Join us for podcast no.5 hosted by Anna Palmer and Alice [with the facts] Tomlinson. Hear tracks from the new artists to be revealed for this year’s line up including our guest curator – Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe and legendary folk singer – Shirley Collins, plus many more! As well as all this, we catch up with some Pigs from Newcastle ahead of their Supersonic Presents…show next week (April 11th) at the Hare and Hounds, Birmingham. Let us know if you’re coming along? 

ROUND UP OF THE CURRENT LINE UP:

Andrea Belfi | Croww | Daniel Higgs | DEAFKIDS |  Faka | Gazelle Twin | Goat (JP) | Group A | Housewives | Joasihno | Mario Batkovic | Moor Mother | Shirley Collins | Terminal Cheesecake | The Ex | Vanishing Twin | Wetware | Wolves In The Throne Room |  Yunohana Variations – YoshimiO (Boredoms, OOIOO), Susie Ibarra & Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe |  Yves Tumor and more to be announced

ROUND UP OF THE CALENDAR:

Wednesday 11th April – Pigs x7 // Grey Hairs // Youth Man @Hare and Hounds Kings Heath

Tuesday 17th April – Here to be heard – The Story of the Slits @MAC

Friday 18th May – Matana Roberts & Kelly Jayne Jones @Centrala

Friday 25th May – Workshop with Kelly Jayne Jones @BIMM

Thursday 31st May – Dorcha // Rattle // Adrena Adrena @Hare and Hounds Kings Heath

22nd – 24th June – Supersonic Festival @Digbeth, Birmingham

We’ve loads to pack your ears and calendar with, peruse around this here website for more info and for tickets to any of our upcoming events, including Supersonic Festival June 22nd – 24th.

Supersonic Festival – June 22-24^th 2018

The Market Place has been a vibrant part of Supersonic Festival for many years now. It’s a space for independent distributors, record labels, poster artists and peddlers of curiosities to sell their wares, network and for you to meet each other face to face.  The Market Place is also where the bands sell their merch. This year, the Market Place will be situated in the light, glass-walled canteen of our Digbeth hub venue, equipped with a tea room serving a selection of epicurean delights.

This year at Supersonic, we’ve got a few spaces still available in our Festival Marketplace.

The deal? For £100, you get 2 weekend tickets to the festival and a stall to sell your goods, network and meet audiences face to face alongside likeminded folks.

For enquiries contact: alice[at]capsule.org.uk

 THURSDAY 31ST MAY // HARE & HOUNDS // £6 adv £7 otd

THEY WOOED THE CROWD WITH THEIR MESMERISING SET AT SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL LAST YEAR AND NOW, RETURNING TO THE LIVE SETTING THIS MAY AFTER A 6 MONTH HIATUS, SUPERSONIC PROUDLY WELCOMES BACK DORCHA FOR THEIR HOME-TOWN SHOW IN CELEBRATION OF THEIR NEW SINGLE RELEASE FROM THE FORTH COMING 2018 ALBUM. WITH SUPPORT FROM THE RIOTUS RATTLE AND THE CAPTIVATING ADRENA ADRENA.

DORCHA

“Watching Dorcha is like being propelled into another world; they are without a doubt one of the most exciting music projects to come out of Birmingham in recent years.” – Flatpack Film Festival.

Dorcha are a genre-fluid 5 piece band of synths, strings, electronics and heavy beats. A dynamic, versatile group with a refusenik attitude, Dorcha obsess over transporting listeners to a pool of shifting, nearly gothic, barely pop, experimental songwriting. Praised by the likes of BBC Radio 6’s Stuart Maconie on the Freak Zone, 2017 saw further progression in Dorcha’s recognition, with a live performance on BBC Radio 3 Late Junction, appearances at Flatpack Film Festival, Supernormal, Supersonic Festival and more. This May the band launch a brand new single from the forth-coming album set for release later this year. Bubbling with a new energy, this home-town show will be one not to be missed!

“Dorcha already know their own collective mind and are starting to channel a genre defying path through the increasingly fractured musical landscape. They deliver original and ambitious ideas with attitude and commitment, combining their considerable aptitude as players with an impressive musical sensibility. They clearly enjoy what they do. In Anna Palmer they have a tenacious front woman whose ability to move convincingly from sweet song to dark folk to visceral noise is captivating. Dorcha are a tight, grounded, self assured band delivering solid ideas that demand some attentive listening.” – Verity Sharp, BBCRadio3. 

LISTEN to the back catalogue

LISTEN to The Miniatures Project

RATTLE

RATTLE are Katharine Eira Brown and Theresa Wrigley. Rattle began as an experiment in crafting rich songs and melody using only drums and voice. Their music weaves and intertwines post-punk, minimalism and experimental rock, through off-kilter rhythms, patterns and counter melodies. Their debut album, ‘Rattle’ (via Upset The Rhythm and I Own You Records) led to invitations to support Animal Collective on a short UK tour and The Julie Ruin on their European tour. Their live performances, at once hypnotic, monastic and danceable entranced audiences in the UK, Spain, Belgium and Ireland in 2017. The band have just completed their second album in their home town of Nottingham, UK due for release later this year. Rattle will join Protomartyr on their UK tour in May 2018.

ADRENA ADRENA

Adrena Adrena is a collaboration between visual artist Daisy Dickinson and drummer E-Da Kazuhisa, previously the drummer of the Japanese noise band Boredoms (WEA Japan, Reprise/Warner Brothers) and currently British electronic/post-rock band Seefeel (Rephlex, Warp Records).

The duo cut a raw blend of drums, noise and organic visual work, featuring in their performances an eight foot white sphere that hangs above Kazuhisa’s drum kit and which Dickinson maps videos on to; her work was described by William Barns-Graham of Fluid Radio as ‘cosmological and transcendental, drawing attention to the wonder of the earth and our sensuality on it’.

