Craftspace Collective workshop led by Prick Your Finger
Sunday 24th 3 – 6pm
A craft and knitting workshop led by Rachael Matthews & Louise Harries aka Prick Your Finger, dedicated to making band inspired pom poms, think sparkly wool for Chrome Hoof style knitted treats, or if you want to take a load off and do a bit of quiet knitting, pop in.
Book your place now to become a member of the “Black Sun Drum Corps” at Supersonic
When: rehearsal / workshop 2pm, SATURDAY, 23rd October
Performance: 8.30pm Sunday 24th October
Number of places: 10
Cost: Free to weekend ticket holders
What: A chance to be a part of the Black Sun Drum Corps performance at Supersonic Festival, you’ll be taken through a two hour drum workshop / rehearsal taught by Drum Major McEwan and his leading drummers Ross Rankin of Titus Gein and Pete Flett of Holy Mountain with accompaniment by Kev Hare and Graeme Leffate of Black Sun.
All participants will learn the 30 minute set including a cover of ‘Total War’ by NON – a crowd favorite at Black Sun Drum Corps Shows! You will then take part in the performance that will be taking place on Sunday evening at Supersonic Festival. Warpaint will be provided for the performance. Participants are encouraged to bring their own kilts too!
Suitable for: All skill levels. Complete beginners welcome!
Booking: email admin[at]capsule.org.uk , marking the subject field as “Black Sun Drum Corps” you will then be contact with further details. Places will be offered on a first come first serve basis.
We’ve been asking regular attendees of Supersonic to recommend what they are most looking forward to seeing at this years festival. Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai fame, will be introducing a screening of ‘Burning‘, a film by Nathanael Le Scouarnec and Vincent Moon which captures Mogwai performing over three nights at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NYC
Stuart will also be doing a spot or two of DJing over the weekend in between catching the following bands:
1 melt banana – Japan’s Melt Banana are without doubt one of the finest live bands on the planet. For years i’d heard their music on the John Peel show and loved it but it was only when i saw them play in the flesh that i realised what a special bunch of musicians they are. Their music is pretty much undescribable so i won’t bother trying. They need to be seen to be believed.
2 hallgallo – Michael Rother of Neu! and Harmonia fame’s current live group Hallo Gallo are fantastic. I saw them play in Edinburgh and it was one of the best shows i’ve seen for years. They don’t just trawl through the Neu! catalogue and instead create something really special and new while also dipping into some of the classic songs. Its not nostalgia at all. Brilliant.
3 Factory Floor – Of all the new bands playing Supersonic Factory Floor are the one i’m most excited about. I saw them support Fuck Buttons last year and they blew me away. They have a coldness about their music which recalls Throbbing Gristle or Joy Division but simultaneously sound totally modern. I also met them and they were lovely folk which always helps.
4 77 BOA DRUM– The Boredoms are a mind blowing live band and this will be my first experience of their drum extravaganza. To say i’m excited would be a massive understatement. This screening will rule.
5 Voice Of the Seven Thunders– The last time i saw Rick Tomlinson play it was under his previous monicker Voice Of the Seven Woods and i was totally mesmerised. Its a geeky guitar boy thing to say but he is a fucking amazing guitar player. His music is amazing and i’m really excited about hearing him again.
* good fact – it was Stuarts mum that first allerted us to the bomb scare of 2006, which she had seen announced on the news in Glasgow, unbeknown to us in Digbeth until a few hours later – always the last to hear about exciting developments!
In the lead up to Supersonic (just over 3 weeks away) we have asked regular visitors to tell us what they’re most looking forward to seeing this year. Contemporary artist Mark Titchner who contributed to our Home Of Metal symposium back in 2007 and will be exhibiting as part of our celebrations next summer at New Art Gallery Walsall, had this to say:
“As ever at Supersonic 2010 there is more to see and do than there is time but I’m particularly looking forward to Khyam Allami and Master Musicians of Bukkake, Lichens and Zeni Geva and then there is also the small matter of….Swans! Godflesh! Napalm Death! On consecutive nights! Yes this is really happening. Yes I’m excited.
There have been numerous highlights for me at Supersonic over the years, Harvey Milk, Corrupted, Dalek, Om, Earthless….but my fondest (?) memory is of the Oxbow Duos performance with Justin Broadrick, Stephen O’Malley and Dave Cochrane in 2007. A show that was so intense that I had a panic attack afterwards! ”
Photo by James Robinson crowd Supersonic 09
NEW FILM ABOUT THE LIVE MUSIC EXPERIENCE SEEKS GIG-GOERS!
EPIC, a new short film is the first music documentary to turn the cameras away from the performers, focusing purely on the people who are the very reason for their existence… the audience. It will celebrate the live music experience as a rite of passage, a bonding experience, an obsession, a job, a trip down memory lane and in some cases… a near-religious experience.
