Meet Wolves in the Throne Room – listen and see

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Wolves in the Throne Room  announce new album ‘Celestial Lineage’ (artwork pictured)

We’re delighted to have finally booked Wolves in the Throne Room for Supersonic.  The band have wanted to play for some time now and 2011 is the year.  The band, from the Pacific NorthWest of the US, have been highly acclaimed since their debut album ‘Diadem of 12 Stars’ in 2006.  Core members Aaron and Nathan Weaver formed the band with an intention to blend 90s Norwegian black metal with something approaching “a sense of spirituality that is rooted in the landscape and natural cycles of the Northwest”.

And, just in time for Supersonic, the band will release their new album ‘Celestial Lineage’ on 13th September through Southern Lord.  Intended as the final part of a trilogy begun with their 2007 album ‘Two Hunters’ and continuing through ‘Black Cascade’ from 2009, the album is in their own words “about temple building and establishing traditions – we wanted it to have a more refined and imperial quality [than the two previous records].”  Judge for yourself, as an exclusive preview track has been shared via NPR.  Featuring vocalist Jessika Kenney, ‘Woodland Cathedral’ is a pagan hymn that partly explores the influence of folk rituals and traditions on the band.

Listen to the track here.
Wolves in the Throne Room website here.

Lastly, illustrator, and past Supersonic collaborator, Simon Fowler has also just unveiled his fantastic submission for the ‘Celestial Lineages’ tour print series.  Here it is:



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Manchester tickets on sale now at Piccadilly Records

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Supersonic 2011 tickets now on sale in Manchester at Piccadilly Records, Oldham Street, M1 1JR.

That’s right, any Greater Manchester dwellers can get their Supersonic 2011 tickets over the counter at Piccadilly Records.  Available from today for £75 + booking fee.  Save yourself the worry of the postal service and support your local record shop, especially after the devastating fire at the PIAS warehouse last week.  Even better: order a PIAS-distributed album by one of the artists playing at Supersonic and support the labels and distribution network in a time of much need.  Could we suggest maybe Alexander Tucker, Skull Defekts, White Hills, Barn Owl or Eternal Tapestry (all on Thrill Jockey)?

http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/shop/index.php

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Lucky Dragons and The Berg Sans Nipple to play kids gigs at Supersonic 2011

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Lucky Dragons and The Berg Sans Nipple to play Kids Gigs at Supersonic 2011

It’s hard to imagine to two more perfect bands to play our Supersonic Kids Gigs than Lucky Dragons and The Berg Sans Nipple.  These will rule!   If everyone isn’t running around clapping and smiling in five minutes, we’ll need to think about refunds.

Lucky Dragons are all about people coming together to make sound, to make an event, to make something new and joyous.  It’s not by accident that they refer to their live shows as ‘actions’.  They encourage participation and this Supersonic live show promises to be all about (re)discovery and (re)turning to play to learn about ourselves and make new connections.  There’s a live video link below and more Lucky Dragons live films are here.

The Berg Sans Nipple are a Frenchman and a Nebraskan.  With two drums, synths, samples, a ton of percussion and vocals, their sounds hop-skip past each other, caught in devastatingly beautiful melodies held tight by a mind bending rhythm section.  Their new video ‘Changing the Shape’ (link below) is a fantastic twist on the age-old game of exquisite corpse where an image or story is built up person-by-person using instinct and imagination.  Let’s play!

http://thebergsansnipple.tumblr.com

http://www.hawksandsparrows.org/

The Berg Sans Nipple – Change The Shape from Clapping Music on Vimeo.

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Enter a world of hair beings and worldly creatures…

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In case you missed it with all the other exciting Supersonic news, Alexander Tucker will be giving a very special performance at this year’s festival. Tucker will be presenting DORWYTCH CYLCLE, a performance of his new album Dorwytch which incorporates electronic manipulations and string arrangements with his trademark psychedelic doom and freak folk.

