Milque + Muhle stage takeover April 18th

This Friday, current WIRE cover-stars The

Ex will be headlining our Hare & Hounds showcase in Kings Heath which will see 7 bands perform across two stages, followed by late night DJ sets that will keep things going well into the night. This is one gig you don’t want to miss and best of all advance tickets are just a tenner! Buy here.

We’ve already given you plenty of good reasons to see The Ex, a band with legendary status established both at home and abroad. But now we turn your attention to the acts on the second stage programmed by our friends at Milque & Muhle. This will be an exciting opportunity to check out several emerging home grown bands that have been creating a buzz over the past year. Here’s a taster on what to expect…

 

 

GHOLD

If you like doom, if you like sludge, if you like it heavy, Ghold may very well be for you. Ghold are a drum and bass duo who’ve been getting rave reviews over the past 2 years. It’s rare to hear a band who feel like they’re doing something genuinely new within the genres they manage to effortlessly straddle. Comparisons have been drawn to The Melvins, Karp and even High On Fire, but Ghold are definitely carving out a distinctive path all of their own.

“…there’s a malevolent groove at work, they work a kind of hypno-sludge, trance wizardry around you, vocals shouted and chanted like a part of some ritual in a cavernous hall illuminated by flickering candlelight.” – tighttothenail.com

 

MOB RULES

Mob Rules are one of the best hardcore bands in the UK right now. Hailing from Leeds, Conor Rickford, who drums for Mob Rules points out that “If you’re living in Leeds you’re not going to make music that says that the world is a wonderful place and the sun is always shining,” he explains. “The anger that you hear in the music stems from what we see every day.”

 

SUMP

Formed in 2008, Sump is a Yorkshire two-piece consisting of George Proctor (guitar) and Gareth Howells (drums and vocals). In the short time they’ve been together they’ve managed to release numerous 7″ splits and demos as well as cassettes on their own labels, Dead Tapes and Turgid Animal. Sump is a glorious fusion of Black Metal and Punk, this isn’t the first time the two have come together, yet somehow Sump achieve a unique and

exciting sound.

BAYONNEBLEEDER

This will be the second show from local Hardcore outfit Bayonnebleeder, who have spent over a year refining their tight and rapid sound; They take influence from bands such as Rorschach, Septic Death and His Hero Is Gone. Originally one drummer, guitarist, bass and vocalist they’ve recently made the addition of a second guitarist, to reach their heaviest potential. Expect a short and intense set of 10 tracks lasting 20 minutes.

Running Order (subject to change):

Room 1
Rattle 8.30 – 9.15
Health & Efficiency 9.45 – 10.30
The Ex 11.00 – 12.00
DJs 12.00 – 2.00 am

Room 2
Bayonnebleeder 8.15 – 8.45
Sump 9.15 – 9.45
Mob Rules 10.20 – 10.50
Ghold 11.20 – 12.00

For tickets visit The Ticket Sellers here.

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April playlist

Capsule’s April playlist is now ready for you to enjoy and features artists performing in our fast approaching upcoming shows. Here’s a round-up of what we’ve got coming up prior to our calender biggie, Supersonic Festival. Scroll down for our playlist.

April 18th, Hare & Hounds (1 ticket gains you entry to watch 7 bands across 2 stages):

THE EX plus supports Health & Efficiency and Rattle (Stage 1). Stage 2 curated by Milque + Muhle features Ghold, Mob Rules, Sump and Bayonnebleeder. The Ex may have started as a punk band but their numerous collaborations and sonic explorations over a 30+ year career has seen them experiment with the exotic and unexpected, making their hefty musical back catalogue now difficult to confine to any one genre.

May 27th, Rainbow Warehouse:

Melt Banana plus supports Glatze and Thrilling Headgear. Melt Banana are a well respected Japanese noise rock band championed by the likes of John Peel who was an avid fan. The band incorporate elements of punk and psycho-pop into their fast and furious performances.

Tickets for both these events can be purchased at advance pricing here.

 

Liked that? For more tunes listen to our previous playlist. Tickets to either of these shows go here.

Image: Caffaknitted, Flikr

 

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Meet Rattle…

 

Rattle are a drumming duo based in Nottingham and comprised of Theresa J Wrigley (Highs) and Katharine Eira Brown (Lows). Both musicians also play drums for two other well respected bands, with Theresa in Fists and Katy in Kogumaza. Catch them playing on April 18th in Birmingham supporting The Ex on April 18th at Hare & Hounds. Tickets here.

Far from the hippy bongo nightmare one might imagine from a band made up of only two drummers, Rattle instead play minimalist rhythms that remain both hypnotic and danceable heavily thanks to the delicate vocal melodies which accompany their beats. Their sound recalls This Heat or ESG whilst remaining uniquely their own.

Really, it’s just so much easier for you to hear them for yourself. So why not take a look at this delightful video from the duo, for their song “It’s Starting”.

You can see Rattle play supporting legendary Dutch band The Ex later this month at our gig on April 18th at Hare & Hounds.

For tickets go here.