YUNOHANA VARIATIONS: ROBERT AIKI AUBREY LOWE, SUSIE IBARRA & YOSHIMIO TO TOUR THE UK THIS JUNE

Supersonic Festival proudly presents the second tour in a series commissioned by Outlands: The new national experimental music network

Following what is set to be an incredible first tour in May from Matana Roberts & Kelly Jayne Jones (TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE FOR MAY 18th IN BIRMINGHAM) produced by Qu Junktions, we excitedly bring our Supersonic curated tour of YUNOHANA VARIATIONS to the UK, with the first performance premiering at Supersonic Festival this June.

GET YOUR TICKETS

Three improvisational luminaries; multi-instrumentalist YoshimiO (Boredoms, OOIOO, SAICOBAB), avant-garde percussionist Susie Ibarra, and artist Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (Lichens/OM) shall be performing together as Yunohana Variations for the first time in the UK.

All three musicians come from divergent aesthetic backgrounds yet through their collaborative work, they together “enjoy crossing into various sonic territories” (Susie Ibarra).

“Supersonic has had a longstanding relationship with multidisciplinary artist Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, he has proven time and time again that anything he puts his hand to will be extraordinary, we have no doubt that this collaboration with such accomplished artists as Yoshimio and Susie will be nothing short of awe inspiring.” – Lisa Meyer, artistic director, Supersonic Festival Birmingham

YUNOHANA VARIATIONS TOUR DATES JUNE 2018

22/23/24 June Birmingham, Supersonic Festival

Tues 26 June London, Oslo Hackney, promoted by Upset the Rhythm

Wed 27 June Bexhill, De la Warr Pavilion

Thu 28 June Cambridge, Cambridge Junction

Fri 29 June Milton Keynes, MK Gallery

Sat 30 June Bristol, Arnolfini, promoted by Qu Junktions

Sun 1 July Manchester, Soup Kitchen, promoted by Fat Out

Mon 2 July Bradford, Fuse Art Space

Weds 4 July Plymouth, KARST, promoted by KARST & Peninsula Arts, University of Plymouth

Tour commissioned by OUTLANDS, produced by Supersonic Festival and supported by Arts Council England and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Ticket info  OUTLANDS 

“both DIY and auspicious, drawing beauty from unexpected places.”– Resident Advisor

Yves Tumor is the inspired and impenetrable persona of artist Sean Bowie, a conduit for a distinctly bold aesthetic upon which his reputation for charged live performance has been built. This year, he brings to the Supersonic stage an equal reverence for light and dark, denying the self it’s longed for coherence and focusing instead on anonymity, adaptation and transformation.

“I like setting moods…I’m never consciously trying to make a harsh song, or a dreamy song, or a noisy, disgusting song – it’s more a mood I want to translate.”– Yves Tumor for Dazed

Everything about Yves Tumor is marked by an uncanny allusiveness. It veers between harsh and abrasive to soft and tender, with even the most beautiful of compositions being jolted by a cold scraping of unfitting sound. He is committed to a mystique, edging, shifting, and ultimately detonating the boundaries of electronica, soul, rap and rock music into a liberated wilderness of intrepid pop.

Raised in Tennessee, Yves’s venture into music acted as a means of escaping what he alludes to being ‘dull’, ‘conservative’ surroundings. Following a move to Los Angeles he met rapper and performance artist Mykki Blanco, a perfect fitting of artists with whom Tumor found a kind of synergy, being affiliated with Blanco’s Dogfood Music Group before releasing his chilling full-length Serpent Music on PAN in 2016. His signing to Warp Records came after the surprise release of his latest album Experiencing the Deposit of Faith, an ethereal, uncanny expression of the artist through found sounds.

Yves Tumor impresses a chaos that is at once memorable, unquantifiable and signature to Bowie’s genius, creating a brave narrative which transcends existing definitions of sound and culture for all to discover.

Get a taste for Yves Tumor’s enchanting performance for yourself below. TICKETS FOR YVES AND OTHER SUPERSONIC ARTISTS AVAILABLE HERE.

Photo credit Andrea Fiumana

SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL 22ND-24TH JUNE NEW LINE UP ANNOUNCEMENT: LEGENDARY BRITISH FOLK SINGER SHIRLEY COLLINS TO PERFORM, ROBERT AIKI AUBREY LOWE REVEALED AS GUEST CURATOR, PERFORMING WITH YOSHIMIO (BOREDOMS) + SUSIE IBARRA, AND INVITING MOOR MOTHER, WETWARE AND CROWW. 

ALSO ANNOUNCED: DEAFKIDS, GOAT (JP), GROUP A, JOASIHNO AND TERMINAL CHEESECAKE

Supersonic Festival 2018 returns to the cultural hub of Digbeth in Birmingham between 22nd and 24th of June, offering a weekend full of imaginative, stimulating and downright fun experiences, placing audiences at the very heart of our programming. Championing an array of ambitious, fiercely independent, and progressive artists, each committed to doing things in their own unique way, the initial announcement included the news of the UK premiere of new Gazelle Twin material, The Ex performing the Supersonic Kids gig, and the first major large-scale project from artist-in-residence Dennis McNett, amongst many other names.

