Kids Gigs – Islaja

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The response to our Kids Gigs this year has been truly humbling; it seems many of you are eager to share the beauty of experimental music with your young ones! The Flower-Corsano duo gig on Saturday is close to selling out, but fear not! On Sunday 21st October, we’re proud to present the unique acid-folk stylings of Islaja, an enchanting prospect for listeners of all ages.

Merja Kokkonen (AKA Islaja) has been at the forefront of the Finnish folk scene for almost 10 years now, with her distinctive and daring style often drawing comparisons to Bjork, Syd Barret and Nico. However, Islaja’s music is very unique, bringing in more Eastern sounding influences to weave a truly fascinating musical palette. Her soulful yet icy voice soars over her own compositions, that manage to attain a certain level of majesty without losing sight of their innate sense of playfulness, a combination that’s certain to charm you as much as it will your children!

In addition to sharing the power of live music with your kids, this event also presents the opportunity to engage them with other forms of art too. The fantastic Juneau Projects will be offering a 20 minute animation workshop at both gigs, with the aim of gently introducing your child to the art of creating moving pictures. Using coloured lights and a series of basic images, your children will be encouraged to bring these pictures to life before letting their hair down for the following musical treat. If you think your child would enjoy an artistically stimulating experience in a safe, child friendly environment, then this is the perfect gift. Spaces are limited, so book now to avoid dissapointment!

Islaja will perform on Sunday 21st October. Tickets cost £10 (parent and child) or £12.50 (parent and two children), and this includes both the gig and the workshop.

Buy Tickets – Saturday with Flower/Corsano
Buy Tickets – Sunday with Islaja

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Six Organs Of Admittance To Be Joined By Comets On Fire Members At Supersonic!

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Six Organs Of Admittance‘s Ben Chasny is an artist as prolific as he is chameleonic, with his recorded output ranging from sunny, free flowing folk to shimmering dronescapes and scorching elongated jams. You can never be completely sure what Chasny has in store for you when it comes to the band’s live performances, but the news that he will be accompanied for his Supersonc set by his former Comets On Fire band mates, Ben Flashman and Utrillo Kushner, may indicate that this could be one of his more intensive, psych-rock oriented sets. A recent review of this lineup in the LA Times described their set as thus:

Throughout the night, bassist Ben Flashman and drummer Utrillo Kushner laid down syrupy Post-Black Sabbath structures over which Chasny and rhythm guitarist Noel Von Harmonson roamed, locking into a groove for chunks of songs before loosely and gracefully turning themselves over to instrumental exploration, usually focused on Chasny’s solos.

Speaking to the Quietus, Chasny explained the reasoning for reunited with Flashman and Kushner:

I think the key energy was just getting back together with a group of friends that hadn’t all played music together in quite some time. The fact that we were all in Comets is sort of secondary to the fact that we have all played music for a long time and toured hard and knew each other pretty well sonically. It’s definitely not a Comets reunion. I mean, I don’t really think we’ve ever broken up. There has never been a point where Comets said, “We are done.” We’ve just been concentrating on other things for a while.

Chasny fans are spoilt for choice this year, as the guitarist will also be performing as part of experimental supergroup Rangda alongside Sir Richard Bishop and Chris Corsano. In the same interview, Chasny mentioned the different musical chemistries between each different group:

After playing together in Rangda I think we have a closer musical relationship now. It’s not so much a something that can be exactly pinned down as it is a more subconscious way of acting and reacting with each other. The same goes for the guys in Comets. I think as any group of people play music with each other they start to understand the space that they operate in more and more in relationship to each other.

You can read the full interview with Ben Chasny here. Six Organs Of Admittance will be performing on Sunday 21st October, whilst Rangda will perform on Saturday 20th.

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Dylan Carlson: First Look At His Drcarlsonalbion Solo Material

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Drone fans have been anxiously anticipating what Earth main man Dylan Carlson’s solo material was going to sound like, but the wait is almost over. Carlson is due to release ‘La Strega and the Cunning Man in the Smoke’, his first record under the name Drcarlsonalbion, as part of Southern Records’ prestigious Latitudes series (which has previously seen exclusive releases from the likes of Bardo Pond, Grails, Ariel Pink, Bohren & der Club of Gore, Haxan Cloak and many, many more) on October 16th, and the first few reviews have started to trickle in. The record consists of 7 folk inspired tracks and a cover of PJ Harvey’s ‘Last Living Rose’, and judging by these quotes, it sounds like we’re in for a treat –

Where to even begin with this album? Much like the mellotron and field recordings of ‘Edward Kelley’s Blues,’ the genesis can found in a recent trip to the British Isles, with Carlson researching our indigenous folklore and traditional faire folk. The probing field recordings lend levels of abstraction to gently spoken poetry; a sound which is somehow both atonal and blissfully melodic.

