Probably the most unique interview I’ve ever done and least flattering photo at that for covertmag

Last weekend I was relaxing in my Moscow Police Cell when I spotted, across the balcony, Capsule co-founder and Supersonic Festival curator Lisa Meyer, and took the opportunity to ask a few questions about what’s been going on with the Birmingham Experimental scene, Capsule, and their Supersonic Festival.

“Hey! Lisa!” I hiss through the steel grated window of my cell.

“What are you doing here?” she says, “and how did you recognise me?”.

“Your dogs wearing a vampire costume.” I say, waving at Frank-furtter. “Anyway, I’m a big experimental music fan, but I’ve been stuck in here a year, so tell me what you got going on!”.

Read more of this bizarrely written interview by Ben Phluxm here

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A nice little plug for Supersonic on BBC Radio 6 that we thought we’d share with you:)

Folks the Paragon Hotel has already sold out!
But don’t fret we have negotiated an amazing deal with ARC apartments based only 15 mins walk from the Custard Factory and for a self catering apartment of 5 people it will cost you just £20 each a night – what a deal.

Staybirmingham.com offers high quality self-catering apartments that are ideal for both short stays and long- term rentals, and conveniently located in the heart of Birmingham city centre. Providing a genuine home from home, all apartments are fully furnished with TVs, sofas, fully-equipped kitchens, dining areas, spacious bedrooms and more. The 24-hour receptions are easily accessed on foot from any of our apartments. Complimentary Wi-Fi Access is available in each room and reception lobby. Car parking is available upon request.
2/3 person apartment special rate of £75 per night
4/5 person apartment special rate 0f £100 per night

Quote ‘SUPERSONIC’ to book at special festival rate

T: +44 (0) 871 971 2952
E: sales[at]staybirmingham.com

Photograph by Pascal Bourdon

A statement by Justin Broadrick about their difficult performance at Hellfest, we can assure you that every care will be taken at Supersonic to make sure that Godflesh are properly sound checked and have the correct equipment.
We can’t wait!

GODFLESH @ Hellfest. Okay, if you were in attendance for this then I am sure you are aware of how disappointed we were with what transpired, and we are sure you are / were most likely disappointed too.
I am afraid that it was all utterly beyond our control, we salvaged a performance out of what was a fairly ridiculous set of events. The power generator blowing during the set from The Young Gods, on just prior to us, was the catalyst for the ensuing chaos. At one point, performing at all was even in doubt. We had an hour allocated for both soundcheck and stage set up, since there is no soundcheck prior to the start of the festival, unfortunately, something that we really did need, but we were having to put our trust in the one hour allocated before performance, this one hour then became 20 short and extremely stressful minutes, with the stage management proclaiming that we must start immediately without any check of the sound, disastrous for us – additionally, the backline they hired in for us was not entirely correct or had faults with it, Ben’s bass rig specifically, my guitar amp was not right either, the monitors were awful without the time for us to correct them sufficiently, resulting in not hearing virtually any of the Machine in the monitors for nearly all of our opener ‘Like Rats’, the DVD machine for our films was also somewhat faulty. In short, this was an absolute frustrating catalogue of disasters, presenting the band in, for us, one of the worst ways imaginable. We do though consider that we somewhat forged a performance out of a significantly bad situation.
We played 40 of our intended 60 minutes ; quite literally onstage I managed to turn 30 minutes into 40 due to ongoing arguments, during our set, with the stage management.
We’re really sorry to everyone concerned that all this happened and hopefully this will all be rectified at the forthcoming GODFLESH performance at the Supersonic Festival, details below, for those who can make it, of course.
By Justin Broadrick

FURTHER ACTS ANNOUNCED FOR
SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL 2010

HALLOGALLO 2010 – Michael Rother + Friends present the music of NEU!
NAPALM DEATH / PEOPLE LIKE US / DEMONS (W/SICK LLAMA) / OvO / CAVE / PART WILD HORSES MANE ON BOTH SIDES / DOSH / TWEAK BIRD / DRUMCORPS  / PCM

Joining confirmed acts including:

GODFLESH / SWANS / JAILBREAK FEAT. CHRIS CORSANO + HEATHER LEIGH / MELT BANANA / JAMES BLACKSHAW / LICHENS / BONG / GNOD /VOICE OF THE SEVEN THUNDERS / NECRO DEATHMORT / GNAW / EAGLE TWIN / BLUE SABBATH BLACK FIJI

22 – 24 OCTOBER 2010
Birmingham, UK
www.supersonicfestival.com

Tickets on sale now from:
www.theticketsellers.co.uk
www.seetickets.com

Following the news that the 2010 edition of Birmingham’s acclaimed annual Supersonic Festival will be headlined by SWANS and GODFLESH, Capsule are excited to announce a further round of live acts who will also perform at this year’s festival, including HALLOGALLO 2010 and NAPALM DEATH. Tickets are now on sale!

“I´m thrilled to return to Supersonic this year with my new live project Hallogallo 2010. We will present some favourite music by NEU!, Harmonia and from my solo albums. I look forward to Supersonic this year because two great musicians and friends are joining me in Hallogallo 2010: Steve Shelley (drummer of Sonic Youth) and Aaron Mullan (guitar player of Tall Firs). Expect some fast-forward movement!” – Michael Rother, Hallogallo 2010/NEU!

Capsule are also excited to confirm that unquestionably the most influential band in extreme music’s ferocious history NAPALM DEATH will be performing in their hometown to make their first ever Supersonic Festival appearance. Acclaimed as the creators of Grindcore, Napalm Death will be pushing the envelope of metal to new extremes in what is guaranteed to be an unforgettable performance.

