Noise Box auction

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To celebrate 10 years of Supersonic Festival, musical instrument designers MortonUnderwood have created ten unique noise box synths for Capsule to auction. Each one is hand-painted by a talented designer in the Supersonic 2012 colours. The result is a beautiful set of bespoke synthesisers, which capture both the visual and sonic aesthetic of the festival.
After being on display during the festival, the Noise Boxes are now individually up for auction via ebay. All proceeds will go towards future Capsule projects, helping us to deliver more extraordinary events for adventurous audiences.

Stephen O’Malley

A musician, predominantly a guitarist, producer, composer and visual artist  from Seattle, Washington who has conceptualized and participated in numerous drone doom, death/doom, and experimental music groups, most notably Sunn O))).

Simon Fowler

London based Illustrator and Print-Maker. Working typically in pen and ink and traditional print making techniques with an enthusiasm for experimentation and combining Western and Eastern print processes. Working in collaboration with a wide array of contemporary musicians and artists including Boris, Earth and Wolves in the Throne Room.

An Endless Supply 

A design studio and independent publishing activity organised by Harry Blackett and Robin Kirkham. Working in many roles — as designers, editors, printers, researchers, writers — a primary objective of the studio is to support the production of new art and writing.

 

Sarah Coleman (Inky Mole)

“Nibs and ink are my thing. I draw on paper and ink-heavy, word-soaked imagery is my trademark. Though I creep into fashion and beauty, the worlds of advertising, fiction, packaging and music are where my work seems to fit most snugly. If ‘snug’ is the right word..”

Conny Prantera

An artist and illustrator who lives and works in London. Through her intricately detailed drawings, she tells us a story of disquieting and disturbed beauty, a collection of relics from a world of wonder which is suspiciously seductive and disturbing at the same time, but while with one eye she winks, to reassure us all is well, with the other she threatens with a baleful presage. Conny performed as part of Moonn0))) at Supersonic 2012.

David Hand

A graphic designer and sometime illustrator who currently resides in the Shropshire hills. David works on a broad range of projects of any size, shape or form including music / typography / branding / identity / surface decoration inspired by original crafted design. David created the identity for Supersonic 2012.

Ben Javens

A Birmingham based illustrator who has created many wonderful gig posters for Capsule events, other clients include The Guardian, Warburtons and Static Caravan. Ben is also a member of the Outcrowd Collective who created this year’s Festival of the Rea exhibition, which inspired the above design.

Ben Sadler (Juneau Projects)

Sadler is a member of artist group Juneau Projects, formed in 2001. The majority of their work includes participatory elements and involves projection, sound, music, animation and installation. Much of their work examines equipment-fetishism and the DIY processes which facilitate their electronic music.

French

London based freelance artist / illustrator. A great deal of the illustration he has created has been for the skateboard industry, as well as music (Heavy Metal mainly) advertising, print, fashion and publishing. More recently he has been art directing and also curated a number of exhibitions.

Thomas J Hughes

Horror films of the 1970s, Marvel comic books, space travel, trading card graphics, traditional doom metal, twentieth century science fiction television serials and Yes album covers are just a few of the things that inspire Thomas in the making of his work. His work is created using a variety of materials, with an emphasis on hand-drawn illustration and typography.

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MortonUnderwood’s Noise Boxes

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Noise Box designed by Simon Fowler

To celebrate 10 years of Supersonic Festival, musical instrument designers MortonUnderwood have created ten unique noise box synths as a gift for Capsule. Each one is hand-painted by a talented designer in the Supersonic 2012 colours. The result is a beautiful set of bespoke synthesisers which capture both the visual and sonic aesthetic of the festival.

Contributing artists:

An Endless Supply

Ben Javens

Ben Sadler

Conny Prantera

David Hand

Richard Sayer

Sarah Coleman

Simon Fowler

Stephen O’Malley

Tom Hughes

MortonUnderwood will be bringing  more boxes and merchandise along to the Supersonic stand in the Market Place. Come and try them out or just pop along to meet Sam and David.

www.mortonunderwood.co.uk

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Zeni Geva Strike Back!

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It’s an honour to have one of Japan’s most uncompromising and original noise rock bands appearing at Supersonic’s 10th anniversary bash – we are of course talking about the mighty Zeni Geva! Seeing as guitarist and vocalist KK Null has graced the Supersonic stage numerous times over the past decade (including an absolutely incredible performance with Zeni Geva themselves back in 2010 that melted the brains of everyone within a 10 mile radius), this seems like the perfect band to invite along for this year’s celebrations.

Zeni Geva’s sound doesn’t lend itself to easy categorisation, taking the primordial soup of death metal and blending it until it assumes the complex characteristics of prog rock, then lathering it in thick, turbulent layers of dissonance and serving the whole mixture up with a generous side portion of paranoia, anger and fear. Whilst KK Null has remained the core leader of the group, over the years the band’s personnel has read like a who’s-who of the early Japanese noise scene, featuring the talents of Acid Mother’s Temple guitarist Mitsuru Tabata and Boredoms/Hanatarashi drummer Ikuo Taketani, who has since been replaced by hyper talented Ruins sticksman Tatsuya Hoshida. Zeni Geva’s incendiary sound was too exciting to go unnoticed by the Western world however, and eventually caught the attention of such luminaries as Steve Albini and Jello Biafra, who signed the band to his Alternative Tentacles label in 1993 to release their classic ‘Desire For Agony’ record. As anyone who has witnessed them in the flesh before will attest, the Zeni Geva live experience is truly a force of nature. A whirlwind of distraught riffs, rapidly shifting time signatures and an almost unbearable tension threaten to overwhelm the listener, before the band’s abstract pummelling eventually ushers in a state of bizarre, transcendental euphoria. The band’s UK shows haven’t exactly been plentiful over the years, so grab this chance to see this incredible band while you can!

