Sooterkin Flesh originated in the various bedrooms and garages of Troy Norfolk's adolescent nomadic existence in 1986, experimenting with record treatments and turn-tables, tape recorders and samplers, sheets of metal and a broken clothes dryer. Recording on a faulty tape recorder, Troy collated 90 minutes of various experimental, industrial, noise material into a tape entitled "Insinkerator". Through a chance meeting at Pipe Records in Melbourne, Troy met Ollie Olsen (Orchestra of Skin & Bone / NO), who encouraged him to meet John Murphy (The Man of a 1000 bands including; Krang, SPK, Nurse With Wound, Lustmord, Whitehouse, Current 93, Slub, Stress, Our Father of Serpents, The Wreckery, Max Q, Death In June, Scorpion Wind, Shining Vril). John listened to and liked the tape and encouraged Troy to play live and asked if he could be a part of it.
Troy and John began performing live together under the Sooterkin Flesh moniker, with Jak Perception (Kids On Death) on noise guitar, for the inaugural performance at The Builder's Arms Hotel in Fitzroy, March 13 1988. Over the next 10 years, John and Troy continued to play live sporadically, while both were involved in various other bands and projects. None of which, were truly like the Sooterkin aesthetic.
Sooterkin Flesh - a conceptual improvisational substratum, that made each performance, stand in it's own right, as a direct and relative combination of assembled equipment and found objects, and personnel and their current emotional states, to dictate the themes, pace and structure of the performance.
Gordon Fukushima (samplers & keyboards) joined the duo after a few months, which opened the door to a continuum of various musicians from differing backgrounds to be a part of the improvisational live performance. Adding a wider range of instrumentation and idiosyncracies, building gargantuan walls of sound and occasionally beating away with and upon any found metal object, covering the stage area and beyond. This boundaryless concept, created an uncertain and chaotic diorama, that seemingly shape-shifted in and out and inbetwixt a violent and threatening all encompassing gargantuan wall of cacophonic sound, and an aethereal, angelic, magickal landscape of ever-repeating layers of velvetine torture.
With slovenly momentum, more willing participants joined the fray; the next mainstay Mark O'Connors (L.U.M.P.) utilising samplers, tapes, percussion and zithers, Jaysun Van Den Boogert (God,Guns & Guts, Cancrum Oris) for dualling guitars, Jason Vassalo (Christbait) for rhythm and spoken word sampling. Occasional performances were dedicated to found-objects percussion. Involving such luminaries as Spike Kiernan (Bastard Squad, Scourge, Womnal) and Carl Thomas (Steak Kave, Understanding Sexual Addiction). A hard-rubbish collection of sheets of rusted metal, pipes of all sizes, corrugated iron, kegs from the cellar and a big empty water tank. Drills and contact mics. On special 'Industrial' nights, a performance would involve all of the above and more, featuring Michael Sheridan (No, The Dumb & The Ugly, Peril) guitar treatments, David Brown (The Dumb & The Ugly, Lazy, Crowded Foxhole) tape manipulation, Jake Curtis (Where's The Pope) percussion, Matt Skitz (Damaged, Manticore) percussion and Laura Swanson on viola.
In 1989, Troy and John teamed up with Ollie Olsen to perform under the moniker Transworld Death Corporation, for a one-off gig supporting Henry Rollins doing a spoken word show at Id's in Melbourne. Sooterkin Flesh played with many experimental and industrial bands of the era, including Defenestration, Nothing, Practical Folk Music, Gum, Lifedrill, Toll, Tabata & KK Null (from Zeni Geva), Slub, Burr, Hyacinthrash, Box The Jesuit, Womnal, Bladdergun, The Dumb & The Ugly, Stress, Throat, Kids on Deth, Barker's Eggs, Crash Test Dummies, Black Sun, The Crying Room, Lung UPC, Ecclesiastical Scaffolding, Crowded Foxhole, Michael Sheridan and The Zorros. The last Sooterkin Flesh gig was in October 1997, featuring Troy and John, supporting KK Null, having supported him on his previous tour, at the Evelyn Hotel in Fitzroy.

All throughout the years, Sooterkin Flesh has recorded in various bedrooms and kitchens, and very limited handmade cassette and tape loops were sporadically released through Coccyx Tapes. A compilation of which shall be forged and released later in 2012, if all goes to plan. Fortunately a number of the live performances were also recorded. Unfortunately on a tape player/recorder, walkman, mini-tape recorder and/or a 4 track. "Nightmare on Laurens Street" a compilation cassette released in 1988, features Troy and John performing at the Laurens Street Experimental Music Benefit June 18, 1988.
In the mid 90's, Sooterkin Flesh went into the studio proper and recorded some 20+ hours of material. Featuring Troy, John Murphy, Mark O'Connors, Gordon Fukushima, Carl Thomas and Scott Baylis. Material that is yet to be released. Amongst the accumulated cacophonic cavalcade of material, Troy has begun releasing these opuses through digital download, beginning with "Gogmagog" in 2009. "The Thread of My Master's Weave" was released in November 2010 on the TVK netlabel. Part One of the "Fistmaster" trilogy. A project that began in 1988 and is only now seeing the light of day. A track titled "Siphoning Expectorant" was released June 2011, on the TVK Compilation album; "First...You Plant The Seed". Troy is currently finishing off both Parts Two and Three of the Fistmaster trilogy, with Two due to be released April 2012 and Three not long after. Also 2 physical releases for Apr/May 2012 - 3"CD - a split with Elizabeth Veldon and a re-working of the "Gog" ethos.
After15 long years, Troy and various Sooterkin personnel will FINALLY be performing live to commemorate FISTMASTER in mid 2012, to complete the work, that began so long ago.
Troy is always open to collaborative projects, compilation work and anyone willing to contribute to the continual cacophany of the Sooterkin soundscape!
LONG LIVE THE SOOTERKIN! LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH!