A 90 MINUTE WALKING TOUR IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BLACK SABBATH 1948 – 1970
PERRY BARR, WITTON, ASTON & NEWTOWN
Join us for a special Black Sabbath themed walking tour, in the birthplace of Heavy Metal. Along the way you will be walking in the footsteps of Tony, Bill, Ozzy and Geezer and learning about the environment they grew up in and how they formed to be one of the most important bands in music history.
Sign up for a free, guided tour of Black Sabbath’s early environment by music historian Rob Horrocks. Rob was our lead researcher for our Home of Metal project. Read more about him and the walking tour HERE
This special event will take place on Saturday 20th October and is free to all Supersonic weekend ticket holders, but booking is essential as spaces are limited. To do so, email [email protected] with ‘Crossroads of Sabbath’ as the subject title.
You can learn more about the birthplace of Heavy Metal via our Home of Metal project
As arelative newbie to noise music, I decided that the easiest route to ‘enlightenment’ that I could take would be through the relationship between music and visual art. One thing that is at the top of my anticipatory list this year is the Vinyl Rally, an installation by Australian artist Justice Yeldham. Justice, AKA Lucas Abela, initially classed himself as a Turntablist with early attempts ranging between stabbing vinyl with Kruger-esque stylus gloves to performing deaf defying duets duels with amplified Samurai swords. Perhaps some of you may be more familiar with his performance work- a breathtaking combination of sound and visuals, whereby he uses a piece of glass to curate an exhibition of cacophonous sound. The performance is not for the faint hearted- Justice eats, smashes and crunches the glass and it is safe to assume that he will probably undertake his show barefoot.
With the Vinyl Rally having previously travelled the Seven Seas and now finally landing in the UK, Supersonic festival-goers are in for a treat. A treat that is sure to tempt the senses into new realms through noise, visuals and most importantly, direct participation. You become the one in control, guiding the car around the track with the attached stylus scratching against the vinyls themselves creating a noise sequence that will never be created again.
In a world where computer games are taking over, what is so refreshing about the Vinyl Rally is that the player is not separated from their game by a lack of reality; you are part of the game itself. Justice Yeldham has chosen to reference old school Arcade games in his choice of seating, controls and general conception, transporting the player down memory lane, perhaps back to childhood. For me, perhaps the most exciting thing about the installation is the chance to quite literally sit back in the driver’s seat, away from the reality of the road and into the imaginary world of the Rally. Make sure not to miss out on tickets for Supersonic 2012 if you are wanting to catch any part of Justice Yeldham’s work.
Why not have a listen?
To find out more about this year’s line-up, read more here.
Wonderful news, we have just reached our 100% target with our We Fund campaign. 80 very generous folks helped us to raise £5000 which will go someway to helping us deliver our 10th birthday edition of Supersonic Festival. We are massively humbled by what a group of people can achieve together. Of course now it’s over to you guys to purchase the tickets. Many thanks and we can’t wait for Supersonic, which will be full of additional surprises.
From all of us at Supersonic HQ – THANKS x
Until then here is a taster from last year.
Folks we have just 5 days left of our We Fund campaign with the aim of raising £5000, the campaign asks those of you, in the position to, to support us by making a donation to Supersonic Festivalthis year. Your donations will help us to continue to put together a highly ambitious festival programme, allowing us to take risks on emergent artists and unique collaborations. We are hoping our loyal audience can help us further our ambition for this unique event. We’re currently at 87% which is pretty remarkable but without reaching the full 100%we get none of the funds raised. So dig deep – every bit helps.
Thank yous include an invite to a very special 10th birthday tea partywhich will take place over the weekend of the festival, and will give you the opportunity to share some sweet treats and a nice glass of fizz to toast 10 years of adventurous music and meet with some of the artists performing at the festival.
In addition there are some limited places left for our Sonic Feast, a unique sound led dining experience, featuring bespoke and unusual concoctions to celebrate the festival’s 10th year in style. Produced by Companis, a nomadic artist and curatorial practice creating bespoke dining experiences that immerse the diner in performance, food and spectacle.
This year Supersonic marks its tenth anniversary and to celebrate this amazing milestone we’re inviting you on a trip down memory lane..
Did you photograph Monotonix when they took over the lake in 2009? Or catch a sneaky shot of Black Sun Drum Corpsas they paraded along Gibb Street? Or perhaps you’ve documented the quirks and subtleties that make Supersonic so special and unique?
