We are delighted to confirm that Geoff Barrow of PORTISHEAD fame will be joining our birthday celebrations with his latest project BEAK>. They will be performing at Vivid, an art space located in deepest darkest Digbeth. Capsule will be taking over the venue for the month of December, with a jammed packed programme of live performances,  including special guests MONOTONIX, LIGHTNING BOLT, MODIFIED TOY ORCHESTRA to name but a few, workshops, an exhibition and of course plenty of cake!

Beak> Iron Acton – Recording Session from Mintonfilm on Vimeo.

BEAK> were formed in January 2009 by three Bristol musicians, Billy Fuller, Matt Williams and Geoff Barrow. Geoff Barrow is a musician and producer best known for forming and producing music group Portishead and part owner of the independent record label Invada Records . They will be joined by EINSTELLUNG who blend glorious monotonous Krautrock with melodic tones and heavy slabs of Sabbath riffage, whilst finding time to declare sonic warfare on those tinnitus victims who have passed the point of no return. Also on the bill for this very special night are THOUGHT FORMS who made a real splash at Supersonic Festival 2009. The band take influence from luminaries Sonic Youth, Slint and My Bloody Valentine, blending their structure with inspiration from modern experimental noise bands like Boris, Double Leopards and  Emeralds; It is this which gives rise to a more psychedelic sound.
This show has a very limited capacity so advanced tickets are advised- www.theticketsellers.co.uk

Capsule released a limited edition (1/500) double vinly entitled ‘‘Wings Of Desire’ by Einstellung with artwork by the very talented Lucy McLauchlan – you can purchase that HERE

Efterklang – Cutting Ice To Snow from Rumraket on Vimeo.
It is directed by Jeremiah Zagar and produced by Herzliya Films

Efterklang play in Birmingham on Thursday 29th of October at The Asylum in Hockley, support from Nancy Elizabeth.
Advanced tickets from www.thetisketsellers.co.uk Polar Bear in Kings Heath + Swordfish Birmingham city Centre

Capsule will be 10 years old this December and we very rarely do things by halves, as is the case with this month long celebration which will include live performances from MONOTONIX, TUNNG, SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE, LIGHTNING DUST, BELA EMERSON, LIGHTNING BOLT, TWEAK BIRD, ESQUILAX,  BEESTUNG LIPS,  CUM BEARS, PETE PRESCRIPTION, SUNN O))), OM, MODIFIED TOY ORCHESTRA, PCM + many more!!!

We’ll be starting with a big party to launch an exhibition which delves way back  into our archive, this will be held at Vivid on Tuesday 1st of Dec. With special guests MONOTONIX. These guys absolutely stole the show at this years Supersonic Festival with their acrobatic antics, so it was only right that we have them open proceedings.
Advanced Tickets

Monotonix at Supersonic 09 Photo by Mark Rhodes

Following on Wednesday 2nd Capsule will bring to Town hall an extraordinary night of entertainment. 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. This is a seated event and tickets can only be purchased directly from Town Hall.
Advanced Tickets – https://tickets.thsh.co.uk/ or phone – 0121 780 3333

Tuesday 8th we’re back at Vivid with the mighty LIGHTNING BOLT, they performed  one of our most memorable shows back in 2004 in what is now the theatre space at the Custard Factory. This will, we hope be as special, with a limited capacity of just 150 people so that we can re-live that  electrifying atmosphere once again. They will be joined by brother duo TWEAK BIRD and the world’s only and best Happy Hardcore covers band PETE PRESCRIPTION.
Advanced Tickets

Followed on Thursday 10th with a double headline show of SUNN O))) + OM at the Asylum in Hockley, the lineup on stage will be Anderson & O’Malley, Attila Csihar and Steve Moore (Stebmo). With special guests Om, their music is made by singer/bassist Al Cisneros (formerly of stoner-metal gods Sleep) and drummer Emil Amos and is as raw, loud, and heavy as that of bands with two or three guitarists among their ranks.
Advanced Tickets

SUNN O))) at Supersonic 2009 by Mark Rhodes

Concluding on Saturday 19th of Dec with an almighty knees up featuring some of the most infamous of locals including MODIFIED TOY ORCHESTRA + PCM to name but a few.|

During our time at Vivid we will also be doing a film & cake afternoon with our friends 7 INCH CINEMA, a show and tell event in collaboration with CREATED IN BIRMINGHAM as well as a night of experimental noise produced by HEAT & LIGHT plus a few more surprises up our sleeve!
We’ll keep you posted with news as more stuff is confirmed.

Looking forward to the Starless & Bible Black show at the Hare and Hounds on 8th October 09, especially after reading these brilliant reviews!

Anglo-French folk rockers named from Dylan Thomas via a King Crimson LP.Can you have too much of a nice thing? The world is currently awash with pretty female-fronted folk rock, the kind of thing that once had Mike Mansfield presenting a Cue The Music TV special on Judie Tzuke and gravely cooing, “Ah , a voice of the purest crystal.” The second album from this Manchester based group starts a bit like that. But by track three, Hanging On The Vine, they reach more challenging terrain. Singer Helene Gautier channels Sandy Denny over Cortez The Killer-period Neil Young.
There’s also sci-fi synth from the impressively titled Raz Ullah, adding to a
musical mood like a haunted stroll across the moors. By the time they’ve reached Les Furies, Raz is percolating away in full-on Floyd mode, the bass is burbling fruitily and it’s clear the more mind-blown fringes suit them well.
Roy Wilkinson Mojo Magazine