GUEST CURATOR – ROBERT AIKI AUBREY LOWE

Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe is an artist and multi instrumentalist working with voice in the realm of spontaneous music and prolific collaborator. He has had a long-standing relationship with Supersonic Festival, first performing as Lichens at the 2010 edition, returning in 2012 for our 10th anniversary edition both performing and curating part of our film programme, and in addition, as part of legendary band OM who have performed at many of our events. We are delighted and honoured to announce that he is our guest curator for Supersonic Festival 2018. Bringing to the festival a selection of artists who push the boundaries of both performance and sound. These include…

Yunohana Variations is three improvisational luminaries, YoshimiO (OOIOO, Boredoms, Free Kitten, SAICOBAB), Susie Ibarra and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe performing live together for the first time. The performance will explore spontaneous composition and showcase the freedom and musical immediacy of all three artists’ ability to interplay as well as their individual unique techniques to create engaging experimental sounds.

Moor Mother is the viscerally charged output of Philadelphia based interdisciplinary artist, Camae Ayewa. Her music is often harsh and strange, projecting both the cathartic anger of punk and the expansive improvisatory spirit of Sun Ra.  Moor Mother brings her powerful message to the Supersonic Stage this June after 3 days in the The MOOG Sound Lab as our artist in residence, hosted by Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

NYC duo Wetware build on the legacy of industrial music and New York’s long history of dance music fused with confrontational performance.  Vocalist Roxy Farman, captures the audience’s attention immediately, using her body in tandem with her voice as a weaponised vehicle for the band’s anxiety filled performance.

Croww is a Manchester based artist working around the periphery of music pecking at the corpuses of Black Metal, Flashcore and DnB and nesting new mutations of hypermodern dance music.

“For me Supersonic festival has not only stood out from others of its kind by pushing it’s scope away from the one dimensional trap that is indicative of most music based festivals, but has programmed things people might not be aware of. And due to the nature of the event itself those in attendance tend to be open to investigate those things. It’s an amazing feeling to be allowed the opportunity to present sound and visual works within the framework of an established festival that gives trust to others to bring in outside perspectives.”

Supersonic are also delighted to invite legendary folk singer and one of England’s most respected song collectors Shirley Collins (MBE) to perform at this year’s event, having only performed a handful of shows after a 38 year hiatus. Though Shirley Collins has been absent from the music scene for many years, her impact has not diminished, the likes of Stewart Lee and Angel Olsen laud her.

Brazilian based DEAFKIDS are Neurot Recordings’ latest signing. They juxtapose monolithic drone riffage with frantic polyrhythmic detours, and cite the syncopated beats of African drums as a major influence.

Hailing from Osaka, Japan, Goat  build compositions that explore rhythmic aspect, centering on intertwining patterns of repetitive rhythms. The trance and fatigue brought about from relentless repetition and the melody-like sounds are both urban and tribal at the same time.

Japanese avant-garde synth wave duo Group A, mix synth heavy minimal wave, avant noise, striking visuals and performance art akin to early industrial pioneers such as Throbbing Gristle or Cabaret Voltaire.

Joasihno  are Cico Beck (Aloa Input, the Notwist) and Nico Sierig, whose live set up combines robot instruments, electronics and trashy percussion. Switching between analogue synths, world percussion instruments and computer programming, they draw inspiration from experimental pioneers like Mort Garson and the melancholy of Kraut Electronica.

Terminal Cheesecake are one of England’s greatest musical oddities, chief exponents of unmerciful. head-frying psychedelia, deranged dub and electronica. Noise rock, dub, industrial and heavy, heavy psychedelia.

ROUND UP OF THE CURRENT LINE UP: 

Andrea Belfi | Croww | Daniel Higgs | DEAFKIDS |  Faka | Gazelle Twin | Goat (JP) | Group A | Housewives | Joasihno | Mario Batkovic | Moor Mother | Shirley Collins | Terminal Cheesecake | The Ex | Vanishing Twin | Wetware | Wolves In The Throne Room |  Yunohana Variations – YoshimiO (Boredoms, OOIOO), Susie Ibarra & Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe |  Yves Tumor and more to be announced

GRAB YOUR TICKETS NOW!!

“For the queer, the trans, the non-conforming, the female and the black, / For those who have been alienated by mainstream culture, / For those who are constantly harassed by patriarchy and suffer at the hands of capitalism, / For copper-coloured Afro wigs, golden chokers, torn stockings and moving freely despite Lorraine’s side-eye, there is FAKA.”- Bubblegumclub

The exploration of gender fluidity or genderlessness has come very much to the forefront of art and performance in recent years. Within Supersonic Festival 2018 alone we have performances from the mystifying Gazelle Twin, the indefinable Yves Tumor, and, of course the enchanting, rhythmic craft of FAKA; these are all artists who serve as key examples of transforming the rules of identity in their separate ways, only confirming the interchangability of the term itself.

The artistic intention of FAKA is best epitomised by the song `Izitibane zaziwe ukhuti zibuya ebukhosini’ (Let it be known, that queerness is a thing of the Gods), released with an accompanying statement ‘this is an ode to all the powerful dolls who risk their lives every day by being visible in an unsafe world. This is a celebration of those who have fearlessly embraced themselves. Because when your identity is the cause of your suffering in the world, you begin to feel the very source of your greatness in the world’.

Desire Marea and Fela Gucci, are proudly representing black and queer creativity with potent sound and vision. Surpassing the ‘performance art duo’ descriptor with which they may have started, the artists explore a combination of mediums ranging from sound, live performance, literature, video and photography, creating an eclectic aesthetic. The isiZulu word faka, which means to penetrate, seductively nuances how the artists validate new vocabularies of communication about black queer identities, and in expressing themes central to their experience as black queer bodies, FAKA navigate through the “cis-hetero-topia of post-colonial Africa” through creating a safe-space in their work that allow black, queer, gender non-conforming or trans people to reflect and be celebrated. (Read more about this via. i-D, in their A-Z of South African music).