Rattle bandcamp page

Rattle Facebook page

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Melt Banana – some essential facts

MELT BANANA return to Birmingham’s Rainbow Warehouse on May 27th. Don’t forget to pick up your advance price tickets from here, tickets will be more on the door.

Now those of you unfamiliar with Melt Banana might want to peruse the highly entertaining FAQ section of the band’s website here. We picked out a few Qs for the newly initiated:

Q. Who is MELT BANANA?

“Answer: Main factors of MELT-BANANA are YAKO, who is a singer of the band and write all lyrics and write some of the songs, and AGATA who plays the guitar and write most of the backtracks of the songs.”

Q. What type of music?

“Answer: Some people say they are noise band, some people say they are so-called no wave band, some people say they are hardcore band, some people say their music is like roller coaster in an amusement park… It is hard to categorize their music, but basecally they are rock band with a spice of punk taste. The easiest way to find out is to listen to their music and you will find out.”
With this in mind why not take a listen to The Hive off Melt Banana’s latest album Fetch…

 

Q. Is Yako singing in Japanese?

“Answer: I am singing in English, and you can find all of the lyrics inside of CD booklets if you are interested. When I first started singing in a band, I was singing in Japanese, but I changed to English. I thought that English would fit more to my style of singing.”

Q: What is your motto/philosophy?

“Answer: For today, jump before you look.”

 
For tickets to see Melt Banana supported by Glatze & Thrilling Headgear go here. To learn more about the band visit Melt Banana Official

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The Ex in Brum Notes magazine

Later this month The Ex rock up on our shores bringing with them a sound which continues look forward and embrace DIY experimentation across multiple genres whilst steering clear of ever being pretentious. To describe The Ex as just a punk band would be “obsolete” by their own admission. Their guitarist Andy Moor recently spoke to Brum Notes about the band’s adventurous 30+ year career which has seen them rub shoulders

with artists like Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and Shellac through to Ethiopean and Iraqi-Kurdish musicians. See them play Friday April 18th alongside another 6 bands: Health & Efficiency, Rattle, Ghold, Mob Rules, Sump and Bayonnebleeder. Tickets are available for this show here.

“We’re not so interested in giving something a name. If you name something you limit it.”

You can read this article from Brum Notes here.

And listen to a little something to get you in the mood whilst you are at it…

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Supersonic Kids Gig

Our annual programme of big sounds for little people returns! These Supersonic Kids Gigs act as an introduction to experimental music for children and their families. Taking place on Friday May 30th in the foyer of Symphony Hall , kicking off at 10:30am. This is a free event and recommended for children under 10 and their families.

Leading this Kids Gig is artist Sarah Kenchington who makes, designs and adapts acoustic musical instruments. She performs on a semi mechanical pedal

powered orchestra, designed to be slightly beyond her control, creating a mixture of dirty noise and plaintive almost tuneful melodies.

As well as her solo performances Sarah has performed and recorded with a range of musicians from Glasgow’s vibrant experimental music scene including Daniel Padden, Mark Vernon and Luke Fowler. She also builds large scale instruments and installations, including ‘Wind Pipes’ for Edinburgh art festival, made from salvaged church organ pipes. And ‘Sound House’ for Modern Art Oxford, an instrument made from a house.

Wind Pipes for Edinburgh – Daniel Padden (full version) from Edinburgh Art Festival on Vimeo.

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Meet Glatze…

The stars have aligned once again to bring back a pairing we last saw together in 2009. Yes that’s right folks, GLATZE return to support the one and only MELT BANANA this May 27th at the Rainbow Warehouse, in what can only be described as sweet, sweet déjà vu. Back then this was the first time Sam Underwood (the musical man/loon behind Glatze) had performed at a Capsule event. Since then Sam’s been involved with numerous other Capsule events through his other projects which include Ore, MortonUnderwood &

also If Wet which will be brought along to Supersonic Festival this May.

We caught up with Sam to talk about his upcoming performance with Glatze. See our mini Q & A below. Tickets for this event can be purchased here.

5 years on, what’s it like knowing you’ll be back sharing the stage at a Capsule gig with Melt Banana all over again?

It means a lot to me. I have warm memories of my first encounter as an artist with Capsule and I have been a Melt Banana fan for many moons. Capsule have continued to support me since that day and I can’t wait to dust Glatze off for another outing alongside Melt Banana; for old times’ sake.

Sam, you’re a busy man…you build instruments (MortonUnderwood), play in Ore and also run your own monthly event, If Wet, which will be transported to Supersonic Festival later this May. How do you balance all of these different projects and where does Glatze fit in?

Off the back of my sabbatical I had all these amazing strands I could pursue. For a while I did just that; I just kept throwing them against the wall to see what stuck. That’s hard work though, as I was essentially saying YES to everything. Now I have a clearer idea of what aspects really appeal to me I have started saying NO to some stuff, in order to concentrate my efforts. This makes my life easier and my output more focussed. Glatze is quite distinct in all this, he just lurks on the side-lines waiting for fun opportunities to

play. He’s my light relief.

