Setting off on a UK tour, Melt Banana have decided to share a new video for ‘Lefty Dog (Run Caper Run)’. Yako explains:

“The song title is ‘Lefty Dog (Run Caper Run)’. It is the second music video from our album ‘Fetch’. It was directed by Iroha who does VJ for our shows in Japan sometimes. Like the first video ‘The Hive’ it is very colourful and we like how it looks very much”

See them perform on Tuesday at the Rainbow Warehouse, support from Thrilling Headgear and Glatze
Tickets are available from theticketsellers + Milque and Muhle

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/

“Birmingham’s premiere experimental music festival has revealed its final selection of acts.

Anyone who’s managed to hike out to Supersonic before knows how bloody good it is, and how much its organizers have done to make sure it’s a sidestep from the competition. While the majority of other festivals fight amongst themselves trying to snatch identikit lineups of bedraggled nostalgia-core reduxes and hype dance acts that’ll be forgotten in six months, Supersonic has solidified its legacy by simply picking excellent music.”
A wonderful right up from FACT Read full preview HERE

Don’t miss out folks we have just released a limited number of extra weekend tickets but be warned they are going quickly and once they’re gone they’re GONE. Buy tickets HERE

Full line up: Agathe Max/Alien Whale/Anta/Backwards/Basic House/Chris Brokaw/Evil Blizzard/EX Easter Island Head/Felix Kubin/Jenny Hval/Kunnst/Matmos/Opium Lord/Pharmakon/Rattle/Sleaford Mods/Sly & The Family Drone/Swans/Wolf Eyes/Youth Man
+ Bill Drummond talk/If Wet Salon/ Film takover with Death Waltz Records + The Duke Mitchell Film Club – cake and much

more!

Folks doors are at 8pm tonight at the Hare & Hounds and we go right through till 2am – there will be tickets on the door or you can purchase yours in advance via theticketsellers.co.uk

Room 1
Rattle 8.30 – 9.15
Comprising of 2 of Nottingham’s most unique and recognisable drummers (Theresa Wrigley of Fists and Katharine Brown of KOGUMAZA) and aided by Kogumaza’s Mark Spivey they create a hypnotic and danceable music form that recalls This Heat or ESG even whilst remaining completely their own.

Health & Efficiency 9.45 – 10.30
H&E combine elements of punk-rock, no-wave, free jazz, psych-folk, minimalist composition, and improvisation into a dynamic balance that sounds spontaneous and harmonious in its execution.

The Ex 11.00 – 12.00
They are the most interesting musical unit in the world today…Go and see the Ex and you will hear rhythms you have never heard before…a sweaty seething party, an uplifting, joyful celebration.” – The Quietus

12 – 2am DJ SETS FROM LUKE YOUNGER & CHRIS BRESS

Room 2
Bayonnebleeder 8.15 – 8.45
Influenced by bands such as Rorschach, Septic Death and His Hero Is Gone

Sump 9.15 – 9.50
Yorkshire two-piece combining a glorious fusion of Black Metal and Punk

Mob Rules 10.20 – 10.50
Arguably one of best bands on the UK Hardcore scene at the moment, Leeds anger-fuelled Powerviolence at its best.

Ghold 11.20 – 12.00
With a heavy bass line and percussive drums, this sludge rock duo pay homage to the early days of Sludge with bands like the Melvins, Karp and Godheadsilo.

Capsule’s April playlist is now ready for you to enjoy and features artists performing in our fast approaching upcoming shows. Here’s a round-up of what we’ve got coming up prior to our calender biggie, Supersonic Festival. Scroll down for our playlist.

April 18th, Hare & Hounds (1 ticket gains you entry to watch 7 bands across 2 stages):

THE EX plus supports Health & Efficiency and Rattle (Stage 1). Stage 2 curated by Milque + Muhle features Ghold, Mob Rules, Sump and Bayonnebleeder. The Ex may have started as a punk band but their numerous collaborations and sonic explorations over a 30+ year career has seen them experiment with the exotic and unexpected, making their hefty musical back catalogue now difficult to confine to any one genre.