Early releases like ‘Ama Gwinya‘ (creatively described by the duo as an “afro mink luxury dove soap bar lamentation”, “post gospel pain” and “phallic chino sweat drop”) surfaced three years ago with dislodged arpeggios, bubbling soundscapes and disembodied vocals. Since their work on African artistic collective NON the two have turned toward heavier rhythms, establishing a signature danceability with driving, looping drums, refocusing the exploratory nature of early material with new sounds developed as tools to further their penetrable, unapologetic cause.

No compromise has been made here. Each element of FAKA’s artistry has been chosen and executed at the highest fidelity to their vision. Listen below to their latest release Ngizokuzingela, with more on the artists and their EP Amaqhawe discussed here in Fader.

DON’T MISS OUT ON FAKA’s PERFORMANCE AT SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL THIS JUNE. GRAB YOUR 2018 TICKET HERE.

“Elizabeth…could be Brighton’s answer to Fever Ray’s Karin Dreijer Andersson, with her queer masked costumes and avant-garde electronica. Her repertoire draws from sci-fi film scores, choral music, underwater life and the paranormal. The visual accoutrements – stark, monochrome videos, theatrical live shows – are striking, but the brooding, atmospheric scores…are thrilling enough to stand alone.”– The Guardian

For centuries, identity and anonymity are two themes which have been rooted in conflict within both art and broader society. For so long we have grappled with the unanswerable question of the body-mind dynamic, the correlations and joltings of the outer and the inner self.

It is producer Elizabeth Bernholz’s handling of the two in this sense which makes Gazelle Twin one of the most exciting, captivating performance artists out there. Her treatment of duality is less of a philosophical plaything, more of a visceral exploration of the body as a growing, shifting being with identity moving with it. Her conceptual work presents dystopian themes through unconventional electronic production, and extraordinary, widely celebrated live performances which incorporate these changing personas. Taking inspiration from Fever Ray’s 2009 performance at Loop Festival, she notes how “her show reminded me how powerful and liberating costume is, and I became interested in the power of disguise”.

Gazelle Twin @ Supersonic Festival 2015

In toying with anonymity in this way, Gazelle Twin bewitches audiences by masking the surface as a means of releasing what lies beneath. This certainly shone through in her 2015 Supersonic performance where she performed from her second album UNFLESH, a personal yet congenital depiction of puberty, phobia, gender identity told through a spectrum of choral voices and spoken word, backed by unrelenting industrial-pop production which helped to establish her place as a leading innovator in contemporary electronic music.

This being followed by live project, Kingdom Come (2016)- inspired by J.G Ballard’s final novel and exploring themes of tribalism, social conditioning and fascism in the contemporary suburban and consumer landscape- has since elevated Gazelle Twin’s acclaim. Commissioned by Future Everything Festival 2016 (Manchester, UK), the audio-visual performance features vocalists Jez Bernholz (BERNHOLZ), Natalie Sharp (Lone Taxidermist) and Stuart Warwick on treadmills, set against a series of films and animated text by regular collaborators Chris Turner and Tash Tung.

Gracing us with brand new material we are hugely excited for her return this year and are dying to see what she brings to the Supersonic stage. TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

“Staying a bird, staying independent, free if you will, for three decades, that takes skill and something else, something more like heart.”– John Corbett

THE EX WILL BE LEADING OUR SUPERSONIC KIDS GIG THIS JUNE! TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE VIA THE MAC WEBSITE. 

The adventurous, innovative Dutch band The Ex celebrate their 39th birthday this year, and with new projects, new adventures, and brand new album 27 Passports RELEASED TODAY they show no sign of slowing down.

Born out of the punk explosion in 1979, the band have maintained a defiance of categorisation, embodying the Punk DIY ethic through being completely independent of record companies, managers or roadies. Using guitars, bass, drums and voice as their starting point, The Ex have continued to musically explore undiscovered areas right up to the present day with the same curiosity and passion that they started with.

Sharing a myriad of collaborations and partners from varied musical and non-musical backgrounds- Kamagurka, Tom Cora, Sonic Youth, Han Bennink, Jan Mulder and Shellac- the sounds of The Ex are continuously evolving, particularly from their lively musical exchange with Ethiopia, where they have organised many projects and celebrated many native artists in a means of cultural exchange. One of their most striking collaborations was perhaps  with legendary saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria, an interplay of artistry which eventually led to two CD recordings and more than a hundred concerts.

“One reason we are hard to describe is that we never had an education at music school, and in that sense we are not ­influenced by any traditional playing,” explains drummer and vocalist Katherina Bornefeld. The group are very much about intuition, for toying with musical identities. Take any major musical development of the last 50 years and you can almost guarantee that they have either incorporated it into their sound or played with it and discarded it. The span of their work shows a dazzling array of sounds that range from industrial to orchestral to the jazz world.

Even now, the kind of phrases used around The Ex range from “anarcho-punk” to “improvised jazz” to “afro-punk” and “folk”, just some proof of how the group seek to deter any attempts of description, and defiance of those who try. The Ex remain a key example for other forward-thinking bands and musicians. As well as appearing on the Supersonic stage, The Ex will be inspiring the next generation of Punks in their leading of Supersonic’s infamous Kids Gig on 23rd June, a raucous event not to be missed.

“The seated audience rise to applaud at the close, euphorically greeting an utterly captivating set.”– The Skinny

Transcending the traditional into the modern day is hard to do well. In an ever-changing, high paced world continuously pushing for the new and original (something Supersonic certainly celebrates), the classical is welcome if it can keep up.

It is true innovators like Mario Batkovic, bridging the two so effortlessly, who recapture the joys of experimentation in music. Pushing the accordion to the unthinkable limits of its capabilities the Swiss-Bosnian artist is no doubt a master of his chosen instrument, with his proven ability to create the work of a full band of synths with a single apparatus.

