Morgan King

Morgan King (born 28 March 1961) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and photographer.

Morgan King
Background information
Born (1961-03-28) 28 March 1961
OriginPetticoat Lane, Spitalfields, London
GenresElectronic, synth-pop, ambient, alternative, house
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, producer, photographer
Instrument(s)Vocals, drums, bass, synthesizer, drum machine
Years active1979–present
LabelsAccidental Music
WebsiteMorganking.net

Musical career

Born in Spitalfields, London, King's musical career began in 1979 as drummer for Manchester band Illustration, who were subsequently signed by the indie label, "Some Bizzare" featuring on the Some Bizzare Album. After several years immersed in the UK indie scene, King's musical direction changed considerably with the advent of house music in the late 1980s. In 1988, King moved to Chicago and started writing with Kym Mazelle and Marshall Jefferson on Mazelle's first album, Crazy, which was released the following year. In 1989, King joined his third band, the Manic MCs who had a UK top thirty hit with their first release, "Mental".

In 1990, King started collaborating with BTech record's Jan Ekholm after being introduced by DJ/production duo Quartz, working in Sweden on a series of dance releases under various pseudonyms, including Technoir, Backbeat, Groovement, Bassrace and others. "Clubland" originally formed by Dave Rawlings and Ronnie Herel of Quartz with Jan Ekholm. During the first album Quartz left and the two remaining members were joined by Zemya Hamilton on vocals. Clubland recorded three albums, winning a Swedish Grammy for their second album Adventures Beyond Clubland, plus received three gold discs. Together they also topped the US Billboard Dance chart three times with "Lets Get Busy", "Hold On (Tighter to Love)" and "Hypnotized" respectively. It was also during this period he recorded his solo record, the Balearic anthem "I Am Free".

In 1991, Kingn partnered with Nick Hook to form Om records in London and the band Soundsource, who subsequently achieved success with the House / rap track "Take Me Up",[1] later recycled by "Lock 'N Load" for their 2000 top ten UK hit "Blow Ya Mind". This single was followed up by the 1992 club hit "One High". Again, King started writing and recording under a variety of pseudonyms at Om including, Al Hambra, VFN Experience, Om and Obiman. Obiman went on to feature on the seminal Cafe Del Mar compilation series. On the same album he also co-wrote and produced José Padilla's first solo recording "Agua".[2]

Around 1994/1995, King took a break from the music scene, eventually resurfacing in 2003 to co-write Trybe's "Sarah Said" with Fragma. In 2007 he opened his Accidental Music label so he could make his archive available in the digital realm for the first time, and to collaborate on new dance projects. Also around the same time he became a professional photographer after he was invited to do a one off project in Iran. To date he is still working as an artist releasing solo albums and playing live, plus since 2012 he joined Lene Lovich as part of her band.

Selected discography

Morgan King
Albums
  • Grains & Grams (2016), Accidental Music
  • Old Skin (2019), Accidental Music
Singles and EPs
  • "I'm Free" (1991), BTech Records
  • "I am Free" (1993), Om Records
  • "I'm Free" (1998), Excession Records
  • "I'm Free" (Anniversary Edition) (2011), Accidental Music
  • "I'm Free" (Anniversary Edition 2) (2012), Accidental Music
  • "Boy Called George" (2012), Morgan King Media
  • Zero (EP) (2012), Morgan King Media
  • "Breathing in Air" (2014), Accidental Music
  • "Grains & Grams" (2016), Accidental Music
  • "Alien" (2016), Accidental Music
  • "Sex Shop" (2018), Accidental Music
  • "Janet & John" (2018), Accidental Music
  • "From The Fade" (2021), Accidental Music
  • "Beautiful Miserable" (2021), Accidental Music

Morgan King & Lene Lovich
Singles
  • "Retrospective" – 2018 Accidental Music

Morgan King / La Serrena
Singles
  • "I'm Free" – 1992 Sony

With Clubland

(King / Ekholm / Hamilton)

Albums
  • Themes From Outer Clubland – 1991
  • Adventures Beyond Clubland – 1992
  • Secrets of Inner Clubland (Clubland featuring Zemya Hamilton) – 1995
Selected singles
  • "Let's Get Busy (Pump It Up)" – 1990 US Hot Dance No. 1 UK No. 86
  • "Hold On (Tighter To Love)" – 1991 US Billboard "Hot Dance" No. 1, US No. 79
  • "(I'm Under) Love Strain" – 1992
  • "Come Rain Come Shine" – US Hot Dance No. 39 1992
  • "Hypnotized" – 1992 US Hot Dance No. 1
  • "Set Me Free" – 1992 US Hot Dance No. 1, US No. 90
  • "Peace of Luv" – 1995
  • "Gimme Love, Gimme All" – 1995

With Manic MC's

(King / Cottle / Hudd)

Singles
  • "Mental" – 1989 RCA UK No. 30
  • "The Beat" – 1990 UK No. 96 MCA

With Soundsource

(King / Hook)

Singles
  • "Take Me Up" – 1991 FFRR UK No. 62
  • "One High" – 1992 Om records

Obiman
Singles
  • "Rising" – Om Records 1993
  • "On the Rocks" – Accidental Music 2016
  • "The Dunes" – Accidental Music 2016
Compilations

With VFN Experience

(Nasty / King)

Single
  • "Vol 1" – Om whites 1994

Morgan King & Max Julien
Singles
  • "Lifetime of Understanding" – 2009 Deepsound Records
  • "Building A Dream" – 2011 Accidental Music

Morgan King vs Charma
Singles
  • "Justify" – 2010 Accidental Music
  • "Justify" (Dirty Rhythm Syndicate Remixes) – 2011 Accidental Music

Morgan King vs Lyla D'Souza
Singles
  • "I Want Now" – 2010 Accidental Music

Remixes
  • Backbeat – "Love and Happiness" (Gasmatron mix) 1991
  • Clubland – "Ride the Groove" (With Billy Nasty) 1992
  • Clubland – "Hypnotized" (The Soundsource Seduction) 1992
  • Alhambra – "Sonar Remix" (with Nick Hook) 1992
  • MDA – "Take an E" (Roofon remix) (with Nasty / Hodgson) 1992
  • Hypernature – Flow "The Morgan King mixes" (King Full Force Effect, Kingdub and Kingdeep mixes)1992
  • Elimar – "Prosody II" (Morgan King Reprise) 2007
  • Sami Dee – "Da Fly" (Morgan King Remix) 2008
  • Max Julien feat Yohan Knight – "We're the Angels Alive!" (Morgan King Remix) 2008
  • Marco Zappala feat Claudio Pinhero – "Wherever You Go" (Morgan King Remix) 2009
  • Clubland – "Let's Get Busy" (Morgan King Remix) 2009

Compilation appearances

References
  1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 184. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
  2. "Café Del Mar (1994, CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  3. "Bob Stanley & Pete Wiggs Present The Tears Of Technology". Acerecords.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
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