Capsule are overjoyed to announce that we have been successful with our application to become part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio. This will see 4 years of funding, helping to secure an ambitious future programme which will enable us to work with and support extraordinary artists to make extraordinary projects happen and to further develop our audiences. It also secures jobs for our team and helps us to continue to nurture both the UK and local arts eco-system.

Receiving this funding has only been made possible because of the support of our loyal and growing audience, your support through buying tickets and attending events. Capsule operate a mixed business model which is made up of earned income through ticket sales, merch and bar sales as well as key commissions, matched by a year round fund raising strategy which helps us secure funding from Arts Council England, British Council, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and PRS Foundation.

“On behalf of the Board and team, we are absolutely delighted to be acknowledged by Arts Council England for our significant contribution to experimental arts. Led by our outstanding Director Lisa Meyer, we can continue to encourage growth and excellence in artistic practice building on the enormous success of the recently acclaimed Supersonic Festival.” Deborah Kermode, Capsule Board member

We’d also like to congratulate our fellow Birmingham arts organisations who have been successful applicants Centrala, Flatpack Projects, Vivid Projects, Grand Union, BOM, Beatfreaks, Birmingham LGBT and Friction Arts – joining the portfolio will build on our vibrant arts ecology. 

Saturday 17 June
2.00pm – 3.30pm
Symphony Hall . Birmingham
Tickets £5 per child (must accompanied by an adult and limited to 1 adult per child due to capacity –under 4’s free)

Supersonic Kids Gig, ‘Big Sounds for Little People’. If you couldn’t guess from the snappy title, it’s a gig, for kids and their families, which aims to introduce children to experimental music at an early age. Kids Gigs provide a fantastic opportunity to show children the beauty of live music. The Supersonic Kids’ Gig will be led by Melt Banana, a Japanese band who form a riot of sound and fury that’s both sonically adventurous and feverishly compelling, in Birmingham’s Symphony Hall.

Recommended for children under 10
www.melt-banana.net/

Supersonic Festival have announced a very special NAWA RECORDINGS record label showcase, presenting four of their artists, curated by label owner and multi-instrumentalist Khyam Allami. The showcase , featuring KHYAM ALLAMI, NADAH EL SHAZLY, TWO OR THE DRAGON and KAMILYA JUBRAN / WASL, shall also take place in other parts of the UK, with all dates as follows:-

DATES FOR NAWA RECORDINGS SHOWCASE:

15th June, Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Brighton [tickets]

18th June, Supersonic Festival, Birmingham [tickets]

19th June, Cafe Oto, London [tickets]

NAWA RECORDINGS are a limitless label with their output of innovative, alternative, shape-and-boundary shifting sonics, founded in 2011 by the visionary multi-instrumentalist KHYAM ALLAMI.  Having released critically acclaimed albums by Maurice Louca, Alif, The Dwarfs of East Agouza and Allami’s soundtrack to Tunisian director Leyla Bouzid’s award winning debut feature film As I Open My Eyes, the label brings its newest artists to the UK in an eclectic quadruple-bill.  Khyam shall curate a striking array of Nawa artists during the Sunday afternoon of the 2017 edition of Supersonic Festival, in celebration of the festival’s longstanding relationship with the musician and label owner. All of the handpicked artists hone in on their own musical influences–spanning rock, psychedelia, gritty percussion, avant-garde, jazz, electronica – all are united by their exploration of genre-defying, improvisation-based craftwork that hail from the Arab world.