“I chose the path of greatest resistance for my music voluntarily”, he admits, being on a mission to not only expand the possibilities of the instrument but to show how the accordion has enabled him a channel to explore and express a freedom that he has been denied through the various physical, social, cultural, and political borders that have existed in his life.

Signed to Geoff Barrow’s Invada Records label, Batkovic’s music refuses to be pigeonholed. Within his work he creates a staggering range of pitch, volume and timbre unknown of the instrument, immersing the listener in a whole new sonic spaciality and vivid, intricate soundscape: a technical and aesthetic triumph.

Think Yann Tiersen- delicate and melodic- meets visions of Viking warriors sailing across oceans; it’s by turns light, heavy, minimal and virtuosic, particularly when he plays so quietly you can hear nothing but the percussive tapping of his fingers on the keys.

Watch Mario below perform and discuss his work and process whilst on a beach, at Into The Great Wide Open Festival in Vlieland, the Netherlands, and experience his remarkable practice for yourself at this year’s Supersonic Festival. TICKETS ON SALE HERE. 

“what you get here is the visceral punk spirit alive, kicking and sounding fresh for the 21st century.”– Already Heard

WE’RE DELIGHTED TO WELCOME BACK TWO OF LAST YEAR’S SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS TO THE HARE AND HOUNDS APRIL THE 11TH. EXPECT A NIGHT OF STORMY AMPED SOUNDS AND DEMONIC DRUMMING WITH PIGSx7, GREY HAIRS AND THE EVER RAUCOUS ADDITION OF YOUTH MAN. TICKETS ON SALE HERE.

YOUTH MAN

Boldly dubbing themselves “the loudest live band in the U.K.,” Youth Man stand in sharp contrast to the indie rock crooners. With their brand of punk leaning heavily toward early Californian hardcore, the band have refined their sound into an uncontrollable maelstrom of aggression that culminates and runs wild on stage.

Their Wax EP was recorded in just one session, giving indication of this band’s philosophy: to be as raw and frankly honest with themselves (and their own innate angst) as possible. Youth Man have achieved huge rock success on their own terms, whether people like it or not.

The start of 2018 saw Youth Man return with a bang – with a new record deal, a new song, and a bunch of tour dates.

The Birmingham band have signed with Alcopop! Records, and unleashed a new track called ‘I Don’t Know’. It’s taken from an upcoming EP, which will be announced later this year.

Label boss Jack Clothier commented on the signing: “Youth Man are a band we’ve been excited about since my partner, who basically oversaw the Birmingham scene back then, told me about them, and we’re absolutely delighted they’ve agreed to work with Alcopop! on this new EP. One of THE most exciting live bands around, this EP soars to new heights and will definitely tear your soul apart before patching it together way better than it was before. They were on an Alcopop! compilation back in, like, 2016 – and we’ve been chasing them ever since. Finally got ‘em. FUCK YES!”

“they channel their smarts into ultra-stoopid riffery and obtuse chord patterns, and the results are just brilliant.”– The Skinny

WE’RE DELIGHTED TO WELCOME BACK TWO OF LAST YEAR’S SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS TO THE HARE AND HOUNDS APRIL THE 11TH. EXPECT A NIGHT OF STORMY AMPED SOUNDS AND DEMONIC DRUMMING WITH PIGSx7, GREY HAIRS AND THE EVER RAUCOUS ADDITION OF YOUTH MAN. TICKETS ON SALE HERE.

GREY HAIRS

From the fertile Nottingham DIY scene, sharing members of UK underground bands as diverse and respected as Lords, Fists, Cult Of Dom Keller, Fonda 500 and Kogumaza, come Grey Hairs.

Returning from their Supersonic performance in 2017, the band seem to getting louder, faster, and a bit louder again year by year. Their latest LP “Serious Business” matches the band’s love of volume to a new-found directness and power. Every song is like a miniature world in itself, taking unexpected twists and turns that mean just when you think you’ve got them pinned they wriggle free.It’s raucous energy and quarrelling male/female vocals recall everything from the Stooges to Status Quo, from The Birthday Party to Black Sabbath but it never feels like a re-tread. Live, these songs take on a life of their own. The band might only just about stay in the saddle but it’s always a thrilling ride.

“This is classic 70s heavy metal deep-fried in iron and blood.” – The Quietus

WE’RE DELIGHTED TO WELCOME BACK TWO OF LAST YEAR’S SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS TO THE HARE AND HOUNDS APRIL THE 11TH. EXPECT A NIGHT OF STORMY AMPED SOUNDS AND DEMONIC DRUMMING WITH PIGSx7, GREY HAIRS AND THE EVER RAUCOUS ADDITION OF YOUTH MAN. TICKETS ON SALE HERE.

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS

The pig, across many cultures and histories, holds differing connotations. From symbols of strength and abundance to being lustful and unclean, the pig is multifaceted and indefinable, just like the sounds of Newcastle born Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs.

As you might expect from a band who share members and circles with the likes of Blown Out, Haikai No Ku, Terminal Cheesecake and Luminous Bodies, performers Matt Baty, Sam Grant, John-Michael Hedley, Ewan Mackenzie, and Adam Ian Sykes deliver on a live experience which send audiences into a heavy, trance-like state, with their album Feed The Rats on Rocket Recordings taking clear influences from doom metal and psychedelic rock music.

With amps and brains alike, these psychic omnivores bring seven times the joy, seven times the pain, seven times the dementia and deliverance.

Feed the Rats is getting a repress over at Rocket Recordings. A limited run of 500 on ‘Molten Acid’ (orange/grey) vinyl. The repress of the album still comes in a luxury diecut sleeve. It’s released on 30 March however you can preorder a copy via bandcamp!