May 27th, Rainbow Warehouse:

Melt Banana plus supports Glatze and Thrilling Headgear. Melt Banana are a well respected Japanese noise rock band championed by the likes of John Peel who was an avid fan. The band incorporate elements of punk and psycho-pop into their fast and furious performances.

Tickets for both these events can be purchased at advance pricing here.

Liked that? For more tunes listen to our previous playlist. Tickets to either of these shows go here.

Image: Caffaknitted, Flikr

MELT BANANA return to Birmingham’s Rainbow Warehouse on May 27th. Don’t forget to pick up your advance price tickets from here, tickets will be more on the door.

Now those of you unfamiliar with Melt Banana might want to peruse the highly entertaining FAQ section of the band’s website here. We picked out a few Qs for the newly initiated:

Q. Who is MELT BANANA?

“Answer: Main factors of MELT-BANANA are YAKO, who is a singer of the band and write all lyrics and write some of the songs, and AGATA who plays the guitar and write most of the backtracks of the songs.”

Q. What type of music?

Q. Is Yako singing in Japanese?

Q: What is your motto/philosophy?

 
For tickets to see Melt Banana supported by Glatze & Thrilling Headgear go here. To learn more about the band visit Melt Banana Official

The stars have aligned once again to bring back a pairing we last saw together in 2009. Yes that’s right folks, GLATZE return to support the one and only MELT BANANA this May 27th at the Rainbow Warehouse, in what can only be described as sweet, sweet déjà vu. Back then this was the first time Sam Underwood (the musical man/loon behind Glatze) had performed at a Capsule event. Since then Sam’s been involved with numerous other Capsule events through his other projects which include Ore, MortonUnderwood &

also If Wet which will be brought along to Supersonic Festival this May.

We caught up with Sam to talk about his upcoming performance with Glatze. See our mini Q & A below. Tickets for this event can be purchased here.

5 years on, what’s it like knowing you’ll be back sharing the stage at a Capsule gig with Melt Banana all over again?

It means a lot to me. I have warm memories of my first encounter as an artist with Capsule and I have been a Melt Banana fan for many moons. Capsule have continued to support me since that day and I can’t wait to dust Glatze off for another outing alongside Melt Banana; for old times’ sake.

Sam, you’re a busy man…you build instruments (MortonUnderwood), play in Ore and also run your own monthly event, If Wet, which will be transported to Supersonic Festival later this May. How do you balance all of these different projects and where does Glatze fit in?

Off the back of my sabbatical I had all these amazing strands I could pursue. For a while I did just that; I just kept throwing them against the wall to see what stuck. That’s hard work though, as I was essentially saying YES to everything. Now I have a clearer idea of what aspects really appeal to me I have started saying NO to some stuff, in order to concentrate my efforts. This makes my life easier and my output more focussed. Glatze is quite distinct in all this, he just lurks on the side-lines waiting for fun opportunities to

play. He’s my light relief.

Image courtesy of Pete Ashton: Taken in 2009 during Glatze’s last performance alongside Melt Banana.

Who are some of your musical (or otherwise) influences?

Glatze is all about attention grabbing, energetic live performances so draws influences from the likes of Henry Rollins, Afrirampo, rave DJs such as Sy and Slipmatt, and of course Melt Banana!

How do you go about writing a song? Do you jam and figure stuff out that way or is the writing process much more structured?

As Glatze, my music always has half an eye on what the live aspects of it will be. It mainly starts with studio production, although tunes range from fully improvised pieces that are constructed entirely live to heavily produced dancefloor vibes with me just twatting about over the top!

What can people expect from Glatze live?

Glatze is older and wiser now so expect more madcap inventions and theatricalities than ever before, and the usual fun-at-all-costs mentality!

For tickets to see MELT BANANA plus GLATZE and THRILLING HEADGEAR go here.

The Ex are the cover stars of the latest issue of The Wire (April, 2014).

