children of the Poor", from miserylab's fifth album was released on 21 July 2011 as a free digital download. An accompanying video was also released on YouTube.[22][23][24] Describing a disenfranchised 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 its 30th-anniversary advertising campaign, which began on 22 August 2011.[25][26][27]

The limited-edition Void of Life album became available for order between 9 and 15 October 2011, and was manufactured and shipped by the end of the month.[28] 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".[29][30]

The release exhibited higher production values than did the early albums and their original, pared-back sound. The Brutal Resonance e-zine gave the album a rating of 9/10, complimenting regimented guitar arrangements and the "unpleasant observations" within the lyrics. The publication 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."[31] Dominion ranked it as the second-best album of 2011, awarding the number-one spot instead to Esben and the Witch.[32]

2011 ended with the release of two further tracks, "five:one one" and "Fear for the Future".[33][34][35]

Somewhere Between and Documentary (2012–present) edit

In 2012, "Children of the Poor" and "People" were re-released as a seven-inch vinyl single. Limited to just 120 copies, it could be ordered in combination with a new download known as the Somewhere Between EP.[36][37]

A second miserylab compilation became available in September 2012. Documentary was a combined CD and seven-inch vinyl release, held within a single gatefold sleeve. Available via the Paris-based D-monic label, it included tracks from Freedom Is Work onward. The CD includes 17 tracks, four of which are also present in vinyl form.

2012 also saw the emergence of In Death It Ends, a new music project used by King to explore occult and dark ambient sound. The first release, Forgotten Knowledge, was made on cassette tape to evoke a retro 1970s mystique.[38] As In Death It Ends continued to maintain King's interest, miserylab went into hiatus. In Death It Ends continues to be an active project.

In May 2019, King released a number of miserylab songs as a new album titled Seems Like Forever under the name of Rosetta Stone, his previous band from the late 1980s to mid-1990s.[39] Rosetta Stone resumed with further new material in 2020.[40]

Personal life edit

King suffers from glossophobia, a form of social anxiety, and has stated on numerous occasions that miserylab will never perform live, 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."[4][41]

Discography edit

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) 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, re-release) download album / CD Carbon Neutral Digital 2011-03 [42]
From Which No Light Out-Takes download EP Carbon Neutral Digital 2011-04-15 [12][13]
"Appeal to Fears" download single Carbon Neutral Digital 2011-05-19 [18][19]
"Gods Amongst Your Friends" download single Carbon Neutral Digital 2011-06-07 [20][21]
"Cut : To Bits [Extended Remix]" download single Carbon Neutral Digital 2011-07-07 [43][44]
"Children of the Poor" download single Carbon Neutral Digital 2011-07-21 [22][23]
Void of Life download album / CD Carbon Neutral Digital 2011-10-26
"five:one one" download single Carbon Neutral Digital 2011-11-04 [33][34]
"Fear for the Future" download single Carbon Neutral Digital 2011-11-19 [35]
"Tomorrow for Us" download single Carbon Neutral Digital 2012-06-06 [45]
Documentary (Compilation) double gatefold CD + 7" vinyl D-Monic Records 2012-09-15

Remixes edit

Artist Title Label Number Date
Mellow "Shinda Shima" Atmospheriques ATM24016 2001 [2]
Nylon Pylon "Sister Siam" Booneytunes BOONCD1 2001
Elbow "Coming Second" V2 Records VVR5018708 2002
My Vitriol "The Gentle Art of Choking" Infectious Records INFEC 107CDSX 2002
Mellow "Take Me Higher" Rivolizione Sessantanove Atmospheriques B00008LOLM 2003
New Skin "Sweettalk" Cleopatra Records CLP 1630-2 2006