Epic is a one-off production for Film Four and may be filming at Supersonic Festival. The film – a homage to the live music experience – offers gig-goers a chance to have their perfect gig experience immortalised on film. The film will premiere at a red carpet screening at Abbey Road Studios.
The production team are putting out a call to anyone going to Supersonic Festival 2010 who would like to be in the film. They are particularly interested in hearing from anybody…
Who has never seen any live music before – aka first time gig-goers
Who is seeing their all-time favourite artist
Who is a friend of the band and has Access All Areas
Whose job it is to review or photograph the gig
Working at a the venue – as security, on the bar etc.
Working for an artist – as a roadie or another member of their entourage
Anyone interested in being involved with the film should email [email protected]
or Tweet us @Epicthefilm
Lichens (aka Rob Lowe) is not just performing at Supersonic, he is also curating a screening of a selection of films he has pulled together under the title ‘Outer Limits’ which will take place on Sunday in the Theatre space.
Outer Limits is an exploration of contemporary works dealing with observations and ritual practices in connection with the natural world and the cosmic plane.
Subtle, glacial and turbulent, like the simple seismic shift of Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara’s “Earthquakes Agave” , or the deep breathed bliss of Sabrina Ratté’s “Mirages”. These video works provide an open door into the next phases of image capture, while embracing the history of the medium.
With Paul Clipson and Rose Kallal both working in a multiple image16mm film format, it makes for a warm and saturated feel that is properly visceral. You truly understand the intuition and process both attribute to their craft as they immerse themselves in the violence and awe of nature and what is unknown.
The centerpiece of this program is “Guardian of the Veil”. Matthew Barney’s first in a series collaborations with Jonathan Bepler that will be seven performances to convey the stages of Norman Mailer’s novel “Ancient Evenings”. This documentation is a performance at the Manchester Opera House in 2007. With precision of form, Barney gives a nod to the old Gods, while presenting Egyptian ceremonial rites from his own perspective, and a fresh one at that.
This will be an exclusive screening, as this has not been shown in a format larger than a video monitor as of yet.
See more of our film program HERE
Saturday 23rd October
11am + 2.30pm
mac Cannon Hill Park Birmingham B12 9QH
Tickets £5 Bookings 0121 446 3232 www.macarts.co.uk
For 2 – 7 year olds and their families
A 1 hr workshop & performance exploring experimental music aimed and kids and their families.
Ever since Schoenberg and Kandinsky became pen pals back in 1907, avant-garde art and experimental music has been attempting to find some common ground. But, it’s not been easy. While modern art is a mass phenomenon, experimental music is often derided and ignored by the masses. Here’s our contribution towards a solution: ‘Big Sounds for Little People’. If you couldn’t guess from the snappy title, it’s a gig, for kids and their families, which aims to introduce children to experimental music at an early age.
Featuring US based, Dosh, a one-man band, a virtuoso, and West Midlands local circuit-bending fiend Glatze. Glatze uses customised instruments (including: circuit-bent Furby dolls and kids’ toys) that have been specially rewired to create all sorts of musical wizardry. Dosh a multi-instrumentalist; combines a host of instruments into an exciting and unique live experience. See firsthand how these unlikely instruments are used to make noise / sound / music, and to have a go yourselves.
Produced by Capsule + mac with support from Bright Space + SAM
Following the news that the 2010 edition of Birmingham’s acclaimed annual Supersonic Festival will be headlined by NAPALM DEATH, SWANS, GODFLESH, HALLOGALLO and MELT BANANA, Capsule are excited to announce the final few acts who will be appearing at this year’s festival, as well as reveal highlights from the incredible film, talks and visual arts programme.
Latest additions to the Supersonic line-up include the awesome live orchestra, Chrome Hoof, experimental hardcore band Ruins, the heavy riffage of Dethscalator and the melancholic pop sounds of Daniel O’Sullivan’s new project, Mothlite. Also, a special AV set from the hugely evocative Barn Owl, the psych/folk/electronic sounds of Health & Efficiency, regular jazz meets free improv in the form of Steve Tromans & Dan Nicholls Duo and Black Sun Drum Corps presenting a percussion parade through the festival, which will combine Supersonic Festival performers and audience members to create a visceral and live massed drumming experience. From metal to avant garde and folk, Supersonic 2010 is set to cement the festival’s reputation as one of the most original and eclectic music festivals in the UK.