Pick up a copy and read about Daniel Spicer travels to Amsterdam to talk DIY survival strategies with the Dutch ethno-improv-punk collective.

Don’t forget you can catch The Ex right here in Birmingham at Hare & Hounds on April 18th for just £10 (adv.). That’s a bargain all by itself, but we’ve teamed up with Milque & Muhle to put on 6 more up and coming bands for you to check out too. That’s right, two stages, 7 bands, all for a tenner. Investigate the full line-up below. Tickets here.

THE EX

Formed back in 1979, Terrie (guitar), Sok (vocals), Geurt (drums), and René (bass) choose their instruments by drawing straws to decide who would play what, starting from scratch. The name was chosen based on the fact that it could be sprayed on a wall in two seconds flat! Since those early days the band have worked across so many musical styles and with so many artists that categorizing their sound to any one genre seems almost unfair . For more band history read here.

“They are the most interesting musical unit in the world today…Go and see the Ex and you will hear rhythms you have never heard before…a sweaty seething party, an uplifting, joyful celebration.” – The Quietus

RATTLE

If the idea of a band consisting of just 2 drummers brings to mind a hippy bongo nightmare then you’ve obviously never heard RATTLE. Comprising of 2 of Nottingham’s most unique and recognisable drummers (Theresa Wrigley of Fists and Katharine Brown of KOGUMAZA) and aided by Kogumaza’s Mark Spivey they create a hypnotic and danceable music form that recalls This Heat or ESG even whilst remaining completely their own.

HEALTH & EFFICIENCY

H&E thrive on an instinctive and experimental approach to the creation and composition of their music. Eschewing traditional songwriting and structural techniques in favour of a process of improvisation, editing, refinement and distillation of their sound working together as a democratic unit. Proponents of self-sufficiency and independence, their recordings to this point have been engineered and mixed by friends and more recently by the band themselves at their practice space, then released via the internet. Unhindered by a desire, or need, to be restricted to a specific genre, HEALTH & EFFICIENCY create a sound of unrestrained eclecticism.

GHOLD

Drums and bass sludge rock duo, GHOLD, have already gained recognition in their short time together, starting in 2012 in Brixton. With a heavy bass line and percussive drums, they pay homage to the early days of Sludge with bands like the Melvins, Karp and Godheadsilo. They’ve already got a

string of releases under their belt, which considering their 2 years together, is pretty impressive.

MOB RULES

‘Cesstone music to try the patience of the Hardcore’, MOB RULES are arguably one of best bands on the UK Hardcore scene at the moment, Leeds anger-fuelled Powerviolence at its best. Formed in 2008, this four-piece are practically Leeds’ answer to Black Flag; Largely influenced by the band, vocalist Thomas Campbell come up with MOB RULES as its said to be ‘Gregg Ginn’s seventh favourite Black Sabbath record’. Sticking to their guns for the last six years, these guys have very little internet presence, nevertheless they’ve gained a prominent presence on the scene in the UK, with an acclaimed reputation

SUMP

Formed in 2008, SUMP is a Yorkshire two-piece consisting of George Proctor (guitar) and Gareth Howells (drums and vocals). In the short time they’ve been together they’ve managed to release numerous 7″ splits and demos as well as cassettes on their own labels, Dead Tapes and Turgid Animal. SUMP is a glorious fusion of Black Metal and Punk, this isn’t the first time the two have come together, yet somehow SUMP achieve a unique and exciting sound.

BAYONNEBLEEDER

This will be the second show from local Hardcore outfit BAYONNEBLEEDER, who have spent over a year

refining their tight and rapid sound; They take influence from bands such as Rorschach, Septic Death and His Hero Is Gone. Originally one drummer, guitarist, bass and vocalist they’ve recently made the addition of a second guitarist, to reach their heaviest potential. Expect a short and intense set of 10 tracks lasting 20 minutes.

+ DJ SETS FROM LUKE YOUNGER & CHRIS BRESS

For tickets go here, you know you want to.