Skumdum is a Swedish punk rock
band from Skellefteå. Their
music is a blend of Skatepunk,
hardcore and Swedish trallpunk.
The band was formed in 1993 and
has released 6 albums, numerous
singles and a split album with
the American punk band Hero of
our time.
During the first decade they sang
exclusively in Swedish, but in
2003 they switched to English
in order to reach more listeners.
Skumdum is today one of the biggest
punk rock bands in Scandinavia
and has also grown a devoted fan
base in Europe and Japan.
The early years (1993-99)
Skumdum was formed in 1993 by
Pierre Pettersson (vocals, bass)
and Chris Tjärnlund (guitar).
They other members were Andreas
Nilsson (drums) and Christian
Åhlen (guitar). The name
Skumdum were made up when the
guys were mixing different short
words that rhymed but didn’t
have a particular meaning. Rumors
says that the Luleå based
band Scumback also was a big influence
to the band name.
After playing in Skumdum for a
little bit more than a year Christian
was replaced by Peder Evesäter
in 1994. In 1995 the band participated
on a split ep called “3 i
en vol 2” which was released
by Kamel records. The songs on
this split impressed label owner
Stephan Johansson so much that
he offered the band a record deal!
In 1996 they released a 4 song
ep which was self-titled. The
song Lisa on this ep became a
big hit on a number of radio stations
and is still one of their most
famous songs. In 1997 the band
released their debut album “Demoner”.
Chris who played guitar had to
retrain to drummer in 1998 when
original drummer Andreas Nilsson
left the band. At the same time
Patrik Stenman joined the group
and took Chris place as guitarist.
They parted ways with Kamel records
shortly after this and signed
a deal with Sigourney records.
In 1999 they released a split
ep with the Swedish punk band
Böld, but tensions had started
to build in the band and the boys
decided to take a pause.
The mid years (2001-2007)
In spring 2001 Skumdum did their
first show in almost two years.
Overwhelmed by the response the
band decided to start over again.
Peder felt that he didn’t
have the right motivation and
decided to leave the group. Chris,
Pat and Pierre went on as a trio
and released the ep “Va fan
har hänt med dagens ungdom”
in 2001.
In the beginning of 2002 the trio
became a quartet when Linkan joined
the band. Skumdum toured and practiced
heavily during 2002. They also
managed to record and release
their 2nd album “Det vi kan
bäst” before the year
ended. This album however was
released on Morphine Lane records
since the band didn’t feel
that Sigourney could give them
the proper promotion and distribution.
They also released a compilation
album “Kågepunx, folköl”
in 2002 with songs from the early
demos.
2003 were followed by a lot of
heavy touring in Scandinavia and
they also started to record a
new album. The big change from
previous records was that the
band decided to record this album
in English. Skumdum continued
playing frequently in 2004 and
recorded the album when being
in town. In spring 2005 they released
the ep “War is money”.
In september 2005 they went on
their first Spain tour and shortly
after this they also released
their 4th album “Skum of
the land”. The single “Big
disgrace” made the charts
on national radio and became the
biggest commercial hit the group
has had so far. In 2006 they toured
both Scandinavia and France and
in 2007 they went on a European
tour! Shortly after this tour
Linkan left the band and moved
to study. Instead of replacing
him Pat, Chris and Pierre decided
to continue as a trio.
Present (2008-)
In 2008 they released a split
album with the American punk band
“Hero of our time”.
They also went on a France and
Spain tour with the French band
“Uncommonmen from mars”.
2009 became a great year for the
band when they signed with the
Japanese label “Bells on
records”. They decided to
re-release Skum of the land +
all the Swedish albums in Japan
and in September Skumdum went
on their first Japan tour. 2010-2011
became two pretty dull years apart
from a show on Swedens biggest
festival “Peace and love”
in 2010.
In 2012 they decided to finally
record a new album! They started
practicing heavily and in april
Nicklas Boman joined the band
as guitarist. Since both Pat and
Pierre had played with him in
the pop/rock band Trucker it didn’t
take him long to find his place.
This was the first time in almost
5 years that the band were 4 on
stage. In September 2012 they
went on their first trip to Poland
where they made 2 shows.
During 2013 Skumdum celebrates
their 20th anniversary as a punk
rock band. They will release 10
singles with 2 songs each on the
20th every month. The first single
“Ten thousand people”
is currently out and the releases
will continue over the year. In
November they will release a compilation
with the singles and celebrate
the 20th anniversary with a big
fest!
