Killdren is a British crossover music act that combines punk vocals with electronic backing tracks produced in a rave style. The band is most notable for being the focal point of brief but intense UK media coverage in June 2019 that stemmed from an expose article published in The Sunday Times[1].
History
editThe debut Killdren song was a music video single release on 17 May 2017 that was intended as a political statement on the impending UK general election. Kill Tory Scum (Before They Kill You) aired on the band's YouTube channel in the weeks leading up the election and garnered very little response outside of the related underground punk or rave scenes in the UK.
In May 2019, a time of heightened political tensions in the UK that were expressed in the 'milkshaking' of prominent right-wing politicians and campaigners, the band were approached by a journalist working for The Times who informed them that the newspaper were preparing an article on Killdren that would centre on their song 'Kill Tory Scum (Before They Kill You) for its supposed encouraging of political violence. After several revisions of the article it finally came to press on Sunday 2 June 2019. The story had now been rewritten to point blame at the annual Glastonbury Festival who were due to host the provocative band in a small venue as part of their 2019 musical programming. The story also laid blame on politically-motivated tweets from another band Fat White Family and was picked up and rehashed across all of the major UK news networks online, in print, TV and radio.[2][3][4][5]
Killdren were summarily removed from the official Glastonbury Festival lineup, leading to debate[6] in the UK and international press as to whether this move constituted a form of censorship. The band were given a platform to respond to the accusations of condoning and encouraging political violence by online editions of The Independent[7] and NME[8]. After several days the media furore had subsided and the band returned to their minor concert engagements. Killdren have yet to achieve any music chart success.
Discography
editEPs/Singles
edit- 'Overkill is Underrated' on Killdren Music (2018)
- 'Overkill is Underrated (The Remixes)' by various artists on Killdren Music (2018)
- 'Disguise the Limit' on Killdren Music (2019)
Albums
edit- ‘Killdren’ self-titled album on Killdren Music, CD (2019)
- 'Dismembers of Parliament' on Killdren Music (2020)
- 'The Remixes part 2 & 3' on Killdren Music (2020)
- 'The Illuminaughty' on Killdren Music (2023)
Line up
edit- Efa Supertramp (lead vocals)
- Ronin (vocals, producer, live remixing)
- Glittasphyxia (stage performer)
- Vanilla ISIS (stage performer)
References
edit- ^ Pogrund, Gabriel (2019-06-02). "Glastonbury bands' message of love this summer: Kill a Tory". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
- ^ "Glastonbury: 'Kill Tory' band hit back at festival". BBC News. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ Hall, James. "Even 'Tory Scum' would agree that banning Killdren from Glastonbury sets a worrying precedent". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ Mayaki, Alfred. "Killdren: Banned from Glastonbury, but never forgotten". Medium. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ Hope, Russell. "Killdren: Band dropped from Glastonbury over 'Kill Tory Scum' lyrics". Sky News. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ Pledge, The. "Free speech or inciting hatred?". Sky News. Sky News. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ Music, Killdren (3 June 2019). "Opinion: We wrote 'Kill Tory Scum' in protest at brutal Tory austerity. What's violent about that?". The Independent. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ^ Music, Killdren. "Kill Tory Scum band Killdren hit back at Glastonbury cancellation". NME. Retrieved 14 February 2020.