Films made specially for this event will be projected to match the haunting sounds. The performance is an extension of the Alexander Tucker visual world of hair beings and other worldly creatures.

 

 

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Illustration call out

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Previous Capsule zine cover by Matt Snowden

 

Capsule are currently putting together a zine about all things Supersonic and we’re looking for illustrators to contribute. If you’re interested, please contact [email protected]  by 16th August and we can send you more details.





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Oren Ambarchi Q&A

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Supersonic Q&A no. 6: OREN AMBARCHI

Australian guitarist and sound designer Oren Ambarchi is performing at Supersonic 2011 in collaboration with the FIRE! trio of Mats Gustafsson from The Thing (saxophone/rhodes), Johan Berthling from Tape (bass) and Andreas Werliin from Wildbirds and Peacedrums (percussion).  Originally a drummer, he came to the guitar by accident, investigating its sound properties rather than learning traditional techniques.  A good entry point into his work is ‘Grapes From The Estate’ album (Touch, 2004), a masterful exploration of ambient guitar and electronics. More recently, he has collaborated with Stephen O’Malley and Attilar Csihar as Gravetemple.

1. Which five words describe what you know about Supersonic?
Lovely people and killer shows

2. What can people expect of your collaboration with FIRE! at the festival?
In all honesty I don’t know what to expect as the Supersonic show will be the first time we’ve worked together(!).
Additionally I’ll be flying all the way from Australia for 30+ hrs, landing at Heathrow, driving straight to Birmingham and hitting it immediately so…it should be awesome, hahaha. I must say that I’m a fan of all the guys in the band so I’m really excited to work with them.

3. Why make music – what does it do for you that nothing else does?
I often think about what drives us to do this stuff, this stuff that continually tortures & haunts us..(or me anyway as it can be a struggle at times). Mostly for me I think it’s the search for beauty/ecstasy. When I’m going for something & it doesn’t work, I can get super depressed for days. But when it ‘works’ there’s no other feeling that comes close and I’m always striving to get to this state again & again. I’m really addicted to it.

4. Who else on the bill are you hoping to see?  (And why?)
Well, definitely Tony Conrad. I’ve seen him a number of times but I can’t get enough of his work, especially in a live context. He’s super important to me. Also totally psyched to see Cut Hands. I’m a huge Whitehouse/Bennett fan, I love the way he’s fused this ecstatic trance inducing voodou vibe with noise.  There’s plenty of other friends playing at the fest who I’m looking forward to hanging with & listening to, there’s definitely a great breadth to all the lineups at Supersonic.

5. Finally, your essential ‘surviving-Supersonic’ items are…
Melatonin, ear-plugs, finding a decent restaurant (ahem) and a good single-malt.

http://www.orenambarchi.com

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Meet and watch White Hills

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Meet and watch White Hills

“Fuzzed-out motorik space-rock” is what the band call it.  There’s more than a little twisted psychedelic glam in there too, but White Hills are really one of those bands that creates their own worlds.  Check out bass player Ego Sensation’s video channel to get an insight into their visual style.  It reminds the Supersonic team of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s films like El Topo and Sante Sangre – they’re filled with violently surreal imagery, all warped-out montages and jump-cut shocks.  It’s hard to work out whether this is serious, fun, deliberate or insane – or all of the above – but the sensory onslaught definitely starts to get a little more understandable when you hear from Ego Sensation:

We can barely pay our rent each month but we are willing to pull out our credit cards and go into debt each time a new iPhone promises a better connection. The joke is on us. Our greater connectivity has caused us to disconnect from our humanity. We have been sold the religion of consumerism to feed the corporate machine. We have been tricked into believing that wanting our tax dollars to pay for our own health care is treacherous to the ideals of a democratic society. H-p1 is symbolic of the simplification of complex ideas to keep the masses from questioning the system.