We’re looking for photographs from the last ten years that capture the spirit of Supersonic, the best of which will be featured at this year’s festival.
So please, take a look back at your Supersonic photographs and send us your favourites!
Please limit your submission to no more than three photographs – we’re looking for the very best photographs that sum up the nature of the festival. If you can, please include a description of the photograph, and the year it was taken.
Images should measure 152 x 203 mm (8″ x 10″) with a resolution of 300 dpi.
Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses by Katja Ogrin
As visually stunning as they are sonically punishing, Sunn0))) by James Singh
The first workshop of the festival has been announced and its an amazing opportunity to learn some new skills, work alongside some truly unique practitioners and creatively contribute to a live performance by Drunk in Hell.
In Imperfect Cinema’s workshop ‘Halide Oxide’, Attendees will be able explore the ‘halide’ of super-8mm film and the ‘oxide’ of audio cassette tape used to capture video, by using redundant camera technologies to capture images which will be processed, prepared and edited by Imperfect Cinema into two distinct visual forms. The first will be the visual backdrop to the lo-fi monolithic grit of Drunk In Hell’sperformance, an experience which should definitely not be missed, and the second is an alternative visual document of the festival which will form a unique part of the archive of its tenth anniversary. Workshop attendees will be joined by renowned sonic and visual artist Nicholas Bullento discuss Imperfect Cinema and its influences.
To book a place, please email [email protected] with ‘Imperfect Cinema’ in the subject line
Last year, Imperfect Cinema with workshop attendees put together this beautiful film, which was screened alongside a live score bySOUNDkitchen.
Just one of the bands we’re stupidly excited about playing the festival is year is Goat. Afro heavy psych punk from a remote Swedish village? Gotta be good! You can read a review of their album ‘World Music’ on Norman Records
Everything is perfectly in place here from well-segued samples and the odd field recording to the breathless running order. It’s hit after flipping hit with this band, they’ve concocted an alarmingly poppy creation filled with nine all-too brief excursions into a voodoo world where Swedish psychedelia meets belting Afro-rock and parties like there’s no tomorrow. Please, like with all your favourite albums, play it ridiculously loud, then, undoubtedly, re-rewind and crank it up again till dawn and beyond. Goat are worth falling out with your neighbours for. Read the full review via http://www.normanrecords.com/records/135427-goat—world-music
Thank to all who came to Corsica Studios last Thursday for our second Supersonic Taster. It was a bass heavy line up of King Midas Sound, JK Flesh (Justin Broadrick) and Glatze who all tested the excellent sound system there to its very limits.Thanks also to Corsica Studios and The Quietus.
King Midas Sound take the stage through a haze of dry ice, pumping a wall of sound that makes even JK Flesh seem quiet, with bass that makes your trousers dance before your feet have even had a chance to move. The twin vocal performances of Roger Robinson and Kiko Hitomi, somehow melodic, strident and languid all at the same time, put a human edge on proceedings, while behind the desk Martin unleashes the robots. It’s heavy. REALLY heavy. Imagine a Mezzanine-era Massive Attack hiding themselves behind a wall of sound with the biggest, and most stoned reggae sound system you ever heard, only breaking cover to pop out every now and then to punch you in the face. It’s like that. And it’s the perfect pick-me-up after the relentless vitriol of JK Flesh; the two acts complement each other perfectly. It would appear Broadrick and Martin being in the same room is ALWAYS an awesome proposition, even if they’re not making noise at the same time as each other. Read the full review HERE
We hope these tasters have given you a good opportunity to check out some of the artists due to perform at the festival and other interesting musicians we’re working with. King Midas Sound’s Kevin Martin will perform at October’s festival as The Bug, Justin will return with his JK Flesh project and Sam ‘Glatze’ Underwood will perform as part of a new collaboration – Ore and KK Null.
The Supersonic Taster have formed an exciting extension of our 10th anniversary celebrations. Other 10th birthday events include a special Tea Party and the Sonic Feast, which act as a thank you to those who have supported the festival through our We Fund campaign. There’s only a few days left to support and secure a place at one of these events. Learn more viahttp://wefund.com/project/supersonic-festival-10th-anniversary/p27749/
To celebrate the 10th edition of the festival, we are proud to host a number of special collaborations where you can see known performers embarking upon unknown sounds. One such performance we are proud to present is Oxbow Orchestra. Expect strings, woodwinds, brass, operatic backing vocals and classically contained renderings of the Oxbow song book, featuring Eugene S Robinson and Niko Wenner from Oxbow and an Orchestra who will deliver songs new and old in a format unaccustomed to the blood and sweat of a typical Oxbow outing. The textbook definition of ONCE IN A LIFETIME. This ties in very nicely with the first film announcement which will be The Luxury Of Empire, a very intimate portrait of Oxbow at the peak of their artistic maturity, candid interviews and live footage reveals the trials and tribulations of this band. The film programme is coming together nicely with Jeremy Deller’s ‘The Bruce Lacey Experience’ and a number of films curated by Jason Forrest at Network Awesome.