Shape of the Shape is the second album from Mancunian collective Starless and Bible Black and this time they’ve kicked the banjos into touch, opting instead for the sound of the 70’s. The musicianship on this album is exquisite, and showcased perfectly by a warm, organic recording which derives from twilight sessions in the magical wilderness of Snowdonia. The music may have become more eclectic but everything on the album still rotates around the soulful vocal talent of Hélène Gautier who shimmers and smoulders throughout. The end result of this melding of talents is an album which is essentially timeless and which demands attention; this is a record to be savoured on those dark winter’s evenings ahead.
The Music Fix

Heavyweight in quality but fluid and expansive in execution, Shape Of The Shape is epically beautiful. Exquisite guitar-based arrangements are layered and unfolded with a natural, organic grace made almost spiritual with dreamy, synth elevations. Moody yet warm, these compositions are the type that need little help from production gloss, reverberating with a sheer, natural pulse that really can’t be faked. They somehow manage to be both nostalgic and freshly modern, a clever feat indeed.
Wears the Trousers Magazine

8.10.09
Starless & Bible Black
Health & Efficiency
Fox
Lewis Garland
Hare and Hounds, Birmingham
8pm
£6
https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk

Go and support your local independent retailers and artists/designer makers at Marvins Magical Mini Mart which is part of the Pop Up Style shop in Birmingham city centre  this Saturday. Includes a stall by our very own Mr Ben Javens (responsible for a vast number of our gig posters) and the very talented Needles & Hooks (aka Sara our artist liason at Supersonic), not to mention a whole host of great illustrators and print makers.

Open this Saturday 10am – 6.00pm located on the second floor of the old Jade shoe shop on Corporation Street.

Ben Javens has a load of his screen printed posters along with a healthy amount of Capsule goodies

There is some fuzzy felt action going on
so go and say hello!

The very talented Mr Ben Javens, responsible for a good percentage of our Capsule posters has recently produced a series of 4 1/20 limited edition screen printed posters for our gigs. They’re a bargain at just £10 each – grab them while you can from his SHOP

A Hawk & A Hacksaw
Ltd edition of 20, hand pulled, two colour screen print on 300gsm cartridge paper. The dimensions are 594mmx420mm. All prints are signed and numbered by hand and will be sent out in a heavy duty postal tube.

Melt Banana
This is a ltd edition of 20, hand pulled, two colour screen print on 300gsm cartridge paper. The dimensions are 280mmx594mm. All prints are signed and numbered by hand and will be sent out in a heavy duty postal tube.

Mono
Once again this is a hand pulled screen print, printed on A2 (420mmx594mm), 215gsm cartridge paper, which are signed and numbered by hand and will be sent out in a heavy duty postal tube.

Vetitver

Hand pulled by Ben, onto some rather lovely 300g water colour paper, the dimensions of which are 380mm x 550mm, signed and numbered by hand.

This Saturday sees a host of local bands and friends come together to help  our buddy Steve Gubbins who is putting together an event to raise money for the Down Syndrome Association. They’ll be some awesome acts playing including Glatze, Pete Prescription, Stinkywizzleteat, Dream Dreams The Dreamer Awkestra as well as a number of DJ’s including none other than one half of Fuck Buttons, Andrew Hung, Rough Trade DJ’s and the Capsule Grannies – thats us, expect some power ballad action – oh yes reach and grab!

There is also going be some cake as well as a raffle, this is going to be great fun and all for a great cause, come along and support it.

Saturday 29th August at The Victoria – 48 John Bright Street, Birmingham, B1 1BN 8pm till 2am. £5 entrance all proceeds to Down Syndrome Association.
Find out more – http://milk-kitchen.blogspot.com

Ok folks we have a number of shows coming up over the next couple of months and we’re pretty stoked on the selection.

Kicking off with ELECTRIC WIZARD,  a crushing behemoth of funeral march psychedelia with support from Canadian flute-tinged witch rock, BLOOD CEREMONY – think Jethro Tull mixed with Sabbath!
Be aware that this show is selling very fast and our capacity is limited!

A welcome return by Capsule favourites FUCK BUTTONS, with support from ZUN ZUN EGUI, a  heavy dance band, they fire up mighty, eternal grooves worthy of some dust-caked Lagos street jam. THEO – Taut, chugging guitar loops layer up with frenetic tapping patterns that interweave in spiralling complexity.

STARLESS & BIBLE BLACK have drawn together the sounds of ‘70s Topanga Canyon country-rock, ‘80s Mancunian jangle, and space-age psychedelic drones to make a dynamic, warm and woodsy sound. Support from FOX, intimate, acoustic-led songwriting combining a wide variety of instruments, including guitars, banjo, percussion, keyboards, theremin, mandolin + new Birmingham based collective Health & Efficiency, who combine banjo, two basses, two guitars, synths, samplers and more effects and loop pedals.

ISIS are back in Brum, expect heavy, slow and brutal sounds, whilst hypnotising and entrancing you all with their live show. They will be bringing with them a very special support act – more news on that soon. This will be our first show at The Asylum in Hockley, which we’re really excited about using, good beer prices & great PA.

EFTERKLANG with support from NANCY ELIZABETH will also be taking place at the Asylum on the following night – expect an upbeat atmosphere and with  a sense of hope and optimism, these guys will leave you with a massive smile on your face – what more could you want from a gig.

These are just for starters – also confirmed for November DAMIEN JURADO, WOODS/ESPERS/THE CAVE SINGERS + OXBOW

Tickets can be bought in advanced from www.theticketsellers.co.uk
Polar Bear – York Road, Kings Heath
Swordfish – Birmingham city centre