LISTEN TO A SPECIAL NAWA RECORDINGS PLAYLIST INCLUDING ARTISTS FEATURING AT THE SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL SHOWCASE

Presented in collaboration with Supersonic Festival this musical showcase by Nawa Recordings features some of the Arab world’s most creative, independent and forward thinking artists, including KHYAM ALLAMI, NADAH EL SHAZLY, TWO OR THE DRAGON and KAMILYA JUBRAN / WASL. Find out more about these artists below…

KHYAM ALLAMI is an Iraqi-British multi-instrumentalist musician and composer with a formidable – and continually growing – international reputation. His latest series of improvisations consist of processed Oud, electronics and percussion. Active as a solo artist as well as an intrinsic element in Alif, Khyam incessantly performs, travels, lives and creates projects across the Arab world and Europe. He is currently plotting his long-overdue second album which will see him exploring his unique multi-faceted and multi-instrumental vision of a truly contemporary Arabic music that is inspired by the past but has its feet fully grounded in the 21st century.

NADAH EL SHAZLY is an enigmatic and abstract singer, songwriter and producer from Cairo. Drawing inspiration from the classic Arabic singers of late 19th and early 20th century, she uses distorted loops of her sensual yet powerful voice with an atmospheric mix of edgy, quirky keyboard work and her plaintive singing to create a soundworld. She is currently preparing for the release of her debut album which was co-produced by Maurice Louca and Sam Shalabi.

TWO OR THE DRAGON is a Lebanese electro-acoustic duo featuring Ali Hout (percussions, effects) and Abed Kobeissy (electric buzuq, effects). Electrifying and running their acoustic Arabic instruments through varieties of live analogue processing the duo traverse Arabic music’s capacity to express urban soundscapes and violence as an organic part of its sonic vocabulary, without causing a ruptured relationship with its lyrical roots.

KAMILYA JUBRAN / WASL – Kamilya Jubran has made her claim amongst everyone interested in Middle Eastern music. A Palestinian, she has been an active musician for several years and impressed audiences with her beautiful vocals and use of the Arabic string instrument oud. Jubran is in charge of oud and vocals, whilst Sarah Murcia (France) plays the double bass and Werner Hasler (Switzerland) adds trumpet and electronics. This combination renders a mystical, melancholy sound and creates space for reflection.

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Supersonic Festival runs from the 16-18 June, Named by Stuart Maconie, BBC 6 Music as “the UK’s premier experimental music festival” and named number two in The Times guide to the fifty best events of the summer (2015). At the heart of the festival is a passion for genre bending sound and performance, with an international travelling audience and a commitment to emerging dynamic talent. Supersonic Festival’s diverse programme combines today’s most exciting talent with legendary, one-of-a-kind acts. The line up includes Anna Von Hausswolff /Colin Stetson/ Jenny Hval /Laura Cannell / Melt Banana / Oxbow /Princess Nokia / Raime / Zu + many mor

The Nawa showcase is supported by the British Council 

www.supersonicfestival.com

Job Description: Associate Producer – Supersonic Festival 2017

Fee: £3,200 35 days + 5 flexi days freelance contract (40 days max)

• 2 days per week March – May
• 3 days per week May – July to include a full working week 12-18 June

Term: 21 Mar – 7 Jul 2017

The Associate Producer will work closely with the Executive producer to support the delivery of key aspects of the festival relating to workshops, talks and the Supersonic Marketplace – a space for independent distributors, record labels, poster artists and others to sell their wares and network with each other. They will also play a role in managing and delivering Supersonic’s Kids Gig – created for children under seven, the aim of our Kids Gigs are to introduce children to experimental music at an early age, nurturing the audiences of the future.

This post is offered as a fixed term freelance contract until July 2017. The fee will be £3,200 inclusive of VAT. The starting date is Tuesday 21 March 2017.

Schedule: 35 days plus 5 flexi-days (40 days max) until 7 July 2017

• 2 days per week March – May
• 3 days per week May – July to include a full working week 12 – 18 June

This role will be based at the Capsule office in Birmingham – Unit 316, The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AA. The role is not suitable for remote working.