Image courtesy of Pete Ashton: Taken in 2009 during Glatze’s last performance alongside Melt Banana.

Who are some of your musical (or otherwise) influences?

Glatze is all about attention grabbing, energetic live performances so draws influences from the likes of Henry Rollins, Afrirampo, rave DJs such as Sy and Slipmatt, and of course Melt Banana!

How do you go about writing a song? Do you jam and figure stuff out that way or is the writing process much more structured?

As Glatze, my music always has half an eye on what the live aspects of it will be. It mainly starts with studio production, although tunes range from fully improvised pieces that are constructed entirely live to heavily produced dancefloor vibes with me just twatting about over the top!

What can people expect from Glatze live?

Glatze is older and wiser now so expect more madcap inventions and theatricalities than ever before, and the usual fun-at-all-costs mentality!

For tickets to see MELT BANANA plus GLATZE and THRILLING HEADGEAR go here.

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The Ex are the WIRE’s covers stars for April

The Ex are the cover stars of the latest issue of The Wire (April, 2014).

Pick up a copy and read about Daniel Spicer travels to Amsterdam to talk DIY survival strategies with the Dutch ethno-improv-punk collective.

Don’t forget you can catch The Ex right here in Birmingham at Hare & Hounds on April 18th for just £10 (adv.). That’s a bargain all by itself, but we’ve teamed up with Milque & Muhle to put on 6 more up and coming bands for you to check out too. That’s right, two stages, 7 bands, all for a tenner. Investigate the full line-up below. Tickets here.

THE EX

Formed back in 1979, Terrie (guitar), Sok (vocals), Geurt (drums), and René (bass) choose their instruments by drawing straws to decide who would play what, starting from scratch. The name was chosen based on the fact that it could be sprayed on a wall in two seconds flat! Since those early days the band have worked across so many musical styles and with so many artists that categorizing their sound to any one genre seems almost unfair . For more band history read here.

“They are the most interesting musical unit in the world today…Go and see the Ex and you will hear rhythms you have never heard before…a sweaty seething party, an uplifting, joyful celebration.” – The Quietus

RATTLE

If the idea of a band consisting of just 2 drummers brings to mind a hippy bongo nightmare then you’ve obviously never heard RATTLE. Comprising of 2 of Nottingham’s most unique and recognisable drummers (Theresa Wrigley of Fists and Katharine Brown of KOGUMAZA) and aided by Kogumaza’s Mark Spivey they create a hypnotic and danceable music form that recalls This Heat or ESG even whilst remaining completely their own.

HEALTH & EFFICIENCY

H&E thrive on an instinctive and experimental approach to the creation and composition of their music. Eschewing traditional songwriting and structural techniques in favour of a process of improvisation, editing, refinement and distillation of their sound working together as a democratic unit. Proponents of self-sufficiency and independence, their recordings to this point have been engineered and mixed by friends and more recently by the band themselves at their practice space, then released via the internet. Unhindered by a desire, or need, to be restricted to a specific genre, HEALTH & EFFICIENCY create a sound of unrestrained eclecticism.

GHOLD

Drums and bass sludge rock duo, GHOLD, have already gained recognition in their short time together, starting in 2012 in Brixton. With a heavy bass line and percussive drums, they pay homage to the early days of Sludge with bands like the Melvins, Karp and Godheadsilo. They’ve already got a

string of releases under their belt, which considering their 2 years together, is pretty impressive.

MOB RULES

‘Cesstone music to try the patience of the Hardcore’, MOB RULES are arguably one of best bands on the UK Hardcore scene at the moment, Leeds anger-fuelled Powerviolence at its best. Formed in 2008, this four-piece are practically Leeds’ answer to Black Flag; Largely influenced by the band, vocalist Thomas Campbell come up with MOB RULES as its said to be ‘Gregg Ginn’s seventh favourite Black Sabbath record’. Sticking to their guns for the last six years, these guys have very little internet presence, nevertheless they’ve gained a prominent presence on the scene in the UK, with an acclaimed reputation

SUMP

Formed in 2008, SUMP is a Yorkshire two-piece consisting of George Proctor (guitar) and Gareth Howells (drums and vocals). In the short time they’ve been together they’ve managed to release numerous 7″ splits and demos as well as cassettes on their own labels, Dead Tapes and Turgid Animal. SUMP is a glorious fusion of Black Metal and Punk, this isn’t the first time the two have come together, yet somehow SUMP achieve a unique and exciting sound.

BAYONNEBLEEDER

This will be the second show from local Hardcore outfit BAYONNEBLEEDER, who have spent over a year

refining their tight and rapid sound; They take influence from bands such as Rorschach, Septic Death and His Hero Is Gone. Originally one drummer, guitarist, bass and vocalist they’ve recently made the addition of a second guitarist, to reach their heaviest potential. Expect a short and intense set of 10 tracks lasting 20 minutes.

+ DJ SETS FROM LUKE YOUNGER & CHRIS BRESS

For tickets go here, you know you want to.

 

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