AND GET YOUR TICKETS NOW for a gig that promises to be an gargantuan April shower of distortion.

“The spokeswoman for a new, politically conscious and refractory Jazz scene” – Jazzthetik

AS PART OF OUTLANDS, SUPERSONIC PROUDLY PRESENTS A VERY SPECIAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN US MIXED-MEDIA COMPOSER AND SAXOPHONIST MATANA ROBERTS AND UK IMPROVISER AND FLAUTIST KELLY JAYNE JONES. HELD AT CENTRALA ON FRIDAY 18TH MAY, TICKETS ON SALE HERE.

MATANA ROBERTS

Matana Roberts is an internationally renowned composer, band leader, saxophonist, sound experimentalist and mixed-media practitioner on Constellation Records. Listed as part of The New York Times’ Best Live Jazz Performances of 2017, she is perhaps best known for her acclaimed Coin Coin project, a twelve album saga which weaves together visual, musical, and personal material in an experimental tapestry of stylistic and historical breadth- a process referred to as “panoramic sound quilting”.

In addition to her work as a solo artist, she has collaborated with dozens of musicians and ensembles, from her own trio Sticks and Stones to groups including Burnt Sugar, Exploding Star Orchestra, and Supersonic favourites Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Be sure not to miss her at Centrala on May 18th in collaboration with Kelly Jayne Jones for an evening of deeply expressive playing, tactile electroacoustic interplay and a shared politics of resistance and defiance.

“Kelly Jayne Jones works with sonic textures from her sound archive that is constantly evolving. Inspiration is taken from the recording of concrete sounds, building up compositional balance / unbalance, harmony / disharmony and experimenting with the combinations of sounds.”– Metanast

AS PART OF OUTLANDS, SUPERSONIC PROUDLY PRESENTS A VERY SPECIAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN US MIXED-MEDIA COMPOSER AND SAXOPHONIST MATANA ROBERTS AND UK IMPROVISER AND FLAUTIST KELLY JAYNE JONES. HELD AT CENTRALA ON FRIDAY 18TH MAY, TICKETS ON SALE HERE.

+ workshop delivered by Kelly Jayne Jones on May 25th at BIMM, Birmingham. Further details below.

KELLY JAYNE JONES

Using inspired combinations of prepared recordings, text, rocks, found sounds and flute, Kelly Jayne Jones beckons a tussle with uncertainty, inviting exposure and vulnerability in performance. Kelly’s work revolves around the humble principle of connecting with others in the same space/ moment through physis and sound, customary experimental play, with threads and beads of improvisation and interactivity. ​

Along with her solo cassette release on the label Winebox Press, she has collaborated with Sam Weaver (Cusp Editions), Andie Brown and Hannah Ellul from Psykick Dancehall (White Death), and this May brings a very special collaboration with US mixed-media composer and saxophonist Matana Roberts as part of the OUTLANDS tour to Centrala, Brimingham.

In addition to this performance, Kelly will be leading a series of group workshops as part of OUTLANDS, sharing the methods, approaches and inspirations present within her ​sound making practice. Taking inspiration from ​John Zorn’s Game Pieces ​the workshops will take an experimental and collaborative approach to composition with participants drawing upon a range of objects, methods, activities and processes along with mindfulness techniques to consider what it is to create sound together. Exploring ​the spaces within and between improvisation and composition​ as a means of collective creative expression​, ​workshop participants will engage in processes of communal creativity inspiring interpersonal transformation as a political act.

On May 25th Kelly will be delivering a workshop at BIMM for students. Spaces to the wider public are limited and on a first-come-first-serve basis, so to submit your interest please email [email protected] with the subject title ‘Kelly Workshop’.

Join us for Supersonic Podcast no.4 as we unveil the first 10 acts to be announced for this year’s Supersonic Festival! Weekend tickets are on sale now! And what better way to celebrate than to listen to JUST SOME of the awesome music headed your way this June?

GAZELLE TWIN // THE EX // VANISHING TWIN // WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM // YVES TUMOR // MARIO BATKOVIC // FAKA // ANDREA BELFI // DANIEL HIGGS // HOUSEWIVES //

You may know some, you may know none.
Hosted by Anna Palmer and Alice [with the facts] Tomlinson, talking you through the line up with selected interviews and audio docs to delve deeper into the minds of the artists.

Supersonic Festival 2018
Returning this June 22nd – 24th to the cultural hub of Digbeth, Birmingham.
Get your tickets NOW at: www.supersonicfestival.com

Featured interviews available at:
Andrea Belfi – Speaks about ‘Ore’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGwS0jNCqIA&t=1s

Gazelle Twin talks to The Seventh Hex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXKBshdgSGc&t=168s

i-D Documentary – Mykki Blanco Celebrates Johannesburg’s Born-Free Queer Artists and Activists – Full Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AXWQT486_E&t=1518s

In Collaboration with mac Birmingham, Supersonic proudly presents Here To Be Heard : The Story Of The Slits. Tickets available here for April 17th screening and Q&A.

This special screening is accompanied by a Q&A session with both Tessa Pollit and Palm Olive, of The Slits and the film’s director, William E. Badgley.

Here to Be Heard tells the story of The Slits, the world’s first all girl punk rock group, from their original formation during the pioneering days of punk rock in mid 70s London, through their individual stories of struggle, to the reformation of the band in 2005… a time period that ends in 2010 when singer Ari Up died of cancer while trying to make this film.
This story; a mix of archival footage, never before seen images, and interviews with the Slits along with Punk Rock royalty, extraordinary producers, scholars and those influenced by The Slits, can be best described by a quote from Ari Up herself: “I’m not here to be loved, I’m here to be heard”.

Plus Supersonic DJ’s spinning tunes before and after.