Amen.

http://www.thrilljockey.com/artists/?id=12183

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Teeth of the Sea Q&A

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Supersonic Q&A no. 5: TEETH OF THE SEA

From London, Teeth of the Sea play a wild, mixed-up strain of what sounds like semi-improvised jams.  Structures are amorphous, reference points are redundant as they switch modes from song-to-song – noise-rock, electronics and dubbed-out trumpet all get a look-in.  As DROWNED IN SOUND said in their review of current album ‘Your Mercury’ (Rocket Recordings, 2010), the band create “a steamy, light-starved jungle of tangled electronics and feral distortion occasionally punctuated by startlingly lucid bottom end.  For the most part Teeth of the Sea’s second record defies any worries about genre categorisation, a hermetically sealed unit with such a strong sense of self that comparisons to other music seem perverse.”

1. Which five words describe what you know about Supersonic?
Jimmy: An embarrassment of sonic riches.
Mat: Great method of karma scouring.
Mike: It goes up to 11.

2. What can people expect of Teeth of the Sea at the festival?
Mat: Manifold contact highs. Seeing us should lead to elevation. Being down wind of us should lead to inebriation.
Mike: Hair raising, teeth grinding, ear bleeding, knob twiddling, move busting, figure hugging, fist pumping, face melting, load blowing, psyche fucking rock.
Jimmy: It’ll be a bit like that climactic scene in Raiders Of The Lost Ark, only with four skinny blokes instead of the seraphim, a total absence of the Third Reich, and the added bonus of just about being able to survive to tell the tale afterwards.

3. Why make music – what does it do for you that nothing else does?
Mike: We’d have to hand over to philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist Friedrich Nietzsche here, with his celebrated quote “Without music, life would be a mistake. Besides which, whenever I hear the sound of a needle hitting wax I get as hard as a diamond in an ice storm.” I think he speaks for us all.
Mat: Seriously, it’s the art form that allows for the greatest breadth of thinking and technique. Approach it from any angle and you can still make it dance. Which is what Supersonic is all about, right?
Jimmy: Music. Makes The People. Come Together.

4. Who else on the bill are you hoping to see?  (And why?)
Mike: The fact we’re on the same bill as Zombi is making us collectively weep tears of joy and blood. Also looking forward to Alva Noto + Byetone quite possibly ripping a hole in the fabric of space and time above the Custard Factory.
Jimmy: I’m pretty excited about withstanding Astro’s cosmic assault, but there’s literally nobody on the bill I wouldn’t pay to go and see at their own show. Plus Electric Wizard as headliners are going to be one unholy rite.
Mat: I’m already upset that I won’t be able to see everything, but I’m really excited about seeing Circle again. Mainly because the rest of TOTS have never seen them and I want to be there when THE GREATEST LIVE BAND IN THE WORLD tear them all fresh ones.

5. Finally, your essential ‘surviving-Supersonic’ items are…
Mike: all essential. Trust me.
Jimmy: We’re still trying to secure lucrative sponsorship deals with Ginster’s Pasties and Anadin Extra, so I should probably say those. The only problem with Supersonic in my experience is that I end up so thrilled by the whole shebang that I’m a mess by about 10PM, but far be it from me to suggest something as vulgar as pacing yourself.
Mat: The Bat Belt will be equipped with nerve agents, tranquilizers, military issue med kit, Tescos coupons, guitar picks and holy water. As standard.

http://www.myspace.com/thewrongjaws

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Envy (JP) and Barn Owl! join Supersonic line up

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ENVY are now confirmed for this years festival line up. They have become a dominant band in the independent hardcore scene in Japan, their music, through their own evolution, encompasses a sound where intensity and beauty coexists. They have recorded a number of singles and albums in Japan, including split albums with bands like This Machine Kills, Endeavor, Six Pence and Yaphet Kotto. Since their beginning, Envy has toured all throughout Japan with Mogwai, Isis and many more. They have laboured and toured their songs relentlessly for over a decade, and will continue to do so well into the next.