Rob Batchelor, Beard Rock

Carlson has created something evocative and quite special. Transplanting the droning guitar style he uses with Earth and using it as musical bed while shimmering and almost bluesy guitar licks are laid over the top. Boozily drifting past and literally sounding like orange-drenched Autumn sunsets across a glade in the forest. I know, right?

Tight To The Nail Reviews

You can read all of Rob Batchelor’s review here, and click here to read Tight To The Nail’s analysis. ‘La Strega and the Cunning Man in the Smoke’ is released on October 16th. Carlson will be touring the UK in support of the record, culminating in a performance at Supersonic on Saturday 20th October. We can’t wait!

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Moonn

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That which is below is like that which is above that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing. And as all things have been arose from one by the awareness of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse.

A performance inspired by the Heavens Above, created by Mark Wagner and Sanna Charles of S&M and Conny Prantera, with the collaboration of Emiliano Maggi of Estasy, photographer Marko Righo and costume designers Kamellia McKayed and Gloria Carlos.

http://moonn.bandcamp.com/

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Lau Nau

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Free spirited Finnish artist Laura Naukkarinen. Since the release of her celebrated debut full length Kuutarha on Chicago’s Locust Music in 2005, Lau Nau has enjoyed considerable recognition for her intimate and playful blend of ethnic tinged folk songs with curious and intuitive sounds conjured from familiar and exotic sound sources.

http://www.haamu.com/launau/index.html

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Tomutonttu

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Tomutonttu is a creature who looks after all the dust. Jan Anderzen is a Tampere based artist who rearranges images and sounds and makes the music of Tomutonttu audible. Read streams, mutilated voices, groovy animal noises and records other people have made are some of the ingredients Anderzen uses to mold his ecstatic music. Someone described it like this: a confusing close-up of music, a microcosmos of strange sound events and dirt flying around in stereo space, interacting with a logic all of their own. Jan Anderzen is also the leader of the band Kemialliset Ystävät and one of the most recognized Finnish experimental music makers. He’s actively performing around the world and his discography is a labyrinth reflecting the nature of his art.

http://www.kemiallisetystavat.com/tomutonttu/ttinfo.html

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Islaja

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Islaja is Merja Kokkonen, a visual artist and musician living and working in Berlin, Germany.
Since her debut in 2004, she has released four album-length works on Finland’s Fonal Records and one CD on Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label, as well as a series of singles on labels such as Not Not Fun and Root Strata.
She earned quick praise in the international music press for her unique vocal style and daring DIY approach to music composition, with kudos from the Wire magazine, Dusted, Pitchfork, Coke Machine Glow and Tiny Mix Tapes.
Her most recent work, Keraaminen Pää (Fonal 2010) also won praise in her native Finland, and was called “soulful, heartfelt” by Prefix Magazine while Pitchfork noted its “icy synth tones, crunchy samples and abstract gurgles.”
In addition to her solo work, she also performs with Finnish free folk supertrio Hertta Lussu Ässä, which released a full length in 2011 on Minneapolis label De Stijl records.
Islaja performs regularly at venues and festivals across Europe and the UK, and has shared the stage with bands as diverse as Animal Collective, Low, Handsome Furs, Skaters and Junip.

http://islaja.com/

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Richard Dawson

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A much-loved musical spectacle in his native Newcastle for many years now, Richard Dawson is a skewed troubadour who sings and plays guitar with a rare intensity and a very singular style.  Dawson’s music is a collision of opposites, his hoarsely cracking voice suddenly rising to a magical soar that’s been compared to Tim Buckley, John Martyn and Richard Youngs, while his battered acoustic guitar veers from stumble to sublime in a way that can recall Sir Richard Bishop or Captain Beefheart. Add this to his snaring way with words and Dawson’s got you pinned

http://www.richarddawson.net

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SWLLWS

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SWLLWS is the dream-based solo project of Midlands artist Sian Macfarlane. Channelling electronic transmissions from the owl house, swathes of synths, found sounds and whispers interact with delicate melodies and choirs of ghostly vocals.
SWLLWS arrives at the Supersonic festival after a trail of limited edition tapes and cd-rs and well received slots at the Rammel Weekender, Nottingham, Radio Black Forest’s Fell Foot Festival, and support slots for the likes of US Girls, Josephine Foster, Peaking Lights and Grouper, where she performed a specially commissioned piece ‘SÉANCE”. The Supersonic performance will continue to explore these themes.

