Kingdom Scum | pl

The current Kingdom Scum project started in 1989 when two friends, an art student and a mental patient were digging through through the dumpster of the latter's treatment center in Richmond, Virginia. There in the trash lay some discarded archives - one of which was entitled "The Documents of Kingdom Scum". The papers were apparently written in 1909 by a former tenant of the institution who had signed their name as "Apuro, sun of the vermin wind". This name later became adopted by one of the two founders of Kingdom Scum. The other, Troy Eeyore, had been working with another project "Eeyore Power Tool" and together they began write music for the ideas and texts in the papers they found. At the same time they began to write their own texts in a similar vein. (Hence, it can be very difficult to draw the line between the original writings of Apuro's "The Documents of Kingdom Scum" and the later additions.)

The basic idea of the original documents was Christian-influenced. The writer took the words of Jesus very seriously: "the meek shall inherit the earth" and interpreted "the meek" to mean bacteria, germs, and other such filth. Yet it was also a call for all people -especially Christians- to abandon society, support the outcasts in their mission to 'infect' society and organize decentralized resistance to all earthly authority.

The 'resurrected' incarnation of Kingdom Scum removed the Christian aspect and added on media critique and more overt political activism instead. Thus, in certain releases such as "Contaminating the Thinking Supply" one can witness both an homage to all things foul alongside outright anti-capitalist tirades. Accordingly, Kingdom Scum has always used various equipment to record material - often blending (or at least alternating) lo-tech and high-tech. According to "The Documents of Kingdom Scum" it is inevitable that less complex low-life systems (such as viruses) shall infect highly complex organisms (such as human beings, society, Internet) and ultimately take them over or destroy them. As the old Apuro proverb goes: "You can't stop a good idiot"

Throughout the years the musical manifestation of Kingdom Scum has taken on various members and helpers. Yet most of the time, Apuro and Troy Eeyore were working together. Throughout the period 1990-1999 Kingdom Scum performed numerous concerts and released various records on various labels (Turn of the Century, Eerie Materials, Staalplaat, etc...). Troy Eeyore (now T.R.O.Y.) moved outside the country in 1997. All collaboration since then has been long-distant and live performances are rare.

[Permanent members]
Apuro, sun of the vermin wind
Karin Hex
Troy Eeyore
The Abyss
Claire Fiscella
Tristana

[Some members over the years]
Mattias the Buddhist Beat box
Xtian Bruno (Colon on the Cob)
Scott Sludgins (ENE)
SteFAN Gustafsson
Stevie Van Allen (Disorder)
Steve Slack (Slack Attack)
Hari Old (Sonique Rabbit Fists)
Mark Melts (Headache Glutton)
Frantis Mantis (Aurora Paralysis)
Henry Schazztifier (Rock Out)
DJ Havoc
Adrienne Angst
Levande Olle
and many more too many to mention... .