To apply for this post please read our Associate Producer Application Pack February 2017 and then send:

• A cover letter telling us why you are interested in the position (no more than 1 side of A4)
• A completed Associate Producer Application Form
• A current CV
• A completed Capsule Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

Deadline Thursday 9 March, 6pmSend by email with subject header “Associate Producer” to Felicity Alwell, Executive Producer,[email protected]

BACKGROUND – www.supersonicfestival.com
Named by Stuart Maconie, BBC 6 Music as ‘the UK’s premier experimental music festival”, listed No.2 in The Times guide to the 50 best events of the summer (2015) and one of the 10 best European festivals by Momondo (2015). Since 2003, it has grown in scale and ambition becoming the UK’s go-to event for experimental, collaborative and otherwise out of the box musical thinking. Combining today’s burgeoning talent with legendary, one-of-a-kind performances, it creates a sense of spectacle that electrifies Birmingham.

The successful candidate will be an organised and proactive individual. They will work closely with the executive producer and the rest of the festival team to ensure the smooth delivery of this flagship festival event. This is an exciting role for an up and coming producer who wants to mark their mark and develop their career in festivals, music and live events.

We are very proud to reveal the first line up announcement for Supersonic Festival 2017, taking place in the cultural hub of Digbeth in Birmingham, with a very special opening concert performance on 16 June in the Grade II listed Town Hall, featuring Anna Von Hausswolff performing on the venue’s famous pipe organ. The pipe organ played a huge part on the Swedish singer/musician’s latest album The Miraculous (2015), and in forming the colossal sound that Anna Von Hausswolff has become known for. Expect drama, brooding drones, dreamy soundscapes and sublime storytelling.

On the 16th June, Supersonic Festival continues in the heart of Digbeth, with performances taking place across the weekend, from Arbouretum, Colin Stetson, Jenny Hval, Laura Cannell, Melt Banana, Oxbow, Princess Nokia, Raime, ZU and more to be announced in the coming months. Here’s some more information about the performers in today’s line up announcement…

Supersonic Festival are delighted to invite Arbouretum back following their 2009 performance, this time in support of their new Thrill Jockey album, Song Of The Rose. Arresting, thoughtful and masterful, Arbouretum’s music takes philosophical ideas and transforms them into a sonic experience that is at once contemplative and emotionally affecting.

Colin Stetson‘s astounding physical engagement with his instruments (chiefly bass and alto saxophones) produces emotionally rich and polyphonic compositions that transcend expectations of what solo horn playing can sound like, an experience to behold.

No Jenny Hval performance is ever the same, which is why we can be sure that her follow up performance at Supersonic (having previously perfromed in 2014) will be special. Across six full length albums, Jenny Hval crucially brings to light issues of both male and female gaze, which for years had been swept under the rug and/or denied all together. We look forward immensely to seeing Jenny Hval perform again.

Laura Cannell is an extraordinary musician, performing with a deconstructed bow and the curious sound of double recorder. Exploring the spaces between ancient, improvised, traditional and experimental music, Laura Cannell creates a solitary minimalist chamber music where one player makes all the harmonies.

Melt Banana will bring the fun with their high energy hybrid of experimental noise music, pop, and electronica. For over twenty years, across a vast array of albums, well executed cover songs and an unrelenting tour schedule, the Japanese duo are infectious to experience. This is one heady trip well worth taking.

It has been at least five years since Oxbow performed live in the UK, and with hints of the release of a new album this year, anticipation is intensified further. We look forward to welcoming the ever-evolving group back, and to see what they do next…

We’re so excited to announce Princess Nokia as part of Supersonic Festival 2017 – taking inspiration from 90’s Rave, Drum & Bass, with a nod to the raw New York & U.K. underground, the duo perfectly encapsulate the hedonistic spirit that have made past additions of Supersonic so memorable.

London based duo Raime, offer an urgent and focussed futurism, in the shape of fiercely uptempo, minimal, meticulously crafted electro-acoustic rhythm tracks. The DNA of dub-techno, garage/grime and post-hardcore rock music spliced into sleek and predatory new forms.

