Come and join the Capsule team!

Come and join the Capsule Team, we are recruiting for a new post which has been made possible with funding from the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries Programme.

PLACEMENT DESCRIPTION: Audience Development Assistant
SALARY: 4 days per week, £17,095 pro rata
CONTRACT: 12 months Fixed Term Contract

This post is offered as part of the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries Programme, aimed specifically at recent graduates from low-income backgrounds looking to start a career in the arts.

IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS MUST:

  • Have graduated from a degree (BA or equivalent) within the past two years (i.e. in 2015, 2016 or 2017. No minimum grade required
  • Have received a full maintenance grant during the full period of their course and be able to verify it with the necessary paperwork
  • Be a full-time UK resident.

Please ensure that you meet ALL these criteria before applying for this position.

PLACEMENT OUTLINE
Working as part of our core team the Audience Development Assistant will help to create a buzz and excitement around our key projects Supersonic Festival, Home of Metal and our year round programme. Ensuring Capsule has good visibility both virtually and also physically across the city and the UK. You will play a crucial part in engaging with and developing new audiences for our work.

APPLICATION PACK
Placement Description
● Application Form
● Equal Opportunities Form

The deadline for applications is: 5PM FRIDAY 15 DEC 2017
Please send a covering letter describing why you are interested in the placement (no more than 1 side A4) + Application Form + Equal Opportunities Form to info[at]capsule.org.uk with ‘Audience Dev Assistant’ in the title

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Godspeed You! Black Emperor

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We are pleased to announce that we are collaborating with Sound of Static to present Godspeed You! Black Emperor on the 22 October.

Tickets from www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/whats-on/2015/godspeed-you-black-emperor-plus-guests/

Formed in Montreal, Canada in 1994 post rock legends Godspeed You! Black Emperor continue to release genre defining albums and still perform breathtaking live shows. Returning to UK shores for a handful of live shows this autumn, GY!BE will be showcasing their 2015 album, Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress along with some hefty numbers from their extensive back catalogue. A truly rare evening and one not to be missed.

Taking place at  Warwick Arts Centre, this is GY!BEs only Midlands show and seats are limited so get in fast.

www.facebook.com/events/509464785876925/

Poster designed by David Hand

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Supersonic Tix on sale

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SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS JUNE
FOR THE TWELFTH EDITION OF ADVENTUROUS MUSIC AND ARTS

INITIAL LINE UP ANNOUNCED AS EARLY BIRD TICKETS GO ON SALE VIA A KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

“Birmingham’s Supersonic Festival occupies an exalted position at the vanguard of the festival circuit. And rightly so. Since its inception over ten years ago, it has maintained a staggeringly focused and intelligent curatorial policy, transcending the music and art worlds to present a programme teeming with invention, audience participation and a certain amount of unpredictability. It’s also a bloody good knees up.”
– THE SKINNY

Since 2003, we have brought you Supersonic Festival, an internationally-renowned experimental music and arts festival with genre-bending sound and performance at its heart.

Over the years, Supersonic Festival is privileged to have garnered an incredibly loyal audience and is widely regarded as one of the best experimental arts festivals in the UK, last year selling out in record time.

Whether you’ve been to every Supersonic that ever was or this year you’ll be dipping your toes into our welcoming waters for the first time, we are sure you’ll love our unmissable line-up. Get your tickets at one of the Eventbrite alternatives, or our website today!

Will Gregory Moog Ensemble Supersonic Website Dimensions

Kicking off proceedings on Thursday 11th June will be an opening concert at the legendary Birmingham Town Hall, an impressive Grade 1 listed building which has seen past performances by the likes of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Supersonic are delighted to host the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble.  As one half of the electronic music sensation Goldfrapp, Will Gregory is passionate about creating new sounds and reinventing old ones. Here a stellar line-up stretches the possibilities of the Moog synthesiser through newly composed music, transcriptions of classical works, and their own versions of music from popular culture and film.  Marvel at 10 musicians on stage, including Portishead’s Adrian Utley and composer Graham Fitkin, performing works by Bach, John Carpenter, Burt Bacharach and Oliver Messiaen on a fascinating array of vintage instruments.  Moreover, a new piece by Will Gregory features a clocking device specially built for the ensemble that enables all 10 synths to be synced, producing music previously impossible to perform live.

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Following on, Post punk provocateurs The Pop Group will be bringing their pioneering throb to Supersonic. Drawing on an eclectic range of influences from free jazz, conscious funk, heavyweight dub to avant-garde experimentalism, alongside contemporaries like Public Image Limited, This Heat and Throbbing Gristle, they were at the forefront of a musical period marked out by its ground-breaking innovation. With a legion of admirers, they have inspired many from Nick Cave to Fugazi. As dissonant as they are danceable,  they recently announced the release of their first album in 35 years, Citizen Zombie, as well as single ‘Mad Truth’, proving as relevant now as they ever were.