From one large scale event to a couple more (well it is our tenth birthday after all!) Lash Frenzy will perform ‘Vir Heroicus Sublimis’as an improvised noise collective, featuring members of Anaal Nathrackh, Beestung Lips, Benediction, Sally and Einstellung. Another distinctive pairing will see KK Null and Birmingham’s own ORE in sonic battle. In many ways, KK Null’s collaboration with Lash Frenzy at Supersonic 2010 (with ORE’s Sam on tuba) acted as a proof of concept for the sound of ORE, so it’s entirely fitting to bring the two entities together this year.
The issue of creating art in challenging times is one close to the festival’s heart and an exciting panel discussion will see the topic dissected by some truly inspirational practitioners.. The discussion is called ‘You Can Be You’ and will feature an array of maverick artists including Penny Rimbaud, Jarboe and Eugene Robinson. Offering an insight into some of the hows and whys of maintaining an independent spirit whilst on the very edge of the avant-garde, the panel will debate such topics as, how is the drive to make art is sustained under sometimes-difficult circumstances? and after many years of writing and touring music, will the desire to create ever be satiated?
Given the success of Imperfect Cinema’scinematic workshop last year, we have invited the team back to host a free workshop exploring DIY modes of filming and cinema only this time, the footage people gather using Super 8 cameras will be edited and used as visuals for Drunk in Hell’s performance. All in all, an exciting opportunity for festival goers to be part of the performance and for them to utilise the unique industrial backdrop in a highly creative way. If you’re interested in booking a place, email [email protected] with ‘Imperfect Cinema’ in the subject line.
Vinyl Rallywill be a large-scale installation combining sound art, video art and kinetic sculpture into every kid and kidult’s dream-hybrid; an immersive participatory play-set playing off vinyl fetishism, video arcade mystique and the machismo of motor sports in a video game played within a real world setting! Classic first person video racing is simulated as remote control cars with styli attached, race across a track constructed from a mass of disused vinyl records. This installation will be realised by Australian artist and glass eating expert Lucas Abela AKA Justice Yeldham. Who’s excited to have a go on this mean machine?
Phew! Lots more info to come, as well as day tickets and volunteering opportunities. Weekend tickets are available to purchase via https://supersonicfestival.com/tickets and don’t forget, if you want to see these sorts of ambitious projects continue, you can support us via our We Fund campaign
The second of our Supersonic Tasters takes place tomorrow night at London’s Corsica Studios. The heavy bass of King Midas Sound is joined by Justin Broadrick’s (Godflesh, Napalm Death, Techno Animal) new JK Flesh project. The Midlands’ very own Glatzeaka Sam Underwood also takes to the stage to round up an exciting line up.
The Monotonix invasion – one of the many things that have made Supersonic Festival a unique event.
Capsule creative director and Supersonic Festival co-founder Lisa Meyer was interviewed recently by The 405 on what goes into making a festival happen, how to sustain what you do for 10 years, and why you should never rest on your laurels in this business!
Why should people come to Supersonic?
We hope that we create an event that really cares about our audience as much as we care about the artists performing. While you will discover new amazing bands you’ll also have lots of fun too and our cake selection is superb. It’s a festival for music lovers, not a place to be ripped off and be fed the same generic line up as most of the big festivals – it’s a unique experience. Read the full article at The 405
Thanks to all who came along to the first of two Supersonic taster events last Saturday at Eastside Projects in Birmingham. The amazing performances, and diversity of acts on show has got us all buzzing for the main event in October. Below are some lovely shots of the event by Katja Ogrin.
Laurence Hunt of Pram opened with a solo percussive project. Creating abstract sounds and looped feedback.
Sarah Farmer presented ‘An Array of Events’ using DIY instrumentation (plus viola)
Iron Fist of the Sun stepped the volume up a notch with a power electronics set
The first UK outing of Justin Broadrick’s new JK Flesh project. And it was LOUD.