Ambition, aspiration and deep soulful explorations are crucial for Zu, who have been broadly questioning and evolving their musical identity for almost two decades, developing their musical vocabulary with every release and collaboration, never allowing their personal and creative freedom to be suffocated by imposed structures and labels. On the cusp of releasing their brand new album on House Of Mythology (31st March, 2017), their Supersonic performance promises to be something entirely new from the trio.

Nowhere else will you find a festival experience quite like Supersonic’s – since 2003, we have been hosting superior weekends for the adventurous listener, taking care to present only the most artistically relevant and irreverent acts from the UK and across the globe, while simultaneously making sure to fill every moment with the opportunities to let loose and party, or sit down at engaging talks, discussions and workshops, or take in exclusive screenings and exhibitions.

Stay tuned for the preceeding line up announcements in the coming months.
Weekend Tickets can be purchased from HERE

We are delighted to have been asked to host a Supersonic Festival stage at this years Fat Out Fest, based at the Islington Mill in Salford on the 16 April. Fat Out Fest is Salford’s foremost experimental festival.

We are presenting a new commission – The Seer, created by artist and film maker Conny Prantera which will see her collaborate with a host of other artists including Anastasia Freygang, Eliza Bennett, Agathe Max, Lani Rocillo, Rebecca Horrox and Burl to produce an immersive performance.

In addition there will be performances by

AGATHE MAX

The new project of Agathe Max mixes electroacoustic composition and live performance with amplified violin through an electronic set up. Between soundscapes and live interaction with sound, the engaging work with delicate repeating strings links all kinds of emotional paramounts, avoiding any boundaries between musical genres.

RAINBOW GRAVE

Rainbow Grave’s bleak mantras channel the blank despair of negative punk through layers of distorted psychedelic damage. Freeform pedal abuse and robotic vocals coagulate around cyclic bass and drum rhythms in repetitive and minimal structures. Disappointment guaranteed.

TRANS AM

Trans Am are Phil Manley, Nathan Means, and Sebastian Thomson. In 2014 they released their 10th studio album on Thrill Jockey titled Volume X. The band’s remarkable ability to express, and even embody, unknown capacities, adopting bold stylistic and aesthetic shifts as a defining tenet of their quarter-century long career. Trans Am refuse to rely on their legacy as innovators, opting instead to continue to break down established modes of songwriting, even if they established those modes themselves. From kosmische rock to futuristic speed metal to robo-balladry to variants on classic rock that are so warped as to be rendered completely unrecognizable.

DYLAN CARLSON VS THE BUG

After their premiere performance at Supersonic Festival 2015 we’re super excited to have them be part of this amazing festival. It’s a collaboration that simply cannot be understated. Dylan Carlson and Kevin Martin are both long established figures presiding over the radical fringes of heavy music, holding the attention of curious minds and audiences for over twenty years worldwide. Carlson, the mainstay of Seattle’s Earth, has created a volume of daring work that originates in distorted drone and expands over cinematic Americana, folkloric balladry and proto-rock, whilst Martin (as The Bug, Techno Animal, Ice, King Midas Sound) gained notoriety producing hulking hybrids of dancehall, dub and techno that are unparalleled in tactility and dark aggression.

The festival takes place 14/15/16 April 2017 – Tickets: www.fatout.co.uk

We can’t wait for 2017 as we’ve loads of great projects coming your way and some brand new folks joining the Capsule team.Thanks to all those who bought early bird tickets for Supersonic Festival, the line up will be revealed at the end of Jan with weekend tickets going on sale.
We are very grateful to our loyal audience, our partners and funders for your ongoing support. Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year – from all of us at Capsule HQ

Early bird tickets for Supersonic Festival 2017 went on sale this week and sold out within 48 hours. We’re really thankful to all those folks that purchased tickets before the line up was announced and trust in our programming.

An announcement for the first wave of artists will come out in January, followed by Weekend tickets going on sale on the 30th Jan.

For now you can watch a few of the highlights from the 2015 edition of the festival.