Limited capacity – act fast!

“Supersonic reasserts itself as the best European festival for new music” –THE QUIETUS

Supersonic Festival 2018 returns to the cultural hub of Digbeth in Birmingham between 22nd and 24th of June. Following our sell-out early bird ticket release and the unveiling of our Dennis McNett project, we can now reveal further delights in the shape of our first ten acts:

Gazelle Twin // Andrea Belfi // Daniel Higgs // FAKA // HOUSEWIVES // Mario Batkovic // The Ex // Vanishing Twin // Wolves In The Throne Room // Yves Tumor // + Dennis McNett

This year Supersonic is championing an array of ambitious, fiercely independent, and progressive artists, each committed to doing things in their own unique way.

UK PREMIER – GAZELLE TWIN 

Having first appeared at Supersonic in 2015 as one of the Festival highlights of that year, we are delighted to invite Gazelle Twin to perform this year. Supersonic shall play host to the UK premier of brand new material.

SUPERSONIC KIDS GIG – THE EX

38 years strong, innovative Dutch group The Ex form a riot of sound and fury that’s both sonically adventurous and feverishly compelling. They incorporate a wide array of influences, often from non-Western and non-rock sources, which include Hungarian and Turkish folk songs, and more recently music from Ethiopia, Congo and Eritrea. Supersonic are inviting them to perform this year’s Kids Gig (following Melt Banana’s wild show last year). The Ex will also perform as part of the main festival programme. We couldn’t be more delighted, and we’re certain the kids will feel the same!

2018 LINE UP CONTINUED…

Supersonic Festival are especially pleased to invite MARIO BATKOVIC, the Swiss, Bosnian-born accordion player, who shall continue his mission to expand the possibilities of the instrument to its very outer limits. Through the accordion he’s been able to channel an unbound desire to explore and express, a freedom that he has been denied through the various physical, social, cultural, and political borders that have existed in his life.

Berlin based drummer ANDREA BELFI presents a sound-world that artfully combines embellished percussive textures mutated through electronic manipulations and dark, eerie sonic details.

London based experimental four piece HOUSEWIVES create music on the boundary between noise and sound. Their austere, rhythmically charged music has a distinctively cold, minimalist edge; abrasive guitars blend with droning bass lines and propulsive, relentless drums. Their live approach is ‘anti-performance’, using a stark and minimal aesthetic coupled with intense and powerful compositions, often using home made instruments.

London ensemble VANISHING TWIN marry oblique English pop with a palette of arkestral sounds. Drawing on sounds outside of the usual pop vocabulary, the group use forgotten drum machines, home-made electronics, vibraphones, tablas, and harp to invoke the esoteric psychedelia of lost soundtracks, radiophonic experiments and minimal music orchestras

WOLVES IN THE THRONE THROOM re-imagine black metal as an ode to rain storms, wood smoke and the wild energies  of the Pacific Northwest. The listener encounters crystalline metal riffs and ritualistic laments that sing of endless rain falling upon ancient cedars. Their music is a doorway into a mythic ethereal heathen landscape entered through music, magic and dreams. Wolves shall share their blazing, furious and potent form of Black Metal that they alone can create.

We count ourselves very fortunate to have Baltimore native, and lyricist/frontman of Lungfish, DANIEL HIGGS perform at the festival. With three decades of artist output, his art is of the cosmos, we on Earth are merely lucky that it happens to be confined to our atmosphere, in our lifetime.

DENNIS MCNETT – Help bring the beast to life!

This June, we bring to the back streets of Digbeth the FIRST EVER major project in the UK from prolific artist, DENNIS MCNETT. Our Artist in Residence, Dennis will produce a NEW large-scale work to embody the beating heart of this year’s festival, using Supersonic musicians and audience alike.

Find out how you can get involved and help support this MAMMOTH project HERE!

…Plus there’s still many more acts, and extra curricular activities to be announced in the coming months. In the meantime, please find ticket purchasing info below, and feel free to get in touch with any questions.

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS!!!

“Whilst Supersonic deals superbly in experimental music, it also doesn’t take itself too seriously and alongside the mind-altering music, record fairs and pop-up stalls, activities such as black-metal life drawing or Black Sabbath karaoke are offered, as well as events and gigs for children. This thoughtfulness leads it to be a deeply experimental weekend but also a genuinely accessible one too. During a period in which many line-ups of alternative festivals are becoming increasingly uniform, Supersonic brightly stands out as a true alternative to the alternative.” – INDEPENDENT 4*

Welcome to Supersonic FAQ 2018. We will be updating more info as things develop closer to the festival, but here’s everything we can tell you now. For any further queries, please email [email protected].

When will General Tickets go on sale?

Stay tuned for further announcements and ticket release at the end of Feb.

Children

Whist Supersonic Festival doesn’t have a specific children and young people offer, children aged 10 years and under are welcome to accompany adults attending the festival for free. If you are planning on bringing children with you please contact us in advance via [email protected] and we will reserve sufficient numbers of wristbands at our festival Box Office. We request that all children in attendance at the festival must be accompanied by an adult at all times, have their own ear defender equipment and be off site by 9pm.

Supersonic Kids Gigs are perfect events for children and their families. More information about events taking place later this year will be available soon.

Accommodation: “Where can I live for the weekend?”

We have negotiated a number of special rates for Supersonic visitors, you can read all about that here https://supersonicfestival.com/info/hotels/

Alcohol: “Can I bring my own alcohol?”

Unfortunately not, you may be searched on arrival and if you are found to be carrying drinks, these will be confiscated. There will be licensed bars on the festival site. If you look under 21, please bring some photo ID along.

Food

We have a food court on site located in North Yard, which will cater for vegetarians and vegans alike as well as meat eaters.