http://swllws.bandcamp.com

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Dylan Carlson

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Legendary Earth guitarist Dylan Carlson recently set out to pursue a solo endeavour, up to now he has released a cassette as drcarlsonalbion but there still remains an air of mystery and much anticipation as to what direction this solo musical endeavour will go next. For Supersonic, he will be teaming up with a number of other musicians including Teresa Colamonaco on vocals, Michael York on bagpipes, and Rogier Small on snare drum.


http://drcarlsonalbion.wordpress.com/

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Six Organs of Admittance

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The primary musical project of guitarist Ben Chasny, formed in 1998 in northern California. Chasny’s music is largely guitar-based, however it includes eastern influences, marked by drones, chimes, and eclectic percussive elements. The band is associated with numerous current scenes, most notably the New Weird America movement.

http://www.sixorgans.com/

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Supersonic interviews

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Supersonic interviews

A number of websites have been asking Capsule for our take on the festival – why we do it, highlights from previous years, things to watch for this year. Check out our take on things below via Rockfeedback and Wiki Festivals.

Rockfeedback interview link

Wikifestivals interview link

 

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Fonal Records shorts

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Fonal Records is an independent record label from Finland that has been releasing experimental music since 1995. Initially established by Sami Sänpäkkilä to release his own recordings under the name Es, Fonal is a truly independent record label in every sense and now has over 80 releases to its name, This music video screening presents a variety of techniques ranging from animation to live action. Videos have been shot with mobile phones, super 8, 16mm film and Red One cameras, and all have been made with a zero budget. This special programme includes work from such label luminaries as Lau Nau, Kemialliset Ystävät, Paavoharju, Islaja and Shogun Kunitoki.

fonal.com

Eleanoora Rosenholm: Valo kaasumeren hämärässä from Sami Sänpäkkilä on Vimeo.

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Updated Spotify playlist now available


Alexander Tucker – ‘Dorwytch’ live session

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Alexander Tucker – live video session for Spine TV

Alexander Tucker will be performing his new song-cycle ‘Dorwytch‘ at Supersonic 2011.  ‘Dorwytch‘ greatly expands his sound into a larger ensemble, featuring lushly layered strings and subtle use of synths. The suite revolves around themes of “human/plant matter transcendence” and manifested in the meditative purity of Tucker’s tones and drones. This live session also catches sight of the hairy being we’re expecting to see at Supersonic.

www.spinetv.net/video/studio-session-alexander-tucker

 

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Current 93 – recent live show available for free download

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Current 93 – recent live show available for free download

David Tibet of Current 93 is performing at Supersonic 2011 as part of Zu93, a collaboration with the Italian death-jazz outfit Zu.  Current 93 performed early in August at OFF Festival in Katowice, Poland and the entire set has been made available for a Tibet-authorised free download by Hennessy Williams.  Just follow the link to the Current 93 site Coptic Cat below.

http://www.copticcat.com/

 

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Supersonic theme of the day: bowed strings

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Theme of the day: bowed strings

We’re always making links between the disparate worlds of artists here at Supersonic and today we bring together three unique artists who all share a simple common bond.  Pekko Kappi, Tony Conrad and Agathe Max all use bowed instruments in their music, all with very different techniques and to different ends, each highly skilled.

Finland’s Pekko Kappi plays the Jouhikko, the ancient Finnish-Karelian bowed lyre.  He got involved with the Jouhikko in 1997 in the Ala-Könni–institute of Kaustinen and ever since has been studying the tradition with the master players of Finland, Estonia and Sweden.   This particular lyre was played with a bow as early as in the European Middle Ages although in the area around the Baltic Sea there is evidence of both bowed and plucked lyres. In Estonia and Eastern Finland the Jouhikko remained in use until the beginning of the 20th century.  Kappi is one of a number of players investigated this instrument and bringing it alive for new generations.

Tony Conrad is a legendary figure in both film and music for many people.  He was an early member of the New York-based ensemble The Dream Syndicate alongside La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela and John Cale, using continuous tones to create what they called ‘dream music’.  Conrad’s first musical release was 1972’s ‘Outside the Dream Syndicate’ collaboration with Faust (check out our Spotify playlist for a track from that) but he released very little work until a series of box sets in the past decade.  His film work is justifiably lauded too and his early piece ‘The Flicker’ is considered a landmark of the late 1960s structural film movement.  One more fact?  His father was Arthur Conrad who worked with Everett Warner during World War II designing dazzle camouflage for the US Navy.

Agathe Max
is a violinist from Lyon, France.  With an elegant command of melody and a strident use of rhythm, Max creates dynamic, fast-flowing loop pieces that encompass noise, post-classicism and krautrock with nods to the High Lonesome Raga as filtered through Henry Flynt.  Her current album ‘This Silver String’ has been really well received in many places.  “Agathe Max delivers a drone to keep the earth turning on its axis, with a keen and romantic sense of swing. Everything you need to have a good time” – Jonathan Kane.

