Capsule are partnering with this exciting project as part of the Frontiers Festival.

CALL OUT!!!
We’re looking for participants to take part in A Secret Rose for 100 Guitars by Rhys Chatham – information about the piece, and the most recent performance in California last November, is here. Chatham was a pioneer of No Wave music in New York in the mid/late ‘70s, and from the late ‘80s onwards has been making these large-scale ‘guitar orchestra’ pieces. There’s a Pitchfork review of his work here, also listing some of the many guitarists who’ve been performed in his pieces in the past from Thurston Moore to Modern Lovers’ Ernie Brooks.

We’re planning the first UK performance, for Birmingham Town Hall on 7 June. Rehearsals on 5 & 6 June. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we have guitarists coming from across the world, from Baltimore and Buenos Aires to Balsall Heath. Alongside Rhys, the section leaders include Seth Olinsky (Akron/Family), Tobin Summerfield (Never Enough Hope, Crush Kill Destroy etc), and David Daniell (San Agustin, collaborator with Fennesz / Tony Buck etc); and the rhythm section has Laurence Hunt (Pram, Modified Toy Orchestra) and Sebastiano Dessaney.

Participation is voluntary for what amounts to a unique gig. You need to be a competent guitarist with at least a rudimentary comprehension of standard musical notation, and be available for rehearsals on the late afternoon / evening of 5 & 6 June, and for the performance on 7 June. The sign-up page is here: http://birmingham-secret-rose.frontporchproductions.org/

Following their highly successful Apollo tour, contemporary orchestra Icebreaker return to Town Hall Birmingham focusing on the music of Kraftwerk on Saturday 8th Feb.

Here, composer, producer and sound-scapist J. Peter Schwalm re-imagines tracks from across the group’s revolutionary back catalogue showing off their different sounds.

Hear Icebreaker perform reworkings of early acoustic tracks to the now iconic synthesized tunes, while award-winning visual artists Sophie Clements and Toby Cornish create a new cinematic work filmed in the Ruhr, the region in Germany from which Kraftwerk emerged.

More info here www.thsh.co.uk

A very special performance at Town Hall – The Sinking of the Titanic. Don’t miss the unique chance to catch Gavin Bryars at Town Hall this Friday performing his classic experimental work The Sinking of the Titanic accompanied by visuals and Philip Jeck on turntables, on the centenary weekend of the disaster.
Tickets can be found here http://www.thsh.co.uk/event/the-sinking-of-the-titanic

6.15pm Free

pre-concert conversation with Gavin Bryars and Andy Lound, expert on Birmingham’s Titanic connections.

Review of EINSTELLUNG & CLUSTER at Town Hall Birmingham by Paul Jeffery photos by Katja Ogrin

Cluster, with their roots in the late 60s, defined the roots of everything from experimental ambient to dance, with a mighty dollop of krautrock thrown-in for good measure!
I’d not set foot in Brum Town Hall before, but it’s a cracking venue, all Victorian pomp and splendour sympathetically and expensively restored. Acoustics are good, spacious, but easily filled by relatively modest amp stacks.

First on were a band I was only very vaguely aware of – Einstellung, a Brum-based four piece relentlessly compared to Neu!. They offer-up a kind of ambient drone-metal, heavily guitar-lead, and occasionally pitching and bucking with some ferocity within the confines of their longish set pieces, ultimately yielding a sound that fits within the looser boundaries of Krautrock. These are not wet-behind-the-ears newcomers either, having all served time in other successful bands before. Their particular fusion rocks too – and I have honestly never heard guitar feedback used quite so creatively or effectively as in their set closer. On reflection I would have been pleased if I’d showed-up for this set alone.

Read Full review HERE

Ben Graham from The Quietus talks to Einstellung, Birmingham based Apache beat, interstellar overlords

Formed in Birmingham in 2003 by ex-members of stoner rock band Sally, industrial metal titans Godflesh, Kat Bjelland’s Katastrophy Wife and post-rock/ shoegaze outfit Grover, Einstellung have stripped the motorik chassis of the first Neu! Album down to its essential cogs and gears, and fitted it to a custom-built hot rod roadster, equal parts Sonic Youth skronk, My Bloody Valentine narcotic noise and Black Sabbath hard rock. The resulting album, Wings of Desire, is finally available in the UK as one of the first releases on Capsule Records, brought to you by the fine people behind Birmingham’s unspeakably excellent Supersonic Festival. Released as an exquisitely-designed limited edition of 500 heavyweight vinyl double albums, Wings of Desire is a record that needs to be listened to loud, its six lengthy instrumental tracks (all given cod-German titles) building from droning, lazily melodic beginnings to monstrous, fuzz-blasted raptures and epiphanies, via sonorous avalanches of warped and clanging sturm und drang. We spoke to Einstellung guitarist Andrew Parker on the eve of a major show opening for Cluster at Birmingham Town Hall on the February 11, where the band will play their forthcoming second album, And The Rest Are Thunder, in its entirety.

Read the full interview HERE

Einstellung support legendary Krautrock duo CLUSTER on Thursday 11th Feb at Town Hall Birmingham
Tickets available from https://tickets.thsh.co.uk 0121 780 3333

You can purchase ‘Wings Of Desire‘ limited edition double vinyl from our SHOP – cover designed by artist Lucy McLauchlan (only 500 ever made)

Tonights show with Baroness & Taint at the Hare & Hounds has sold out.
This amazing limited edition poster designed by Jimbob of Taint will be on sale at the gig.

Don’t miss out on the following shows – they’re selling fast:
Thursday 11th February: CLUSTER + Einstellung at Town hall Birmingham
Friday 12th March: AUTECHRE + Rob Hall, Russell Haswell, Didjit at the Rainbow Warehouse
Tuesday 16th March: MONO + Rose Kemp at The Asylum
Friday 9th April: EYEHATEGOD + guests at The Asylum

Advanced tickets from: www.theticketsellers.co.uk
Swordfish + Polar Bear

We kick off our 10th birthday celebrations with an extraordinary night of entertainment at the spectacular Town Hall Birmingham who are also celebrating 175 years in existence. Special guests include old friends TUNNG who combine a perfect mixture of skewed electronica and pastoral English Folk music. SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE, psych-folk-pop, hippie jams updated for the kids of today. LIGHTNING DUST, the side project of Amber Webber and Joshua Wells, both members of Canadian band Black Mountain. Complimented by the bewitching BELA EMERSON, an innovative and prolific performer of electric cello, electronics, tenor viol and musical saw.

There are still tickets available from
https://tickets.thsh.co.uk/
or phone – 0121 780 3333

Lightning Dust (members of Black Mountain)

Six Organs Of Admittance

Birmingham gets a lot of unfair stick. People say the city centre looks like a giant shopping centre and moan about how it’s overrun by motorways, mega-clubs and football stadiums. It’s “more canals than Venice” claim is [almost] a national joke. Even Mike Skinner got a bit mockney to avoid admitting he was a Brummie.

10 Years of Capsule definitely won’t be adopting any faux accents anytime soon. They are Birmingham’s best experimental music producers, creating the likes of The Supersonic Festival and”The Home of Metal”. They’re making sure sure that the midlands doesn’t go ignored when it comes to innovative sounds.

READ MORE

Please note Lightning Bolt show has sold out – all other shows still have limited tickets
Wednesday 2nd Dec at Town Hall with TUNNG + SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE + LIGHTNING DUST + BELA EMERSON
https://tickets.thsh.co.uk/
or phone – 0121 780 3333

For tickets to Monotonix/Sunn 0)))/OM/Pram/Beak/Closing Party –http://www.theticketsellers.co.uk