Secondly, a hot topic thanks to their recently acclaimed album Lost In The Glare, Barn Owl will return for another year, bringing the well honed dual guitar interplay between Caminiti and Porras, only this time in a different performance space. Producing a spiralling web of interlocking gestures that give way to bone rattling, monolithic progressions and dusty drifts. The mostly finger picked guitars weave in and out of each other in precise movements that recall the hypnotic influence of American minimalists.

They join ALVA NOTO / a.P.A.t.T. /AGATHE MAX /ANTILLES /ASTRO /BARDO POND / BYETONE/ CIRCLE/ CLOAKS /CUT HANDS /ELECTRIC WIZARD / ETERNAL TAPESTRY/ FIRE!/ KOGUMAZA/ LUCKY DRAGONS/ MONARCH/ NATHAN BELL/ PART CHIMP/ PHARAOH OVERLORD/ PEKKO KAPPI/ SCORN/ SECRET CHIEFS / SILVER APPLES / SKULL DEFEKTS / SLABDRAGGER/ TEETH OF THE SEA / THE BERG SANS NIPPLE/ TONY CONRAD/ WHITE HILLS / WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM / ZOMBI / ZU93

Tickets for the festival are only £75 for three days of music, film, art and cake and are available from HERE

There will still be more news to follow in the coming weeks as we get ever closer to the festival but for now, please feel free to spread this news far and wide!

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ENVY

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Since 1992, Envy has become a dominant band in the independent
hard‐core scene in Japan. Since then they have pursued and succeeded in creating their own original style of music. Over the past 15 years, envy has become a dominant band in the independent scene in Japan. Their music, through their own evolution, encompasses a sound where intensity and beauty coexist.

Since the beginning, they have toured extensively throughout Japan as well
as Europe, US and Asia, gaining popularity and creating a solid growing international fan base along the way. They have released 4 full albums as well as several splits with such bands as Thursday, Jesu, Sixpence, Endeavor and TMK. Envy has supported bands such as Mogwai, ISIS, Converge, Explosions in the Sky, Locust, Lighting Bolt, Hot Cross.

They are one of the leading independent Japanese bands and widely considered to be one of the best live bands around, having labored and toured their songs relentlessly for over a decade, and will continue to do so.

http://www.sonzairecords.com/envy.html

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Zombi Q&A

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Supersonic Q&A no. 4: ZOMBI

Using all-analogue vintage synths and sequencers, coupled with live drums and bass, Zombi’s sound is far more expansive than you’d imagine a duo could ever be.  Taking inspiration from progressive rock and soundtracks, their music appeals to both fans of Genesis and Pink Floyd as well as touring partners like Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Sparowes.  Steve Moore, bass & synths, is the man answering our questions.

1. Which five words describe what you know about Supersonic?
Eclectic, hospitable, punctual, loud, fun.

2. What can people expect of Zombi at the festival?
Golden oldies.

3. Why make music – what does it do for you that nothing else does?
I ask myself the same thing every day, I have no idea why I still do this.

4. Who else on the bill are you hoping to see?  (And why?)
Tony Conrad!  I’ve never seen him perform live.  Also Secret Chiefs 3 and maybe Wolves in the Throne Room, haven’t seen either of them in a while.

5. Finally, your essential ‘surviving-Supersonic’ items are…
Korg Polysix, Sequential Circuits Prophet 600, Dave Smith Tetra, Fender Jazz Bass.

http://www.zombi.us/

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Supersonic podcast no.1

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It’s that time of year again when things start hotting up on the Supersonic front. The wonderful Little Chris of Brumcast fame has lovingly put together a series of podcasts together for your listening pleasure. Here is the first Supersonic special – ENJOY!