Check these three unique artists below.

Agathe Max @ Grrrnd Zero (Lyon, France) from S etant chaussee on Vimeo.

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Alexander Tucker Q&A

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Supersonic Q&A no.7 : Alexander Tucker

For our seventh Q&A the questions are being fired at British experimental musician Alexander Tucker.  Tucker has become a established presence in the freak-folk-improv scene since his debut album was released by Tom Greenwood (Jackie OMF)’s U-Sound Archives label in 2003.  He released his new album Dorwytch on Thrill Jockey Records in April 2011 and will be performing it in its entirety at Supersonic.  The record breaks new ground for Tucker by combining minimalist string arrangements with electronic manipulations and drones to produce doom chamber-pop songs and psychedelic music-concrete collages.  Tucker also has a duo with Stephen O’Malley and is an established visual artist.

1. Which five words describe what you know about Supersonic?
Sonic, hairy, friendly, psych, people !

2. What can people expect of your set at the festival?
The set will include hairy yeti beings, fog, mind-bending electronics and astral projections.

3. Why make music – what does it do for you that nothing else does?
I make music to illuminate the inner being, escape the doom, conjure up the almighty spirit and to communicate with my fellow human beings.

4. Who else on the bill are you hoping to see?  (And why?)

I want to see both Circle and Pharaoh Overlord because they are both fuckin awesome, Bardo Pond because they are the best band in the world, Tony Conrad because he’s shit hot.

5. Finally, your essential ‘surviving-Supersonic’ items are.

Mary Jane, Stout, food and water, outrageously over sized metal t-shirts.
 

http://www.thrilljockey.com/artists/?id=12810

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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


Alexander Tucker presents DORWYTCH CYCLE

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British experimental musician Alexander Tucker releases his Thrill Jockey debut Dorwytch in April 2011. This record breaks new ground for Tucker by combining minimalist string arrangements with electronic manipulations and drones to produce doom chamber-pop songs and psychedelic music-concrete collages.

Tucker’s sound has developed over the years since his first self-titled solo album, which featured acoustic finger-picking, experimental electronics and was released on Jackie O Motherfucker’s U-Sound Archives label. Three years in the making Dorwytch finds Tucker refining his song craft and introducing minimalist string movements that build into dense spiraling riffs around his distinct vocals. This album will beguile and entice the listener, placing Tucker at the forefront of the experimental pop landscape.

A very special performance at Supersonic Festival will see a performance of this new material matched with projections of films made specially for the event The performance is a extension of the Alexander Tucker visual world of hair beings and other worldly creatures.

http://www.myspace.com/alexanderdtucker

 

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Nathan Bell

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[jwplayer config=”audio sidebar” playlistid=”2743″]

The compositions of Bell’s music for banjo and other various instruments has been ongoing since the early nineties. He is probably most famous for his bass playing in Lungfish and the duel guitar compositions of Human Bell.

On the latest recording ‘ Colors’ (Lancashire & Somerset) he plays cyclic banjo music – sometimes delayed – sometimes bowed creating medative hymns for the soul. 8 tracks that flow like an abstract sound poem with Nathan’s hypnotic banjo mantras wound around percussion, bass, trumpet viola and cello. Recorded and played on by Peter Townsend (Bonnie”Prince”Billy, Superwolf, King Kong, Human Bell) in Baltimore, Louisville and Nashville”.

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Eternal Tapestry

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Eternal Tapestry will make you wish you were raised in Portland. Eternal Tapestry will make you believe that mixing the experimental sounds of Jackie O’ Motherfucker, the drones of Barn Owl and the ambient folk flavors of Plankton Wat is possible. Eternal Tapestry will bring back to your memory the krautrock-ish psych sounds of Popol Vuh. Eternal Tapestry is a visual sound that you would want to have constantly looping in your head.- magalighosn.wordpress.com

http://www.myspace.com/eternaltapestry

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Pekko Kappi

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Pekko Käppi studied jouhikko playing at the Ala-Könni School in Kaustinen in 1997 and since then it has been his main instrument. As a singer and a researcher he is well-versed in the Finnish runo-singing tradition. He graduated from the Department of Music Anthropology at the University of Tampere. His debut album “Jos ken pahoin uneksii” was released in 2007 and nominated for the Finnish ethno-grammy award. Currently Käppi is teaching at the Folk Music Department of Sibelius-Academy.  Kappi has a strong ethnomusical approach in his work, but has worked with various artists across  different genres of music.

www.pekkokappi.com

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