References edit

  1. ^ "Discogs: In Death It Ends". Discogs. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c King, Porl. "synopsis/discography:self important version". miserylab.com. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  3. ^ Side-Line (8 July 2011). "Miserylab - 'This project is completely reliant on social media'". Side-Line. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  4. ^ a b Julie Johnson (7 March 2006). "Interview – miserylab". Grave Concerns Ezine. Retrieved 1 January 2011. … 2006 … for me – it's a year of considerable change I suppose … I mean six months ago I wasn't even contemplating any sort of recording project … I was still following the path of production and remixing … and – I was also recently diagnosed as suffering from a form of social anxiety and depression (I'm officially a tortured artist!)…
  5. ^ Phil (15 June 2009). "Porl King (ex-Rosetta Stone, Miserylab founder) – Interview". Gothic Rock Russia. Retrieved 1 January 2011. … There wasn't a real intention at first to start Miserylab as a writing project. Initially the name was used for my remixing – production work that I did after Rosetta Stone disbanded. I kind of got the urge around 2000 to write a bulk of songs just to see what the results would be like. I didn't really do anything with the songs for a number of years. It wasn't until sometime in 2005 that I decided to approach things more seriously – I created a MySpace and put some of my tracks up – and the concept grew from there…
  6. ^ "President Bush Meets with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia". U.S. Department of State. 18 October 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  7. ^ Zenon Gradkowski (2009). "Miserylab – 'Freedom Is Work' CD Download (Carbon Neutral Digital)". JudasKiss. Retrieved 1 January 2011. … Freedom is Work is what bands call the difficult third album. Freedom… is a lot darker than the last two albums, bares none of the debut's quirks, is repetitive in sound, but its success as an album lies in how it has really heightened what I have always seen as Miserylabs consistent sonic struggles… Simultaneously bleak yet uprising music… and the grim political situations presented are always underlain with hope beyond the present…
  8. ^ Porl King. "Miserylab.com". Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  9. ^ From Which No Light Escapes, on Discogs, retrieved 13 May 2011
  10. ^ Porl King (2 December 2010). "the new album - due for release next year - has been retitled - from which no light escapes ..." Facebook. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  11. ^ Porl King (29 December 2010). "one for the goths ... brand new track from the forthcoming album - from which no light escapes ..." Facebook. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  12. ^ a b From Which No Light Out-Takes, on SoundCloud, retrieved 15 April 2011
  13. ^ a b Porl King (17 April 2011). "for those who may have missed this - THREE FREE DOWNLOADS". Facebook. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  14. ^ Sean Palfrey (9 February 2011). "Review: Miserylab – 'From Which No Light Escapes'". Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  15. ^ Riley (10 February 2011). "Black Holes and Aspirations". Retrieved 11 February 2011. … One band kicking against the aspirational prick is Miserylab. We've seen them smashing reflective surfaces against western society's vapid vanity and swindled self-importance before but this time there's an eloquence that's taken the metaphor further by internalising the hurt. Lead singer Porl's giving us his version of, 'The world's a bad place but it's worse when you see it through my eyes.' … 'From Which No Light Escapes' is the name of the new album. And we can see that, with a start from a dark launch-pad, we're being invited to listen to a black hole…
  16. ^ Porl King (18 May 2011). "first mix - sneak". on Facebook. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  17. ^ Porl King (19 May 2011), Appeal To Fears, on SoundCloud, retrieved 19 May 2011
  18. ^ a b Porl King (19 May 2011). "available to download NOW FOR FREE". on Facebook. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  19. ^ a b Porl King (19 May 2011), Appeal To Fears, miserylab.com, retrieved 19 May 2011
  20. ^ a b Porl King (7 June 2011). "FREE DOWNLOAD: new track : gods amongst your friends ." on Facebook. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  21. ^ a b Porl King (7 June 2011), Gods Amongst Your Friends, miserylab.com, retrieved 7 June 2011
  22. ^ a b Porl King (21 July 2011), preview track from new album free download, Miserylab on WordPress, retrieved 21 July 2011
  23. ^ a b Porl King (21 July 2011), children of the poor, miserylab.com, retrieved 21 July 2011
  24. ^ King, Porl (21 July 2011). "miserylab : children of the poor". miserylab on YouTube. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  25. ^ Porl King (2 August 2011). "in the dark corner .. representing dark youth culture .. we have miserylab – or – 'corporate whore' depending on your viewpoint". miserylab. Retrieved 22 August 2011. … the retail company schuh are launching an advertising campaign on 22nd august .. featuring four genres of youth subculture .. including dark/gothic subculture … miserylab amongst others submitted tracks for consideration .. miserylabs children of the poor was considered to be the most appropriate track and has been confirmed to appear in the advertising campaign…
  26. ^ Porl King (22 August 2011). "Schuh aw11 campaign launch .. featuring miserylab : children of the poor ." miserylab. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  27. ^ "Schuh AW11 Film". SchuhTV on YouTube. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  28. ^ Porl King (26 September 2011), void of life : pre-order info, Miserylab on WordPress, retrieved 30 October 2011
  29. ^ Porl King (5 October 2011), children of the poor extended remix video, Miserylab on WordPress, retrieved 30 October 2011
  30. ^ Porl King (22 September 2011), new song : people : video, Miserylab on WordPress, retrieved 30 October 2011
  31. ^ Peter Marks (6 October 2011), Void of Life (2011) – Miserylab, Brutal Resonance, retrieved 30 October 2011, … Intensity sears at the end of this album with a track I would not have suspected could make it out of the lab: the gut-wrenching epic 'Last Day'. Not since The Cure did the song 'The Top' has a musical outing ever left me feeling so drained. By the end of it, you'll find yourself lying on the floor wondering just what the hell is the point of anything anymore. It is impossible to play something after this record has ended, the tone demands a couple hours of silence to take in what you've just heard…
  32. ^ Miranda Yardley (17 January 2012), Dominion Top 20 Albums of 2011, Dominion Magazine, retrieved 9 February 2012
  33. ^ a b Porl King (4 November 2011), 5th november – void of life – digital edition available and free download, Miserylab on WordPress, retrieved 29 December 2011
  34. ^ a b "deleted track : five:one one .. an out-take from void of life". miserylab on YouTube. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  35. ^ a b Porl King (19 November 2011), free download : new single : fear for the future, Miserylab on WordPress, retrieved 29 December 2011
  36. ^ Porl King (15 January 2012), new video : new digital EP and collectors vinyl package, Miserylab on WordPress, retrieved 21 January 2012
  37. ^ Porl King (17 January 2012), collectors package : release date : 21.1.12, Miserylab on WordPress, retrieved 21 January 2012
  38. ^ "In Death It Ends, "Forgotten Knowledge"". I Die You Die. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  39. ^ "90's Gothic Rock Band Rosetta Stone Returns with "Seems Like Forever"". post-punk.com. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  40. ^ "Rosetta Stone, "Cryptology"". I Die You Die. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  41. ^ Phil (15 June 2009). "Porl King (ex-Rosetta Stone, Miserylab founder) – Interview". Gothic Rock Russia. Retrieved 1 January 2011. … It's very unlikely that I will perform live. I'm diagnosed with social phobia. It's something I've struggled with for years but never knew. I'm not a fan of traveling and I certainly don't like flying. So it doesn't bode well for anyone assuming I will tour…
  42. ^ Porl King (10 March 2011). "FOR THE RECENTLY CONVERTED". on Facebook. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  43. ^ Porl King (21 July 2011), free download remix, Miserylab on WordPress, retrieved 21 July 2011
  44. ^ Porl King (7 July 2011), Miserylab Free Downloads, miserylab.com, retrieved 21 July 2011
  45. ^ King, Porl (6 June 2012). "tomorrow for us : the new single : free download". Official miserylab on WordPress. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
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