Kings Kaleidoscope

Kings Kaleidoscope is an American Christian rock band based in Seattle, with Chadwick “Chad” Gardner as its only constant member. Their music features an eclectic range of electronic, woodwind, string and brass instruments, with a musical style described as “indie rock meets hip hop production with a sprinkle of Disney”. Kings Kaleidoscope has recorded four EPs and six LPs, as well as a series of live studio sessions.

Based out of Seattle, Washington, Kings Kaleidoscope formed in 2010 at a Mars Hill Church plant on the campus of the University of Washington, where Gardner was a worship leader. Drawing on a variety of influences from math rock and hip-hop, to the dense sound of Canadian indie outfit Broken Social Scene, they recorded their first live EP, Sin, at a Good Friday service in 2011. A year later, they released the studio EP, Asaph’s Arrows, followed by a Christmas EP, Joy Has Dawned.

In late 2013, Gardner and the band announced they were leaving Mars Hill, where they had served as worship leaders and artists on the church’s label. Their fourth EP, 2014’s Live in Color, was released by BadChristian Music. Working with BadChristian Music and well-established indie label Tooth & Nail Records, they released their debut LP, Becoming Who We Are, on October 27, 2014. Their second studio album Beyond Control was released June 24, 2016, and was the band’s most commercially successful release to date.

On August 17, 2017, the band released a mixtape, The Beauty Between, that includes several collaborations with hip-hop artists and producers, including Propaganda, Andy Mineo, Beautiful Eulogy, Derek Minor, and Beleaf, and including Daniel Steele (as DSTL) and John McNeill (credited as 42* North) on record for the first time.

Their third studio album, Zeal, was released on April 5, 2019, followed by an international tour with their new lineup.

After taking a touring hiatus due to the 2020 COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, and in response to the increasing politicization of the American church during the election year, they dropped the three-song “Power Perfect” EP on October 30, 2020, which contains the rousing “W.D.Y.K.A.G?” featuring frequent collaborator Propaganda, a call to “Burn Babylon Down”, referring to the co-opting of the government world systems or “Babylons” that sometimes influence the church more than Jesus does, and will be destroyed at His second coming (Revelation 18:21).

More than two years later, Kings announced that they were working on their fourth studio album “Baptized Imagination”, a work that they crafted and edited while on tour throughout 2022, finally culminating in a November 2022 release. The following year they released their fifth studio and first self-titled album “Kings Kaleidoscope”, also drawing from the 2022 tour creation process.

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