King Midas Sound System closed the event with a set touching dub, reggae, drone and noise, plus great vocals from Roger Robinson and Kiki Hitomi
Supersonic is an excellent small festival of boundary-chafing music that takes place at Birmingham’s Custard Factory every October. As a hint of what to expect, the organisers are hosting a couple of “taster” nights this week, with acts from the electronic end of their wide-ranging brief. Godflesh’s Justin Broadrick and Kevin Martin, aka The Bug, have collaborated many times over the years – most significantly throughout the 90s as industrial hip-hop outfit Techno Animal – and these two nights find them showcasing their latest projects. Martin appears as part of heavyweight future-dub soundsystem King Midas Sound, while Broadrick performs as JK Flesh, a new beat-oriented guise that bridges Godflesh’s malefic grind and Jesu’s snowblind soundscapes. In Birmingham you can also catch the power electronics of Iron Fist Of The Sun, while “Romany surf-step” chap Glatze provides a bit of light relief in London.
Tickets for tonight can be purchased from HERE doors are at 7.30pm – we’ll be running a lovely real ale bar too Eastside Projects can be found – 86 Heath Mill Lane Birmingham, West Midlands B9 4AR
For tickets to the London show on Thursday see HERE
For full line up of Supersonic Festival 19-21 October see HERE & tickets are available from HERE
On Saturday 4th August, a very special event will get us all excited for the 10th edition of Supersonic – extending our birthday celebrations as much as possible! The Supersonic Taster at Eastside Projects in Birmingham will see a range of adventurous artists taking over the gallery space for an exciting one off event. Doors are 7.30pm and we will have a lovely Purity Ale and cider bar. Tickets are available via https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk
King Midas Sound System will take us on sonic adventures to the deep and heavy and will feature live vocals, exclusive remixes and astonishing sound design. Check out their Fact mix below:
JK Flesh aka Justin Broadrick of Godflesh, Napalm Death, Jesu will present the UK premier of his new project that explores the darker side of dubstep along with his inimitable guitar sound.
Bitter cold contemporary power electronics comes in the form of Iron Fist of the Sun, just don’t call it art noise!
Artist and instrument designer Sarah M Farmer will present ‘An Array of Events’, mixing traditional methods of sound production with DIY instruments and experimental techniques “in a bid to overcome the problem of being a lone performer with only the usual number of hands and limited instrumental skill.” Check out one of her previous installations below.
Pram and Modified Toy Orchestra percussionist Laurence Hunt will present a new solo percussive project combined with live electronics.
Jarboe will be bringing her “Intimate Indemnity” tour to Supersonic Festival 2012. This tour will feature Jarboe and classically trained pianist Renee Valentine Nelson performing songs of Swans and World Of Skin and solo Jarboe songs from her newest records entitled Indemnity 1 and 2 and will focus on singing, melody, intimacy.
World of Skin was a project by Michael Gira and Jarboe born out of Swans.
The much anticipated second record by superfreak group Rangda comes our way 18th September 2012. Made up of Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance), Sir Richard Bishop(Sun City Girls) and Chris (thousands of Free Jazz credits) Corsano, they’re a sight and sound to behold live. You can catch Rangda and their various guises at Supersonic Festival this year for an extended freak out.
For the second flight of the shadowy witch-god brothers, Rangda have changed their status from False Flag to Formerly Extinct! Upon examination, there’s reason beyond their rhyme-free wanderings. Since the last album, see, Rangda have been all
around this world as the wise men and the fools alike in lands both high and low. They’ve seen the young and invest-less kneel amp-side, waiting for musical succor, then in the next town over they’ve felt the cold chill of being left for dead and seen their music dubbed “so wrong it must be Rangda” strictly for some local pen-lifter’s personal chuckles.
How we can even claim that Formerly Extinct displays a greater fluidity than the well-oiled zero-to-60Khz hairpins of False Flag is a matter of
debate around DC corporate HQ. It seems to depend on how you define the semi-metallic element of sound sometimes called “sharp.” False Flag featured a tune called “Serrated Edges,” which made sense in the knife-flying arc of that album. Sharp is a claw-like quality in generous supply on Formerly Extinct as well — a graphic picture in sharp focus, perhaps with cleaner edges yet unmistakably gruesome subjects. While False Flag found these slingers in a whirlwinded shred-fest, each trying to out do each other with what they brought to the Rangda lair (er, recording studio), Formerly Extinct blossoms like the home-grown hybrid of a three-headed beast well-practiced in its body. A lean ’n’ amazingly mean, greased-up, child-eating machine. Drag City
Album cover art is by Brighton artist and member of Blood Stereo, Karen Constance.