Tickets on sale now
Friday: £20, Sat/Sun: £35, Weekend: £75
FRIDAY 22ND OCTOBER
NAPALM DEATH
DEAD FADER / DEMONS (W/SICK LLAMA) / DEVILMAN (W/DJ SCOTCH EGG) / DRUMCORPS / FUKPIG / GUM TAKES TOOTH / NECRO DEATHMORT / PCM
SATURDAY 23RD OCTOBER
GODFLESH + MELT BANANA
BLUE SABBATH BLACK FIJI / CAVE / CLOAKS (exclusive solo DJ set) / DOSH / EAGLE TWIN / GNAW / GNOD / KING MIDAS SOUND / LASH FRENZY vs KK NULL / LICHENS / OvO / PART WILD HORSES MANE ON BOTH SIDES / PEOPLE LIKE US / STEVE TROMAN & DAN NICHOLLS DUO / STINKY WIZZLETEAT / TWEAK BIRD
SUNDAY 24TH OCTOBER
SWANS + HALLOGALLO
BARN OWL / BLACK SUN DRUM CORPS / CHROME HOOF / DETHSCALATOR / BONG / FACTORY FLOOR / HEALTH & EFFICIENCY / JAILBREAK FEAT. CHRIS CORSANO + HEATHER LEIGH / JAMES BLACKSHAW / KHYAM ALLAMI AND MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE / MOTH LITE / MUGSTAR / NISENNENMONDAI / PETER BRODERICK / PIERRE BASTIEN + MALE INSTRUMENTY / RUINS / VOICE OF THE SEVEN THUNDERS / ZENI GEVA
We’re sorry to say that the Supersonic Noise Box workshop is now fully booked.
A marvellous bit of film footage from the mighty Accused from Supersonic 09
Brad will be back with us this year as a member of Master Musicians Of Bukkake
We’re delighted to announce a very special live interview with Hallogallo over the weekend of Supersonic Festival hosted by The Quietus. It will take place on Sunday in the Theatre Space.
The Quietus is a music and culture online magazine (recently voted Website of the Year by Record of the Day) now well into its third year of existence.
When editors Luke Turner and John Doran are asked to describe their remit, for want of anything sensible to say they often reply, “We cover all music that was recorded after 1974, the year that Kraftwerk’s Autobahn created modern popular music.” So it was with great pleasure that we were asked to be part of the festival this year, not just because of the typically excellent line-up chosen by Lisa and Jenny, but because it gave us a chance to work with former Kraftwerk and Neu! guitarist Michael Rother. On top of this we’re overjoyed by the return of Swans, Godflesh and Napalm Death, are looking forward to broadcasting our daily radio programme (tune in) and are looking forward to having a dance to Factory Floor, Gnod, Barn Owl and Gum Takes Tooth. Most of all, John is looking forward to a weekend where the only sustenance and fuel he needs will be extreme music, thus avoiding the curious incident involving a Coventry Station platform and a truncated journey down a tunnel that was full of red flames, not heavenly light that occurred in the bloody aftermath of Supersonic 2008.”
Read more HERE
Michael Gira says that being in Swans used to be like “trudging up a sand hill wearing a hair shirt, being sprayed with battery acid, with a midget taunting you”. In which case, why has he resurrected the project, asks Frances Morgan
“Well, first of all, the correct term is disinter,” says a deep-pitched, sardonic and instantly recognisable voice in response to my first question about the reappearance of Swans, over a decade after their last album and tour. “Re-form… I mean, re-animate… er, re-start?” I flounder, stumbling over semantics, before I realise that the band’s originator, Michael Gira, is having something of a laugh with me.
This is something I never expected. From their formation in New York in the early 1980s with albums like Cop and Filth to dissolution in 1997 after live album Swans Are Dead, Swans’ music certainly changed and grew, the band’s sound spreading and blooming from dense No Wave assaults to sprawling, haunted songs, like ivy climbing and eventually claiming a derelict factory building. But it never let up: viewed in retrospect, Gira and his band were remarkable in being not only prolific and experimental – delving into different sounds, characters, atmospheres – but also remaining steadfastly intense, rarely sounding tired or predictable. Something big is always at stake in a Swans record, whether Gira or former co-vocalist Jarboe are roaring in anguish, hammering out a deadpan chain-gang chant, or steering a wistful melody with lyrics touching on pain, performance, sex, blood, God, power and control, damnation and redemption. But beyond the lyrics – and the stories of dysfunction and self-destructiveness within the band – it was the sound of Swans that hinted most at what that something might be. Gira has always been a brilliant arranger, adept at juxtaposing dissonance and almost sentimental melodicism; visceral intimacy and alienated machine-noise. As far back as 1987’s Children Of God, every song has its own well-defined world, every corner obsessively shaded in, whether a waterlogged country lament like ‘Our Love Lies’, Jarboe’s silvery psychedelic ballad ‘In My Garden’, or snarling, vast tour de forces ‘Sex, God, Sex’ and ‘Beautiful Child’. Later, field recordings would be added to the picture, but not necessarily in the ambient way the term suggests: taped conversations, overheard dialogues from parents, lovers, strangers, appeared in the mix, the effect both poignant and unnerving.