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Six Organs Of Admittance (Ben Chasny) will be performing, dissecting and demonstrating The Hexadic System – the name of his soon-to-be released album for Drag City, and a malleable, open-ended system of musical composition that Chasny developed for song-crafting, taking in aspects of language, graphics and chance. Decipher the workings for yourself at a limited workshop Chasny will be hosting.

Liima Supersonic Website Dimensions

Also announced to play across the weekend are Liima, a new collaborative quartet formed of Danish indie-pop trio Efterklang and Finland’s finest improvisational percussionist Tatu Rönkkö. Liima is the Finnish word for ‘glue’, and this is an apt metaphor for the band’s combination of processed vocals, guitar, looped percussion and complex interweaving synthesised sounds, which create a free and emotionally raw live experience.

Liturgy 1 Supersonic Website Dimensions

The esteemed Thrill Jockey record label has two artists present for the festival – Portland’s psych rock explorers Eternal Tapestry will be making the journey across the Atlantic to fry some synapses in support of their new album Wild Strawberries, whilst post-everything black metal lone wolves Liturgy will showcase their detailed dissections of cross-fertilising hardstyle beats and occult-orientated rap present on their soon-to-be-released LP, The Ark Work.

Happy Meals 1 Supersonic Website Dimensions

Glasgow’s Happy Meals, life-partners since high school finding expression in cosmic pop form, will be bringing their sophisticated Franco-Scottish hedonism to the festival.

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While super-kinetic London future jazz outfit Tomaga, the anonymous sundrenched sounds of Slow Magic, and Swedish maxi-experimentalist duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums shall all also be in attendance.

 Flamingods 2 Supersonic Website Dimensions

Flamingods, Bahrain-born, Brixton-based troupe take African rhythms, repetitive grooves and a pleasure-seeking sensibility to form a riot of sound and fury that’s both sonically adventurous and feverishly compelling. Bringing a welcome and vibrant splash of day-glo to the main festival programme, they will also lead the Supersonic Kids Gig – Big Sounds For Little People, a special show for the under 7’s.

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On Sunday 14th June, Richard Dawson curates an afternoon of performance, named after his infamous podcast Delight Is Right. The programme will play host to a number of very rare live UK performances by artists handpicked by Dawson, those whom he holds dear and sites as an influence on his own songwriting.   The skewed troubadour shall also be performing on this day. His shambolically virtuosic guitar playing is at once charming and abrasive,  stumbling from music-hall tune-smithery to spidery swatches of noise-colour, swathed in amp static and teetering on the edge of feedback. His songs are both chucklesome and tragic, rooted in a febrile imagination.

Ever looking forward, Supersonic is re-imagining its format this year.  The 2015 edition will be relocating to ‘The Crossing’ in Digbeth which is a brand new venue and one of Birmingham’s hidden venue gems with state of the art sound, lighting and a/v gear specifically designed for live amplified music. The second stage is located a minutes walk away in Boxxed, a post industrial warehouse space where the festival has taken place in previous years. These spaces will play host to live performances, a market place, talks, workshops and the famous Supersonic Tea Room full of epicurean delights.

You can expect PLENTY more from the festival in the way of dance and debate, participation and observation, as well as more acts to be announced in the coming months, so do keep tuned lest you miss out on what marvels are in store.

Early-bird tickets are available now from www.supersonicfestival.com
A Kickstarter campaign has been launched to offer unqiue treats to those who wish to purchase these advance tickets.

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Supersonic 2015 dates announced

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We’re delighted to be able to announce the dates for Supersonic Festival 2015 11-14 June.
Early-bird tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday 13th Feb via a Kickstarter campaign – when we reveal the first tranche of confirmed artists.
For now here is a little reminder of last years festival which sold out in record time.

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Palehorse at Xmas Cocktail

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photo from thequietus

One and a half decades in, and South London outfit Palehorse’s sporadic discography and rotating line-up tells of a band particularly unconcerned with the arse-kissing world of industry enabled career progression. Seizing the might of two basses, Palehorse’s notoriety is instead one built on a stack of alienating volume, jolting reprieve and passive aggression.

Their most recent LP, 2014’s ‘Harm Starts Here’ was particularly well-received, earning comparisons with Birmingham’s own influential industrial metal act Godflesh. Sonically, it has been hailed their most accomplished record to date, ricocheting between doom-laden, drawling sludge and full-throttle screamcore.

The band will appear at the Supersonic / Milque and Muhle Xmas Cocktail at the Hare & Hounds on 13 December along with Ravioli Me Away, The Lowest Form, Rainbow Grave, Sly & the Family Drone, Table Scraps, Paddy Steer, Glatze and Hordes.

Tickets available from theticketsellers

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Join the Capsule Team

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We’re recruiting a Programme Assistant.
For an application pack please email [email protected] with ‘Programme Assistant’ in the title. The deadline for application is the 5th Dec.

Programme Assistant

Capsule are looking to recruit a creative, enthusiastic individual with proven copywriting skills, a good understanding of the arts and outstanding administrative ability particularly to join one of the UK’s most dynamic arts organisations.