This Saturday 4th August we’re hosting a taster event for the 10 edition of the festival – extending our birthday celebrations as much as we can!
With a stellar and diverse line up this should get us all excited for October.King Midas Sound System aka Kevin Martin of The Bug, drops DJ exclusive dubs/versions and remixes as well as bleeding other artists’ music into the astounding sound design, with special guest vocals. Justin Broadrick will give a UK premier performance of his new project JK Flesh, expect soul-crushingly dark beats and bass, layered with Broadrick’s inimitable guitar.
We’ve also taken the opportunity to programme some exciting sounds from some Birmingham based experimental sound artists. Iron Fist of the Sunblends power electronics and black metal, Laurence Hunt of Pram and Modified Toy Orchestra performs a new solo percussive piece and Sarah M Farmer will play an entire orchestral piece using DIY instrumentation.
Check out this great footage of The Bug performing in Tenerife. We recently announced that he’ll be joining the Supersonic Festival line up with Grime MC Flowdan and Ragamuffin rapper Daddy Freddy
Capsule like cake, a lot, and for our 10th anniversary celebrations, it seems only right to partake in a feast of epicurean delights. Join us for an afternoon of tea, sweet treats and a nice glass of fizz to toast 10 years of adventurous music and meet with some of the people that have made this event possible over the years.
There will be a number of special guests in attendance from artists, friends of the festival and some fantastical creatures. Like Alice in Wonderland, it may be the stupidist tea party you’ve ever been to.
The Tea Party acts as a thank you to those who have pledged £50 or more to our current We Fund campaign. Like many arts organisations, we are increasingly looking for new ways to continue what we do. This campaign allows people, if they are in the position to, to support us by making a donation to the festival this year. Your donations will help us to continue to put together a highly ambitious festival programme, allowing us to take risks on emergent artists and unique collaborations. We are hoping our loyal audience, friends and partners can help us further our ambition for this unique event.
We’re thrilled to present an intimate show with American space rockers Bardo Pond on Wednesday 1st August. They’re playing the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath, Birmingham and you can purchase tickets in advance via https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk/
They performed a beautiful set at Supersonic Festival 2011 and frankly, we can’t wait to see them again.
Support comes from Damrai Vent who will be crafting a live set of improvised sounds, creating ‘soundtracks to science fiction movies never made’
You may know him from free form group Sun City Girls, who merged middle Eastern sounds, surf and experimental rock, you may not – either way check out his solo material and dizzying guitar skills.
Bishop’s skill consists in feeling exactly where any piece should go. This process primarily involves mindfulness as opposed to an apparatus of music theory. Here, the guitarist acts as a conduit, allowing music to flow through the filter of his hands to the strings. Each piece is a kind of vector, a force that pushes Bishop in a direction and flows through his guitar, and through the friction of the creative process, works itself out completely by its conclusion. This method (if method is an appropriate term) lends itself to a variety of styles, but it’s most appropriate in explorations of a solo instrument. Read more via http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/sir-richard-bishop-intermezzo
Sir Richard Bishop will also be performing at the festival as part 1/3 of Rangda with Ben Chasney (Six Organs of Admittance) and Chris Corsano.
We’ve just announced a gig with the inimitable Om. Starting off from the ashes of Sleep, they have moved on to explore psychedelic and world music whilst maintaining groove ridden doom riffs. They will perform at The Rainbow Warehouse on Tuesday 25th September.
The Sonic Feast is a unique sound led dining experience, featuring bespoke and unusual concoctions to celebrate the festival’s 10th year in style. Created in partnership with Companis, this event will feature a range of special guests including Supersonic Festival artist alumni and has a very limited capacity. Companis is a nomadic artist and curatorial practice creating bespoke dining experiences that immerse the diner in performance, food and spectacle. We’d love for you to join us for this very special event.
The Sonic Feast acts as a thank you to those who have pledged £150 or more to our current We Fund campaign. Like many arts organisations, we are increasingly looking for new ways to continue what we do. This campaign allows people, if they are in the position to, to support us by making a donation to the festival this year. Your donations will help us to continue to put together a highly ambitious festival programme, allowing us to take risks on emergent artists and unique collaborations. We are hoping our loyal audience, friends and partners can help us further our ambition for this unique event.