Tracklist
Zombi Slow Oscillations
Wolves In The Throne Room Dea Artio
A.P.A.T.T. Purple Ackee
Secret Chiefs 3 Akramachamarei
The Skull Defekts No More Always
White Hills Ulan
Bardo Pond Destroying Angel (Peel Sessions)
Scorn Name’s Not Down Not Coming In
Electric Wizard Turn Off Your Mind
Lucky Dragons I Keep Waiting For Earthquakes
Zu Beata Viscera
Current 93 Sunflower
Eternal Tapestry Hermetic Secrets
Cloaks Junk
Pharoah Overlord Test Flight

Weekend tickets are available HERE

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Meet and watch Monarch

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Monarch.
Described in one review as a “deep black minimalistic, slow, humongous doom monster”, Monarch are not a band for the faint-hearted.  Since their 2002 founding in the Basque region of southern France, the band’s concept hasn’t change drastically – in some ways, it’s the slow, persistent hunting-down of a single thread.  Guitarist Kaïdine says simply: “The main idea was to play slow and loud as fuck. We were all playing in fast bands so we wanted to play something very different, something new and challenging for us.”  The band toured the US last year with fellow Supersonic 2011 artists Wolves in the Throne Room and Village Voice concluded a review of their New York show by saying “a focused, intense performance, utterly lacking the catharsis that’s metal’s usual stock-in-trade”.

http://www.myspace.com/monarchuberalles

You can see that focus in this nicely shot full-length set from Valle de Trápaga-Trapagaran in the Basque region of Spain.  Slow, yes, but also strangely uplifting.

Monarch from Charly Never Scene on Vimeo.

Monarch Part2 from Charly Never Scene on Vimeo.

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Nathan Bell Q&A

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SUPERSONIC Q&As no. 3: NATHAN BELL

For our third Supersonic artist Q&A, we present – from Baltimore, USA – Nathan Osmodius Bell.  Bell plays astounding, cyclical banjo pieces making creative use of delay and bowing techniques.  His music is sometimes sparse, sometimes urgent, but always inventive and the current album ‘Colors‘ on Lancashire & Somerset Records is as good a place as any to enter his world.  Bell was also the bass player in Lungfish and has a duo called Human Bell with Dave Heumann from Arboretum.  Clever name, clever musician.

1. Which five words describe what you know about Supersonic?
Five times speed of sound.

2. What can people expect of you at the festival?
The channeling of music five times the sound of speed, a one man band with the help of a few others, jamming out cosmic rhythms, in a string ensemble crafting poignant melodic scores, elevating and resonating deep in internal tunes. A church of the metaphysical “Tall Praises High Spirit band.

3. Why make music – what does it do for you that nothing else does?
Because music is a gift and to truly appreciate this gift then one should be able to submit, to channel it thru. music is medicine, medicine is music. Soul food for the brain. It closes two eyes to open the third.

4. Who else on the bill are you hoping to see?
Bardo Pond, Skull Defekts.

5. Finally, your essential ‘surviving-Supersonic’ items are…
One banjo, guitar, drums, harmonica, a prayer and a praise for the music.

Listen to songs from Nathan Bell’s current album ‘Colors‘ (Lancashire & Somerset Records).

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New Spotify playlist


Part Chimp Q&A

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Supersonic Q&A no. 2: Part Chimp.

Here’s our second artist Q&A to give you an insight into the inner-workings of Supersonic 2011. Part Chimp bring their heavy noise-rock to the festival in what will be one of their last ever performances.  It’s a real shame they’re splitting up, but that could also give you reason no.137 to book your ticket.

1. Which five words describe what you know about Supersonic?
Harvey
Milk
Birmingham
Dirty
Burgers

2. What can people expect of Part Chimp at the festival?
One of our last UK shows. If you haven’t seen us before, or it has been a while, now’s the time. If you’ve seen us loads of times, come celebrate the death throes.

3. Why make music – what does it do for you that nothing else does?
It’s a team version of primal scream therapy.

4. Who else on the bill are you hoping to see?  (And why?)
Alex Tucker, Kogumaza, and a bunch of other mates. Bardo Pond, Alva Noto, WitTR, Tony Conrad and others. Supersonic’s a good opportunity to check out an extreme blend of stuff.