But of course, artists as prolific as Null and Hoshida aren’t just satisfied with treating us to just one mindblowing performance, and both artists will be taking to the stage under different guises this year too. KK Null will be teaming up for a one-off set with local tuba drone pioneers ORE, a two-piece dedicated to broadening the pallette of drone/doom with the vast, resonant sounds of the tuba. ORE’s Sam Underwood joined Null for his gut shatteringly intense performance with Lash Frenzy at Supersonic two years ago, which was evidently the start of a very fruitful partnership indeed. This unlikely combo will be playing a piece of music they’ve written specially for the festival, and will even have a few copies of an ultra-limited CD-R for sale. These are sure to sell like hot cakes, so act quickly if you want to snap one up! How ORE’s deep brass drones will play off against KK Null’s retina searingly powerful waves of noise is anyone’s guess, but this promises to be a fantastically esoteric journey into the furthest reaches of experimental music. Don’t miss out!

Tatsuya Hoshida will also be performing as Ruins Alone, the solo incarnation of his incredibly complex but endlessly groovy band Ruins. Sharing a similar style of frantic hyperactivity with bands like Naked City, Fantômas and Melt Banana but walking a path that is all their own, Ruins feed music through their own personalised meat grinder and string together the resulting strands into intricate patterns that make the Fibonacci sequence look like the 2x time table. Taking influence from French prog rock madmen Magma, Ruins songs are sung in their own language, a fitting trait for a band that so steadfastly refuses to adhere to conventional norms and structures. After being lucky enough to find 4 different virtuoso bassists to accompany him over the past 18 years, recently Hoshida has decided to go it alone, wowing audiences across the globe with his technical precision and flawless ability to leap between wildly different time signatures with the utmost grace. Ruins have always emphasised the power of immediacy and spontaneity in addition to their impeccable musicianship, making this a set that will be as gratifying to free wheeling hedonists as it is to beard stroking percussion experts.

Zeni Geva will play Supersonic Festival on Saturday 20th October, whilst Ruins Alone and KK Null & ORE will play on Sunday 21st October.

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Mr Underwood’s custom made Noise Box Oscillators

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Sound artist and instrument inventor Sam Underwood AKA Mr Underwood, Glatze and half of drone tuba duo ORE, will be busy creating a number of custom made Oscillators to give away to generous donors to Supersonic Festival, via our We Fund campaign.

These will be in the form of a number of single-oscillator micro Noise Box synthesizers and a six-oscillator beast to anyone who has generously donated £500 + to our campaign.  They will be custom finished in celebration of Supersonic, by inviting illustrators and visual artists to make each one unique.

Like many arts organisations, we are currently seeking new ways to fund what we do while public funding is becoming more limited. The campaign is designed so that supporters of Capsule and Supersonic Festival can, if they are in a position to, donate funds to support our activity. We greatly appreciate all our audience’s support, whether through We Fund, ticket sales or volunteering.

If you’re interested in donating directly to the festival’s 10th birthday celebration, read more about our campaign here. Thank you gifts for donations are dependent upon the pledge, and include entrance to a Supersonic Tea Party, entrance to a specially commissioned Sonic Feast (a unique sound led dining experience) and these very special, hand crafted Noise Boxes.

Learn more about how Sam’s Noise Boxes work:

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Sonic Graffiti

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Walking the streets near to VIVID and Supersonic Festival, the ubiquitous signs of neglect passing you by. Set into a decaying wall there is a headphone socket. You unplug from your own music and plug yourself into the city. The sounds you hear are of and from this place, dark and decayed.

Artist Sam Underwood will tour his Sonic Graffiti during the festival, meet him on Friday 21st October at 8pm, or Sunday 23rd October at 8pm outside VIVID – bring headphones.

Sonic Graffiti is a co commission between Capsule and VIVID and is part of an experimental season entitled Crash, stimulated by the vision of J.G. Ballard.

http://www.vivid.org.uk/

VIVID | 140 Heath Mill Lane | Birmingham | B9 4AR

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Tony Conrad screening

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As part of  ‘Seeing Sound‘, an exhibition curated by Laura Coult at VIVID there will be a special one-off screening of Tony Conrad’s seminal work The Flicker (1966), a 30-minute film exploring the possibilities for harmonic expression using a sensory mode other than sound; audience reactions to the film ranged from disorientation, temporary hypnosis, and intense experiences of colours and patterns, to headaches and violent bouts of nausea, all seemingly caused by the pulsating light’s interaction with the brain’s alpha waves.

‘Seeing Sound’ will include Ben Russell’s Black & White Trypps No. 3 (2007) which documents an audience’s collective freak-out during a performance by Rhode Island noise band Lightning Bolt, and a live performance by Sam Underwood , of Steve Reich’s Pendulum Music. Originally scored for “For Microphones, Amplifiers Speakers and Performers” this specially adapted version will be performed using four Noise Boxes / Optical Theremins, similar to those made in the workshop, and four torches.

This is a FREE event – taking place at at 1pm on Sunday
at VIVID I 40 HEATH MILL LANE I BIRMINGHAM B9 4AR
OPENING HOURS & FURTHER DETAILS HERE

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