Cash Points

There are only a few ATM machines in Digbeth, so you might want to take out money prior to arriving at the festival site. There are two free cash machines located near-by at:

Nisa | Digbeth High Street | B5 5NR (about a 3 minute walk from the Custard Factory) which is open until midnight daily

Birmingham Coach Station which is open 24hrs

Directions: “How do I get to Supersonic Festival?”

The central hub of Supersonic Festival is held at the The Crossing Floodgate St, Birmingham B5 5SR. Details on further venues coming soon.

Playing at Supersonic – can my band play at Supersonic?

Capsule HQ receive tonnes of emails from bands wishing to play the festival, we wholeheartedly wish to encourage new artists and bands and work hard to ensure that the festival features plenty of new talent. Please email proposals to [email protected] and we’ll do our best to get back to you.

Smoking

Normal smoking rules apply: you can smoke in any outdoor area on site, you cannot smoke inside any enclosed public buildings, tents, portacabins, or near a fuel source.

Taxis

There are loads of taxi firms in Birmingham – Here’s numbers for a couple of them:

Atlas Cars 0121-643-8888

Ambassador Cars 0121-449-8888

T.O.A. 0121-444-8888

Royal Cars 0121-444-8888

BRING THE BEAST TO LIFE!

Dennis Mcnett at Supersonic Festival 2018

2018 is a monumental year for Supersonic. This June, we bring to the back streets of Digbeth the FIRST EVER major project in the UK from prolific artist, Dennis Mcnett. Our Artist in Residence, Dennis will produce a NEW large-scale work to embody the beating heart of this year’s festival, using Supersonic musicians and audience alike.

Conjurer of the colossal, Dennis doesn’t just exhibit work in galleries, he parades it down the street. Sculpting full scale temples or engineering viking ships inspired by Norse mythology to cruise through New York City. Birthing a 16ft puppet operated by 20 people in elaborate masks with costumed dancers and caterwauling musicians. Whatever the setting, the results are astounding.

Combining design roots in traditional wood cuts with the raw high-energy imagery pouring out of the early 80’s skateboard and punk rock scene, Dennis has carved an intricate tribe of mythical entities and tales. His Wolfbat moniker, a symbol for rebellion against authority, brings to light our animalistic rituals, he brings to life our beasts.

“It’s easy to be cynical in this world. For me, it’s not always easy to walk through life with positivity and try to offer that positivity back to the world. I find it fun and effective to offer it with characters, story telling, collaboration, made-up myth and meditation.” Dennis Mcnett

This work promises to be a spectacular, communal celebration. We always put audiences at the heart of our vision and love nothing more than bringing you exciting and innovative programmes.

We turn to you, dear audience, to help us make this ambitious work a reality – help bring the beast to life!

This year, you can opt for any of the following bundles released along side our Early Bird Tickets. You’ll be helping us raise funds for this monstrous project whilst bagging yourself some stunning limited edition merchandise created by Dennis himself.

Have a look at our Early Bird Ticket bundles

Feeling that festive fatigue?

Had the wind knocked out of you by too many sprouts?

Just can’t seem to get drunk any more?

OH GOD CHRISTMAS.

Here we are on the 29th of December. Chubby, limp and useless as we tumble around in the Crimbo Limbo in a state of flux. We hope you’ve had a jolly ol’ time but C’MON NOW SURELY THAT’S ENOUGH?!

Well, in any case, we thought we’d bring you another podcast to help pass some time and divert your ears and attention from the TV to another talky box for a whole hour – go on you can manage it.

In this instalment we look back at Supersonic highlights from over the years & check out which of our Supersonic Artists have ended up on The Quietus Albums of the year 2017

And we promise – strictly no WIZARD or mention of MINCE PIES or LOUD FAMILY DISPUTES

[just a slight potential of a Christmas competition…but with an edgy twist…because that’s just us]

With music from: LCD Soundsystem // Gazelle Twin // HAQ 123 // Laura Cannell // Jenny Hval // Colin Stetson // Hey Colossus // Snapped Ankles // Casual Nun // Big Joanie // Richard Dawson //

Want to avoid the Christmas rush?

How about perusing on over to our ONLINE SHOP where you can please ALL the family with just a few clicks on tinterweb?

How about a fancy Supersonic 2017 ltd. edition brooch for Nan?

Please the youngsters with a Supersonic Kids Gig Tee?

And surely, nothing says ‘I LOVE YOU’ to that special someone more than an Iron Lung LIVE at Supersonic 2009 RARE VINYL?!

Go on, get it all over and done with.

Limited edition heavy weight vinyl recording of Iron Lung at Supersonic Festival 2009

Iron Lung are a two piece hardcore punk act from Seattle, Washington heavily influenced by power violence and grindcore. The band formed in 1999 in Reno and are currently in Seattle after spending some time in Oakland. They have released music on several labels including Prank Records, 625 Thrashcore, and their own label, Iron Lung Records.

“For those uninitiated, IRON LUNG are a two-man band from Seattle, WA that specialize in a brand of audio violence. Bearing marks of grind, thrash, and even old-school hardcore, they are one of the handful of bands that have applied new and innovative approaches (arrangements, chords structures, thematic unities, etc) to their underground musical machinations. Their rumbling, yet raging, take on CROSSED OUT meets SWANS power violence is medically thematic in both lyrical and musical delivery. With the precision of a surgeon and the devastation of an unchecked disease IRON LUNG wreak havoc on any listener smart enough to tune them in and turn them up. It blows my mind that a band can sound both so primitive and so precise at the same time.” –Jeb Branin

BUY THIS RARE VINYL NOW FOR THE BARGAIN PRICE OF JUST £12!