5. Finally, your essential ‘surviving-Supersonic’ items are…
Earplugs, spare earplugs, the green cross code, & the paperback of “how black was our sabbath”.

http://www.partchimp.com

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Supersonic named music mavericks

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There is a great piece in the Guardian today with an interview with yours truly entitled ‘Pop music’s mavericks: In the conformist age of Simon Cowell and the overhyped indie band, is there still room for the maverick in music?’


I encounter Supersonic organiser Lisa Meyer at Euston station on the way to a meeting. With her black hair and piercings, she doesn’t look like a typical festival mogul, and indeed Supersonic – which runs every October at Birmingham’s Custard Factory – is far from Reading or Glastonbury.

Last year’s bill included heavy dub and extreme metal bands, noise pioneers Swans, and local grindcore outfit Fukpig, who “terrified everybody in their wake”. Somehow, the revelation that Meyer was an art student whose degree project was a sculpture of her head made from blue cheese – “It looked like marble, from a distance” – is not surprising. She transferred this worldview into music, putting together a festival dedicated to celebrating extreme noise.

Like many great events, Supersonic came about by not so much ignoring the rules as not knowing them. Meyer and a friend had enjoyed small-scale all-dayers in Leeds and Nottingham, and wondered if they could host a much bigger version. So they started emailing their favourite bands, using the computer at an arts centre. “We didn’t know what we were doing,” Meyer says. “We’d get really excited if we went back the following week and someone had actually replied.” Perhaps intrigued by how innocent enthusiasm bypassed accepted channels, people did reply.

For the first Supersonic, in 2003, a barely known LCD Soundsystem played their first show outside London for £600, alongside Sleazy Christopherson’s influential Coil. It wasn’t plain sailing: after someone dived into the venue’s water feature and then ran on stage, dripping on the electronics, they were told they could be sued; another year brought a bomb scare. But gradually Supersonic has grown to attract a global audience.

“We’re not approaching bands who want to play V festival,” Meyer says, with huge understatement. The music at Supersonic is a mix of the popular but culty – Psychic TV, Mogwai – and challenging unknowns. The idea is that by appealing to minority tastes that aren’t catered for elsewhere, Supersonic can assemble a huge community for which like-minded bands will want to play. Battles are just one band who performed there when they were (fairly) unknown and returned when they were (fairly) famous. Meyer’s matter-of-fact enthusiasm lures – and pacifies – notoriously difficult artists. Psychic TV’s Genesis P-Orridge may have been called a “wrecker of civilisation” in the House of Commons and undergone feminising surgery in the name of art, but Meyer found him “lovely – like your favourite auntie”.

Read the full article written by Dave Simpson HERE

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Meet The Skull Defekts

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Skull Defekts news – 12″ EP out in time for Supersonic

News just in from via the Skull Defekts Tumblr site is that they should have a brand new 12″ EP out in time for their show at Supersonic 2011. If it’s anything like their stunning ‘Peer Amid’ album released earlier this year, fans of anything from Krautrock to post-punk to shamanistic yowling are in for a treat. That last element comes from legendary singer Daniel Higgs – the ex-Lungfish man has added an extra wow-factor to what was already a pretty powerful, muscular sound. If you want more words, direct from the horse’s mouth, there’s an interview with Joachim from the band on their Tumblr here and a video from a recent live show is below.  Does anyone know what effects have been used on the footage?  We like the grainy, washed-out look here in the Capsule office, but tell us how it’s done!

 

 

 

 

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Get a stall in our Market Place

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After the success of last few years of our ’Market Place’ we’re really excited about developing this area of the festival, a space for independent distributors, record labels,  poster artists and peddlers of curiosities to sell their wares, network and for you to meet face to face.  The Market Place is also where the bands sell their merch. This area is equipped with a tea room serving a selection of epicurean delights. Open to the public on Saturday 22rd of October through to Sunday 23rd.

Previous stall holders have included: Rough Trade, Southern Records, Conspiracy Records, Burning World Records, Future Noise, First Fold Records, Wonderleague, Bad Egg Records, Polar Bear Shop, Eat A Book Records, Cold Spring.

