So folks as you know by now Capsule will be celebrating our 10th birthday in December and as part of a month long celebration we’re moving into Vivid, an art space in Digbeth. Not only will we be hosting a series of live shows with the likes of Lightning Bolt, Monotonix and Beak> alongside some of our favourite Brummies – we’re also producing an exhibition which delves deep into our archive. This will feature 10 years worth of flyers, photos and related ephemera.

WE NEED YOU!
Which comes onto our call out – if you have any photos from past shows or video footage, sound recordings, related stories, memories, reviews, blog posts  please get in touch – all contributions will be included in our exhibition.
Get in touch directly – info[at]capsule.org.uk

or if you have a comment/story or memory of fav show to add you can leave something in the comments on this blog post.

Matt Snowden aka one half of Esquilax and the brains behind the Dream Dreams The Dreamer Orkestra popped by last week with a box full of treasures which included loads of old Capsule flyers and photos he’d taken at past gigs. It sure brought back a load of good memories for us.

This photo was taken at an Oxes show in 2001 at the Jug Of Ale – it was a rather sweaty & raucous night to say the least.
Here is one of Lightning Bolt from 2004 when they played in what is now the theatre space at the Custard Factory – again this was one of those unforgettable shows.

Summed up perfectly by Kris from Ideal Skate shop
“Sat at home on a Monday night 6 years ago I got a call recommending that I come to the Custard Factory to see this band that I had not heard of and an hour later I was in the most amazing sonic maelstrom. This was the first time I saw Lightning Bolt.
It was the best chance i ever took…..
Thank you Capsule.
I owe you…xxx”

Dig deep and hunt out those old photos or just send us a comment – all contributions gratefully received – there may even be prizes!!!

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.

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

We have some pretty amazing shows in the lead up to Supersonic Festival, which include a welcome return of Japanese band Melt Banana, who sweat out a super-adrenalized, maxi-caffeinated collision of frenzied drum rhythms and torturous guitar squeals they are joined by a special performance by  Lash Frenzy (members of Einstellung) Vs Mort and circuit-bender extraordinaire Glatze – this show takes place at the Rainbow Warehouse in Digbeth.

Melt Banana

Followed by the first ever Sublime Frequencies tour with Group Doueh (from the Western Sahara) and Omar Souleyman (from Syria) plus Sublime Frequencies DJ set and on certain dates Sublime Frequencies film screenings – this will be a truely unique evening taking place at the Hare & Hounds – not to be missed!

On the 23rd of May Capsule will be taking over Vivid, an arts venue located in deepest darkest Digbeth. Bring ear plugs its going to be a loud one with live performances by  one man noise outfit Prurient playing in collaboration with Cold Cave (members of -Some Girls, Give Up The Ghost, Xiu Xiu), with support from rowdy locals Beestung Lips, Nicholas Bullen & Iron Fist Of The Sun.

Then to round off May we invite back silver clad doom disco divas Chrome Hoof who were one of the highlights of Supersonic 07, for those of you not familiar with these guys think Grace Jones meets Sabbath with a little Sun Ra for good measure!

to follow info our June shows…coming soon
Tickets for all the above shows can be purchased from www.theticketsellers.co.uk
Polar Bear on York Road in Kings Heath + Swordfish in Birmingham city centre

We have just confirmed a slew of aural delights for your listening & viewing pleasure over the coming months. The very talented artist/illustrator (best known for his designs for Static Caravan recordings) Ben Javens has created some quite extraordinary posters for us. Its well worth checking out his blog and shop to sample more of his work.

First off on Friday 30th of Jan – WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, an eco Black Metal band of the darkest and most ferocious kind, support comes in the form of the mighty Welsh trio TAINT and ex Doom/Police Bastard and featuring Brummie of the Year, Johnny Dooms band HAXAN – this will take place on Friday 30th of Jan at The Dragon Bar, located on Digbeth High Street. (+ a plug for House Of Gods 16th Birthday at the Rainbow Warehouse which takes place on the same night with the dark lords PCM live from 10pm – 6am)

Then in Capsule style we have a special event for Friday the 13th of Feb with a headline show by Birmingham’s PRAM, visuals by Filmficciones, support from Jagjaguwar (home to Bon Iver + Black Mountain) latest signing WOMEN, this is on  Friday 13th of Feb at the Hare & Hounds.