Read full interview – The Quietus
We’ve asked a few regular visitors to Supersonic to highlight what they’re most looking forward to at this years festival, to help guide you through our program. First up is Spencer Hickman of Rough Trade East fame, this is what he’s giving the thumbs up to:
Factory Floor
FF will be an absolute highlight of ss10 I can guarantee it. There is no other band in the UK that is exciting me as much as they are , here at Rough Trade we have watched them evolve from a very good post punk band into one of the most incredible electronic bands around. it’s dark, oppressive yet danceable and accessible , i guess a lazy comparison would be ‘Throbbing Gristle,Cabaret Voltaire shot through with a slice of Weatherall produced Fuck Buttons’. yes they are that good. get excited now.
Swans
Who doesn’t want to see the Swans doing what they do best ? Being moody and unsettling in equal amounts. Although this isn’t an industrial return to their terror inducing early material it is far and away the most aggressive I have heard them sound in a very long time , it also has the songs to back it up this should be very special indeed.
Cloaks
I remember taking the Cloaks record to SS09 to sell on our stall, it was one of those records we had sold a lot of in store but outside of that I had heard little about them, we sold all ten copies by the time the second track had finished, there is no better recommendation than that in my mind. They sound like Skinny Puppy making dubstep , it’s dark, brutal and unforgiving. Oh it’s also very f*cking good, and very f*cking loud.
Peter Broderick
It doesn’t matter if he is being all weird and experimental or creating finely crafted songs ala the ‘home’ record, he is always engaging and blessed with a truly beautiful voice. I have no idea what he will be doing at this years festival but I do know I’ll be watching.
Godflesh
What can you say ? Brummie legends, back when they were releasing records they were way ahead of their time having given us a few years to catch up with them they are back to reclaim their crown and destroy SS and our ears in the process. very exciting.
Rough Tade will have a stall in our market place this year so make sure you save all your pennies cause they’re bring a whole heap of treats!
Noise Box – Supersonic from Sam Underwood on Vimeo.
Book your place now for Supersonic Noise Boxes – workshop
When: 2pm, SATURDAY, 23rd October
Number of places: 20
Cost: Free to weekend ticket holders plus £10 contribution to materials, each participant will get a Supersonic Noise Box Kit, for you to make and keep. You will need to bring your own thing to house it in(see details further on)
What: A 3hr workshop led by sound artist and performer mr.underwood aka Glatze to build a 3 oscillator screaming, light-controlled Noise Box. Each participant will build and take home their Noise Box. This will be based on the unit shown in the demo video, with a few nice tweaks and additions to make it even cooler!
What is the Noise Box?:
A sci-fi electronic drone instrument whose pitch is controlled with gesture. The frequency of the sound output by each of the three oscillators in this Optical Theremin is determined by the intensity of the light falling on each sensor. Vary the light using your hands or by shining a light directly onto the unit . Use just one oscillator for a more playable instrument, or all three at once for a noisy cacophony of sound!
Suitable for: All skill levels. Complete beginners welcome – we’ll teach you how to solder etc. Mr.Underwood and his team will assist you throughout the build of your 3 oscillator Supersonic Noise Box.
Booking: email admin[at]capsule.org.uk , marking the subject field as “noisebox” a payment request for the materials contribution will then we sent to you, places will be offered on a first come first serve basis.
For further details see HERE
One of the highlights from Supersonic 2009 was all female Japanese trio Nisennenmondai, we loved them so much they’re back again this year. Enjoy this film footage taken of their relentless set, we can’t wait to see them perform again.
Another aural delight for your listening pleasure from the ever enigmatic Little Chris responsible for Brum Cast.
Playlist as follows
1. PCM – Hafgee (4:58)
2. Gum takes tooth – Tannkjøtt (7:20)
3. Zeni Geva – Sweetheart (5:45)
4. Voice Of The Seven Thunders – Out Of The Smoke (2:16)
5. Swans – I am the Sun (3:23)
6. Peter Broderick – Bad Song (1:31)
7. Peter Broderick – Three Cats (0:43)
8. Stinky Wizzleteat – megtilda (2:32)
9. Barn Owl – Voice Of The Other (5:02)
10. Eagle Twin – 10,000 Birds of Black Hot Fire (9:02)
11. Blue Sabbath Black Fiji – Six Fingers For California (3:50)
12. Melt Banana – Spider Snipe (2:12)
13. Melt Banana – Stick Out (0:48)
14. Cave – High, I Am (4:35)
15. NEU! – HERO (7:11)
16. Dosh – yer face (3:22)
17. Lash Frenzy – C (25:44)
Don’t forget if you haven’t got your tickets yet they are available from HERE
Supersonic is produced by Capsule:
Unit 317, Zellig
Gibb Street
Birmingham UK
B9 4AT