“Sitting behind our stall at Supersonic last year was the highlight of the year for Bad Egg. The atmosphere was excellent, the banter was rowdy and the chance to engage with so many people in such a short space of time was intense. As a DiY label it’s almost impossible to reach such a wide and receptive audience like the Supersonic crowd – we not only sold some records but also made some friends in the process. REAL ones too.” Dave – Bad Egg Records

We have a limited number of stalls available – if you’re interested see HERE for more details

 

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Kogumaza Q&A

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We’ll be running regular Q&As with the Supersonic 2011 artists in the run-up to the festival.  Keep checking back regularly for updates.  To kick us off, we have one of the newest additions to the line-up: Kogumaza.  Over to guitarist Chris Summerlin for his insight into the band’s mesmeric fuzzouts, plus an important health and safety warning.

1. Which five words describe what you know about Supersonic?
“I think I’ve gone deaf”

2. What can people expect of Kogumaza at the festival?
I’m not best qualified to answer – my friend Hoppy said we were like a hot bath for his ears so I’ll go with that.  A hot, never-ending bath made of fuzz and echo.

3. Why make music – what does it do for you that nothing else does?
Sometimes when you’re experiencing music, usually live music, it can feel like no one party (the audience or those making the music) is in charge and there’s some sort of 3rd element involved. Like the experience transcends the sum of the parts. It doesn’t happen often (rarely as an audience member and even less so as the person making the music) but it’s enough of a unique and beautiful situation to keep returning to music-making again and again in search of it. I can’t think of any other sensory experience that is able to take shape quite like that. Apologies for sounding like a hippy.

4. Who else on the bill are you hoping to see?  (And why?)
I helped promote a show for Bardo Pond about 14 years ago in a bar in Colchester, Essex. It was the first proper band I ever helped put on. The bar had a noise limiter. They soundchecked and it kept showing red but didn’t seem to do anything bad like turn the power off, so we thought “to hell with it” and left it loud. Turned out that when the sensor went red it turned the room lights off so they played most of the show in the dark and it was awesome. That’s an important lesson to learn right there. I’m really excited that they’re playing. Looking forward to seeing Skull Defekts and Part Chimp too. Supersonic’s always been about surprises as well though, so I’m hoping the best thing on the bill is something I’ve never heard of before.

5. Finally, your essential ‘surviving-Supersonic’ items are…
Ear plugs for sure.  Also, in the middle of the outdoor area there is this weird metal pipe-like fixture sticking out of the ground with warning tape on it. I think they slot a fountain in it normally. At about 1am, if you’ve had your brain fried
enough, it might start to resemble an empty beer can, just sitting there. No matter how good you feel and how much you want to express how amazing Harvey Milk were (as was the case), don’t take a run up and kick the “can” in celebration of the majesty of rock like my good friend Ross did 2 years ago because you’ll spend the rest of the night in Sellyoak Casualty waiting for some nurses to stick your toes back together.

http://www.low-point.com

Kogumaza live at Nottingham Dot to Dot Festival in May 2011:

Kogumaza – Nottm Trent University 29.05.11 from neil johnson on Vimeo.

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Meet Cloaks

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Cloaks have put together an amazing set for the Electronic Explorations podcast show, featuring a Justin Broadrick remix of their track ‘Rust on Metal’ plus remixes of Ben Frost, Altar of Plagues and tracks from Supersonic friends Dead Fader and Devilman. Cloaks, Dead Fader and Devilman all feature on the 3by3 label roster, run by Steve Cloaks himself.
Here the full podcast

Anybody who attended Supersonic 2010 will be familiar with this heavy, industrial dubstep outfit. Steve Cloaks played a noise/dub DJ set that fit perfectly before the astounding amount of bass to come from Kings Midas Sound and Godflesh. Look out for the full Cloaks duo performing this year.

