AUDIO

Joel Alden Kingston has been writing songs for as long as he can remember, even as a small boy he'd think up songs on the way to and from school. In highschool he began writing lyrics and recorded songs on a quarter inch reel to reel. Years later he bought a four track cassette recorder to work out his musical ideas but these methods didn't afford him the variety of possibilities available with multi-track digital recording.

When digital recording became a somewhat affordable reality Kingston invested heavily in his own studio, K2 Audio Production, acquiring all the necessary equipment to make faithful recordings of his band, Alien Gin. Soon after opening the studio Kingston began experimenting with ambient sound, creating lengthy "Adventures in Audio". Not necessarily music as we usually think of it but more a close your eyes and see the dream kind of experience. At that time Kingston thought he was more or less alone in his hunger to explore these new frontiers but an article in Words and Music magazine opened up a new community of like minded composers and musicians. The International Computer Music Association was holding it's annual global conference in Banff Alberta so Kingston jumped at the chance to attend. What he saw and heard there was amazing. A full week of concerts and recitals involving computers, live musicians and digitally recorded sound scapes. There were also video presentations, seminars and workshops by leading computer programers that revealed the cutting edge of computer music technology.

Kingston has a passion for industrial rhythms and bizarre sounds that add tension and excitement to the listening experience. The MP3 "Solo" was one of Kingston's first compositions and is part of a larger work entitled "Intencida". In it he combines samples of photographic printing equipment, automobiles and other electronic distortions with multiple layered tracks of his voice.

Joel Alden Kingston began drumming years before he picked up a paintbrush. His singing career started even earlier when his mother, a choir leader, discovered he could carry a tune from about the time he first began to walk. By age twelve he was a member of a vaudeville style entertainment group in his hometown, performing shows at local arenas and fairs. In high school he was premier percussionist in both the concert and jazz bands which toured the Pacific Northwest. He also handled drumming duties in two rock bands, one with his older brother and the other made up of friends from the neighborhood.

Kingston comes from a family of inventors and theater crafts people. His Grandfather was an rock hound who built his own diamond saws and polishing machines as well as many other useful inventions. Kingston's father built most of his own theater lighting equipment and was always building and constructing things around the house. So when it came to adding digital drums to Kingston's kit he created his own, which suited his requirements better than the commercial alternatives.

He arranged the digital drums like a single octave on a piano. Twelve pads that can trigger drum samples, musical voices or both at the same time. Each trigger can be modified and set to a variety of velocity thresholds. That way a soft hit will sound only one set of samples and a greater impact will create a completely different set of tones. The triggers were originally intended as an addition to Kingston's acoustic drums but he found that they sounded so good and were so easy to play while standing, that he packed his drum kit away and has been playing the digital drums ever since. Kingston has also found the standing position has made singing live a much easier proposition because there's less distance to travel with the drum sticks and breathing is less constrained.

Kingston was lead vocalist and percussionist for Alien Gin. As well as the arranger and producer of most of their recordings. Every practice and jam was recorded and Kingston would edit and arrange them into songs, adding vocals, keyboards and sound effects. Two examples of Alien Gin are here for downloading. The first is the soundtrack from Kingston's autobiographical video, "Slave to another God". The other is one of Kingston's favorite songs, "Pile of Fear".

	Slave to another God 3.4 mb video soundtrack

	Pile of Fear 3.8 mb edited version

mas facter

"Critical Mas" is an example of one of Kingston's in the moment creations. Guitarist Tim Kingston was hanging out in the studio one day and began playing the main theme. Joel Alden Kingston quickly started recording, routing the signal through some effects. He then fired up his E-mu keyboard to play along. The recording was later cut and pasted into this arrangement, adding a telephone message that Tim left for the intro and coda.

Critical Mas
(musical interlude for guitar, piano and message machine)

4.1 mb MP3

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