A week to go til Battles hit Birmingham! For a little taster check out this video of them paying in Osaka on their current tour.

Monday 27th June
Battles + Young Montana?
HMV Institute
For tickets go here: http://www.theticketsellers.co.uk/

Further line up announcements for this year’s Supersonic Festival include exciting appearances from Circle and Pharaoh Overlord. Fresh from their artist residency at Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands , Circle and Pharaoh Overlord will both perform at this year’s festival. Circle bring together krautrock beat, heavy riffs and showmanship to induce a trance like state, while Pharaoh Overlord (featuring members of Circle) lets out their stoner/space rock side. To celebrate the appearance of these Finnish legends we will be screening a new documentary ‘Man with a Video Camera’. The film follows a Swedish Circle fan who decides to make a documentary of the band, and finds them to be kindred spirits despite their lack of interest in his film…

Here are Circle performing at Supersonic Festival 2006

Other acts confirmed to play are Silver Apples, enormously influential pioneers of electronic music, their odd breed of psychedelia has inspired scores of other bands. Nathan Bell, formerly of Lungfish will perform his cyclic banjo music. Avant -garde violinist and sound artist Tony Conrad will also be appearing – an experimental musician, film maker and writer, every performance of his is a unique event.

Early bird tickets went flying out the door and are now sold out. Weekend tickets are available here for £75, giving you three days of music, art, film and cake.

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Supersonic Festival 2011

21-23 October

feat: Bardo Pond, Circle, Cloaks, Electric Wizard, Fire! feat. Oren Ambarchi, Secret Chiefs 3, Zombi, ZU93, a.P.a.t.T, Agathe Max, Antilles, Astro, Blarke Bayer//Black Widow, Eternal Tapestry, Lucky Dragons, Monarch, Pekko Kappi, Scorn, The Skull Defekts, White Hills, Wolves in the Throne Room, Nathan Bell, Tony Conrad, Silver Apples, Pharaoh Overlord and many more to be announced.

Early Bird tickets for this year’s festival have been snapped up. Weekend tickets are still available though at just £75 for 3 days of music, art, film and of course cake.
Keep your eye on Supersonic Festival for more line up updates and news.

“I’m really proud to be a Brummie and to call Birmingham my home, that’s why I’m supporting the Home of Metal events and message. Your surroundings and experiences influence your music so it’s important for people to know where that music came from!”  – Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath

Four decades since heavy metal was unleashed onto the world, Home of Metal arrives this summer, presenting a series of ambitious exhibitions and associated cultural programme which explore the foundations, social context and heritage of heavy metal culture, which has gone on to be a global phenomenon.

Tickets for our huge Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery exhibition are now on sale! Book them here.

18th June – 25 September 2011
Home of Metal: 40 years of Heavy Metal and its unique birthplace
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
http://www.homeofmetal.com
http://www.bmag.org.uk/

Battles perform at HMV Institute, Monday 27th June. Coventry’s Young Montana? has been confirmed as support – he’s been lauded by the likes of Pitchfork and Gaslamp Killer for his experimental approach to hip hop, grime and glitch.

Be warned, tickets for this show are already selling fast, to get yours go here

Monday 27th June
Battles + Young Montana?
@ HMV Institute, Birmingham
https://www.hmvtickets.co/performances/7688/book

Wow – what a show! Sunday’s Matmos show at the mac was really something special, thanks to all who came down.They were joined on stage by J Lesser and were supported by the ever mesmerising John Weise. A special thanks to the vocalists who joined Matmos to re create a 1960s vocal sound piece, complete with tippexed out glasses and monotone chanting, it made the show extra special.

A review by Ross Cotton is online now…

Forwarding what Pierre Schaeffer had once begun, Matmos innovatively break through the musique concrete barrier, with the use of bottled water, scraping singing bowls and ‘anything goes’ percussion, the duo portray abnormality in it’s greatest form of entertainment, both extremely uncomfortable and highly eccentric, the unpredictability provides that thrill ride to anybody who is keen to be pushed to their limit.

Read the full review here

Thank you to Kate Fitzgeorge for the photographs.

The next show is Emeralds + Iron Fist of the Sun + Mr Underwood at Hare & Hounds on Sunday 22nd May, should be another great one so snap your ticket here

Oh and don’t forget we’ve announced the initial line up for Supersonic Festival 2011, if you fancy seeing Electric Wizard, Zu93 (David Tibet + Zu), Zombi, Secret Chiefs 3, Lucky Dragons, White Hills and more all in one place then get your Early Bird tickets here while they last!

Matmos – the electronic duo comprised of Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt – have been creating, constructing and collaging sonic ephemera since the mid 90s. With each album they release, Daniel and Schmidt seem to have thrown each other a gauntlet, between them creating compositions based around the collection and processing of particularly unorthodox sounds. Sometimes compared to artists like Steve Reich, and certainly to Pierre Henry (the ‘father’ of Musique Concrete), Matmos have created albums entirely from the sounds of surgery (A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure), used the sound of a bovine uterus (on their venerative album The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast which pays tribute to notable queers), and on their first self-titled effort sampled the nerve signals of a crayfish.

Read the full interview by Nix Lowrey HERE
Matmos perform with J Lesser at the mac in Birmingham this Sunday tickets are available HERE
We’re intrigued and so should you be – see you there.

Exciting news – the ever intriguing Matmos will play at mac, Birmingham this Sunday 15th May and they are looking for people to contribute vocals to their performance.

Members of Dream Dreams the Dreamer will be involved and Matmos are looking for 4 more people to perform. mac staff will be recruiting people on the night as they collect their tickets so if you fancy taking up this unique opportunity to contribute to Matmos’ show then grab your ticket here and look out for mac staff on the night.

You don’t need to be an experienced, or even talented, vocalist and instructions will be given on the night (you can’t just sing anything I’m afraid).

We’re even more excited than before- should be a cracker!