Cloaks performing at Supersonic Festival 2010:

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The Event

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Abstract Cabinet Show at The Event, 2009

 

Anybody attending this year’s Supersonic Festival will be happy to hear that another exciting arts festival will be taking place in the Eastside area of Birmingham at the same time. The Event is a contemporary arts festival showcasing the best in artist-led activity and  will take place from 21 – 30 October 2011 at a variety of venues including former industrial warehouses and recently opened artist-led gallery spaces.

The Event is delivered by some of the city’s key artist-led groups to explore a range of contemporary arts activity including visual arts, performance, live art, film, video, web-based, installation, intervention and sound, all demonstrating the diversity of the thriving arts community in the city.

Check the website for news of the programme along with special collaborative events.

www.the-event.org

 

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Supersonic Festival present Alva Noto + Byetone + many more

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We’re very excited to announce that electronica pioneers Alva Noto and Byetone will be playing at this year’s Supersonic Festival. Two wizards of  experimental audio visual performance, the German artists will be playing at the festival as part of their 15 year anniversary tour. Alva Noto makes rhythms and harmonies using clicks and glitches and is also known for his work with Ryoji Ikeda. Byetone, aka Olaf Benders is the label boss of Raster Noton record label and as Byetone manipulates abstract animations in realtime to support abstract, complex pieces of music that mange to be  danceable at the same time.

Also joining the bill this year is Cut Hands, aka William Bennett of Whitehouse, and his afro noise project. Alexander Tucker will be presenting an intimate performance of his new record of minimalist string arrangements and electronic manipulations and The Berg Sans Nipple will bring their incredible live show to the festival.  Part Chimp, legendary for the volume of their live hows will bring their noise rock to the stage, along with psych sleazers Teeth of the Sea, Sabbath worshippers Slabdragger and Nottingham’s finest, Kogumaza.

As ever, we like you to get you involved in the festival too, a bit of audience participation never goes amiss and we’re pleased to announce an exciting workshop from Supersonic friend John Richards. After the success of his Dirty Electronics Ensemble in 2009, he’ll back with a new noise making workshop, Mute Synth,  where participants can also show off their hard work with a live performance at the festival.

We’re also very pleased to announce the return of Supersonic Kids Gigs – big sounds for little people. Lucky Dragons, as well as performing at the main festival site for us grown ups, will be doing a special performance for children and their families.

Current line up: ALVA NOTO / a.P.A.t.T. /AGATHE MAX /ANTILLES /ASTRO /BARDO POND /BLARKE BAYER/BLACK WIDOW/ BYETONE/ CIRCLE/ CLOAKS /CUT HANDS /ELECTRIC WIZARD / ETERNAL TAPESTRY/ FIRE!/ KOGUMAZA/ LUCKY DRAGONS/ MONARCH/ NATHAN BELL/ PART CHIMP/ PHARAOH OVERLORD/ PEKKO KAPPI/ SCORN/ SECRET CHIEFS / SILVER APPLES / SKULL DEFEKTS / SLABDRAGGER/ TEETH OF THE SEA / THE BERG SANS NIPPLE/ TONY CONRAD/ WHITE HILLS / WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM / ZOMBI / ZU93

Tickets for the festival are only £75 for three days of music, film, art and cake and are available from:

www.theticketsellers.co.uk

www.seetickets.com

Plugd Records, Cork

Polar Bear Records, Birmingham

Swordfish Records, Birmingham


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Spotify playlist for Supersonic 2011

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Hello folks. My name’s David and I’m the Marketing intern for Supersonic 2011. I’m based in Manchester so I have the dubious pleasure of getting to know the M6 in intimate detail over the next few months. One of my first jobs has been to put together a Spotify playlist for artists performing at this year’s festival. It’s been great to check out some fantastic acts – hope you enjoy listening. Personally I’m excited about Skull Defekts (their current record ‘Peer Amid’ with Daniel Higgs is superb), Wolves in the Throne Room, Nathan Bell and Bardo Pond. Cloaks are my newest discovery too. Liking them a lot.

Listen here:
http://open.spotify.com/user/littleredrabbit/playlist/1G2nW0tTKUmIoANAR4t14a

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