“We are very much looking forward to playing Supersonic this year. It’s always great to play a hometown gig, and with this festival being so diverse musically it’s going to be even more fun for us as we rarely get the chance to play such events –  and on the same stage as SWANS, well what can I say?” – Shane Embury, Napalm Death

Also confirmed are an incredible, eclectic mix of music and visual artists, including PART WILD HORSES MANE ON BOTH SIDES with their mesmerizing and unforgettable avant-primitivism,  oVo with their incredible combination of heavy riffage, bombastic drumming and unforgettable vocals, as well as a return from the dark lords of Drum and Bass, PCM. DOSH will be performing, complete with mandatory pots and pans, as well as DRUMCORPS, with their unique, high-energy mix of music production values and the raw power of American hardcore.

TWEAK BIRD are also confirmed, bringing their big drums, fuzzed out baritone guitar and tandem spacey vocal melodies, and also CAVE, with their sickeningly tight drum and bass. There will also be multi-sensory art in the form of DJ and multimedia artist Vicki Bennett, aka PEOPLE LIKE US, and dark visual music trio DEMONS (W/SICK LLAMA).

This latest announcement forms part of a series of line up announcements for Supersonic 2010 with many more exciting acts and artists to be revealed in the coming weeks and months.

Tickets on sale now from:
www.theticketsellers.co.uk
www.seetickets.com

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Brothers Caleb and Ashton Bird grew up in the woods of Southern Illinois where they first started making loud, heavy music together as young boys and they haven’t stopped since.

Their latest musical partnership called TWEAK BIRD is a band driven by big drums, fuzzed out baritone guitar and tandem spacey vocal melodies. The sound is a swirl of catchy and raw stoner-pop bits that are spliced, blended and expanded upon with unique sections of instrumentation including saxophone, flute, theremin, and even some gong for good measure. But don’t expect any typical lengthy progressive jams with these guys, they make quick work of their arrangements and leave surprises around every corner. They are both brutal and subtle so keep your ears sharp and have fun!
www.myspace.com/tweakbird

Since 1991 Vicki Bennett has been making CDs, radio, and A/V multimedia under the name People Like Us. By animating and recontextualising found footage collages Vicki gives an equally witty and dark view of popular culture with a surrealistic edge.

www.peoplelikeus.org

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Flautist Kelly Jones performance veers seamlessly from Anthony Braxton styled free playing to a haunted elongated droning style akin to Isnaj Dui. Pascal Nichols, the percussive element of the duo, splatters sporadically in a fractured rainfall, faintly disrupting proceedings to begin with, then forcefully propelling the musical structure into steadier rhythms. This primitive structure is forced in amplified rackets via free jazz techniques and improvisation.
www.myspace.com/partwildhorsesmaneonbothsides

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OvO is a name shared by the Italian noise group led by singer Stefania Pedretti and multi-instrumentalist Bruno Dorella. OvO is one of the most interesting bands playing in this day and age. The combination of heavy riffage, bombastic drumming and vocals that could either crush concrete or lull a baby to sleep makes for an interesting blend of sound.
www.myspace.com/ovobarlamuerte

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“They’re just as brutal and ferocious as ever. As the songs keep improving in structure so does the intent ferociousness, infectiousness, edginess and socio-political irascibility” Terrorizer Magazine

Formed in Birmingham in 1981, Napalm Death created Grindcore and the ‘blast beat’, pushing the envelope of metal to new extremes. 2010 will be their first Supersonic Festival appearance.
www.myspace.com/napalmdeath

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Aaron Spectre started off playing drums and going to all ages shows in the wasteland of suburban Massachusetts. In 2003 he dropped out of college and relocated to Berlin, Germany, to launch his music career. He released several vinyl 12”s, and soon found a following playing at squats and raves around Europe. Spectre founded Drumcorps to synthesize the unlikely mix of electronic music production values and the raw power of American hardcore. Drumcorps shows are notoriously high-energy, cathartic affairs.
www.myspace.com/drumc0rps
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Multi instrumentalist Martin Dosh creates layered and looped electronic based sounds that would be described as ambient if it weren’t so joyous and danceable. In 2003 Anticon proudly released Dosh’s virtuoso debut, Dosh, a loop-building collage of shimmering organ, atypical drumming grounded in groove, field recordings and spontaneous performance. Dosh continues to impress with his phenomenal live performances involving extensive percussion including the mandatory pots and pans

www.myspace.com/doshanticon
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[jwplayer config=”video mainpage” playlistid=”847″]Demons features Nate Young, the founding member of Wolf Eyes, and have evolved from a synthesizer duo into a Visual Music trio with the incorporation of video artist Alivia Zivich.

“This duo from Detroit made the scariest damn noise album of 2007 with Evocation . Far from the typical free-for-all inanity that dominates the noise scene, Nate Young and Steve Kenney create sounds that are more in line with Carl Zittrer’s horror movie soundtracks” Blood Sausage

www.myspace.com/demonscool

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Chicago based band on Drag City. Cave core themselves round sickeningly tight drum and bass that drive like an armoured vehicle, whilst the sinewy guitar work punctuates aggressively. Think cosmic grooves and full on psych wig out.
www.myspace.com/realreelpro

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Hallogallo – Michael Rother + Friends present the music of  Neu!
The legendary German group NEU! released only 3 albums between 1972 and 1975, but these albums had an influence wildly disproportionate to their modest commercial success. Inspired by revisiting these recordings, Michael Rother has invited a group of musicians to visit the NEU! universe with him for a series of live performances: Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Benjamin Curtis (School of Seven Bells), and Aaron Mullan (Tall Firs) will perform a limited number of concerts this year as ‘Hallogallo 2010’. This group will perform NEU!  music and selections from Rother’s work with Harmonia and his solo albums.
www.michaelrother.de/en/