The Programme Assistant will focus on the marketing and promotion and provide administrative support to the company’s General Manager and Project Manager in the delivery of the company’s year round programme of live events.   For the company’s flagship event Supersonic you will undertake the role of Artists’ Liaison, overseeing all the logistical needs of the festival’s performers.   This role comes under the direction of the General Manager and will be based predominantly at the company’s office in Birmingham.

FREELANCE CONTRACT

Salary:            £18,000 – 21,000 pro rata
Employer:            Capsule
Location of post:    Custard Factory Birmingham
Responsible to:    General Manager
Responsible for:    Marketing and promotion, administration, event logistics, artists’ liaison

You will work for 109 days over a 9-month period between 12th Jan –  30th Sep 2015.

It is anticipated you will work 2-3 days per week to be agreed with candidate, however will need to be able to work a full week during the festival period.

Key areas of responsibility:
Marketing and Promotion:
–    Planning of a marketing campaign for each event
–    Writing copy and preparation of marketing materials
–    Overseeing promotion through press and social media

Administration and event management:
–    Supporting General Manager and Project Manager in event management
–    Administration of event logistics

Artists’ liaison:
–    Liaison between artists management and festival
–    Co-ordinating all logistics for the artists’ participation in the Supersonic Festival

Funding and stakeholders:
–    Research for funding bids
–    Support of General Manager for preparation and submission of funding bids.

Person Specification:
Essential Skills:
•    Experience of copy writing and promotion of arts.
•    Experience and enthusiasm for a range of arts practice
•    Experience of working on arts events or festivals.
•    Good understanding of social media and current trends, links to networks and forums
•    Systematic with experience of maintaining administrative systems
•    Able to prioritise and work under pressure
•    Good communication skills and able to work well in a team
•    Ability to work well with external stakeholders, including artists and venues.
•    Be computer and web-literate
•    Ability to research and collate information
•    Ability to work both on own initiative and under direction of others.

Personal Profile:
• Good sense of humour
• Friendly
• Motivated/enthusiastic
• Assertive/confident
• Flexible

Capsule is a Birmingham based arts organisation; we craft extraordinary cultural events for adventurous audiences. Capsule is a cultural alchemist: an innovative arts producer initiating, commissioning and producing multi disciplinary work, which includes festivals, events, artist development and partnerships with a range of organisations. Audiences are at the heart of our thinking. We champion extraordinary artists, working across artforms including digital culture and sound, ensuring many can enjoy them. Our work is of the highest quality, authentic and inclusive, our role as cultural developer – spotting as-yet unmet potential and building on it.

Capsule have a successful history of creating and producing projects including the groundbreaking heritage project Home Of Metal and one of the UK’s leading experimental arts festivals, Supersonic. In addition we deliver high profile work for clients which has included curating the cultural programme for the opening of Europe’s largest public library, exhibitions for the Royal Shakespeare Company and international work for UKTI.

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Get to know Ben Frost

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After completing his tour of the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Italy, Frost will be joined by Greg Fox (ex Liturgy) for a special performance at Birmingham’s Eastside Projects on 12 November and will include a  live AV set from Mothwasp.


Featured track Venter (AURORA, 2014) judders into life as a tightly woven, hypnotic industrial rhythm against the omnipresent hum of atmospheric guitar throb. Soon, these elements coalesce to form a huge, expansive ‘mechanical system’.

Aside from Frost’s two most recent solo albums – 2011’s Sólaris and this year’s AURORA, the interstitial performer has collaborated, amongst others, with Wayne McGregor and companies in the sphere of contemporary dance; with the directors of Australian drama films Sleeping Beauty and In Her Skin, and – most notably – with Brian Eno as part of the Rolex and Protégé Arts Initiative.

‘Ben Frost’s interests are vast, and that includes the way he approaches his music. For all this, his music is equally fascinating when you strip away the context and simply let the sounds he’s making overtake you.’ – Pitchfork

Tickets for the performance can be purchased either from theticketsellers or from Milque & Muhle

(This post was written by Poppy Twist who is currently on placement at Capsule HQ)

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Introduction to Greg Fox

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Formerly of experimental black metal band Liturgy and a prolific collaborator and performer in his own right, Greg Fox will be playing alongside composer Ben Frost at Eastside Projects on 12 November as part of our Supersonic Presents series. In relentless pursuit of transcendental musical experiences, Fox’s rich and varied oeuvre includes Guardian Alien‘s 2012 ‘See the World Given to a One Love Entity’, a thirty-seven-minute psychedelic chant for the new era set to Fox’s fragmented, uninhibited drumming, and the three-piece incarnation of the avant-garde Zs’ 2013 ‘Wolf Government’, an exercise in exploring the very limits of free jazz drone which ‘made the floor shake’ at US community radio station CKUT. With a touring schedule that sees the drummer scale his way across Europe and New York City, Fox will join Frost in Birmingham with support from Mothwasp.
Tickets are available from theticketsellers or from Milque & Muhle based at the Custard Factory.

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