Later that month, a very rare live collaboration between drummer extraordinaire CHRIS CORSANO and the legendary jazz Sax player PAUL DUNMALL, with support from THEO aka Sam Knight, the solo guitar/drums act which blew audiences away when he performed last year for Capsule.
Advance tickets for these shows are available from www.theticketsellers.co.uk, and we’ve introduced an e-ticket which means a minimal booking fee for you. Tickets are also available from Swordfish in Birmingham city centre and Polar Bear on York Road in Kings Heath.

Tickets are also on sale for American folk band VETIVER and in time to celebrate their 10th anniversary MONO from Japan will be performing in Birmingham in March.

Murcof interview

We only have 3 shows left for 2008. To begin the countdown this Sunday we have esteemed Mexican electronic composer MURCOF, accompanied by live strings performing at the Hare & Hounds, support comes from Oren Marshall,  a pioneering player of acoustic and electric tuba who, crossing between classical – jazz – improvised- world music, has collaborated with the likes of Derek Bailey, Keith Tippet, the Pan-African Orchestra and the London Philharmonic. This tour has been commissioned by the CMN.

Followed on Thursday by Domino Records’ CLINIC performing in collaboration with renowned animator Clemens Habicht, famous for his work with Franz Ferdinand and many others. This takes place at the Factory Club at the Custard Factory.

Then sadly it will be our last Capsule gig of the year on the following Sunday and we wanted it to be a raucous affair, so come and get your fix of balls-out riff-heavy fun provided by RACEBANNON from Indianapolis with support from Casio-grindcore trio TRENCHER and who knows what to expect with DREAM DREAMS THE DREAMER. This takes place at the Hare & Hounds.

Trencher -‘Mouth to Anus’

Tickets for all three shows are available from  ticketweb
Polar Bear – Kings Heath or Swordfish in the city centre

Tickets are now on sale for a host of new and exciting shows we have coming up at Capsule.
Just confirmed a new signing to Constellation Records ( home to GYBE! and A Silver Mnt Zion) are Seattle based The Dead Science with support from Worcester based Theo who will be performing at the Hare & Hounds on the 5th of Nov.

Another treat on the horizon is Racebannon, a genre-defying avant hardcore punk band from Indianapolis who formed in 1996. They begun as a screamo band on Witching Hour Records and have now evolved to produce bone crushing riffs and manic vocals, a kin to Melt Banana. Support for this comes from Dream Dreams The Dreamer (aka Matt from Esquilax who we should add is a wonderful illustrator and has designed covers for Gallows to name but a few) and the infamous casio-grind trio, Trencher. It should be noted that Lyam from Trencher is himself a talented artist and a member of Drumize along with DJ Scotch Egg, who performed at Supersonic 08.
Check out this amazing video by Trencher, it will melt your mind!

for the following Capsule shows which include:

Wednesday 17th September 2008
Pelican + Torche
@ The Factory Club
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk

Florida’s TORCHE, who have risen from the ashes of beloved FLOOR + CAVITY, joined by heavy duty cinematic soundscapes by PELICAN.

and then for something a little more mellow…
Tuesday 23rd September 2008
APPROXIMATELY INFINITE UNIVERSE – A CARAVAN OF RAW SOUND MAGIC FROM FINLAND AND THE US
Kemialliset Ystavat & Axolotl + Es & Fursaxa + Islaja, Blevin Blectrum & Samara Lubelski + Dream Triangle
@ The Hare & Hounds . Kings Heath
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk

Each performance a unique and brand new collaboration, each of the acts features a combination of Finnish artists from FONAL, who have invited a US counterpart to collaborate on a composition, highlighting the parallels in strands of the recent evolving trend of ‘weird/avant folk’ between the US West coast and Finland’s northern communities.

Friday 24th October 2008
Oxes + Beestung Lips + Bilge Pump
@ The Hare & Hounds . Kings Heath
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk

“Eardrum-shattering, technically awesome math rock; listen and become the coolest outcast at your school.” A welcome return to Birmingham for this infamous trio, unleash the chaos as they wander amoungst the audience with their guitars!

Sunday 16th November 2008
Murcof with live strings
Oren Marshall
@ The Hare & Hounds . Kings Heath
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk

Esteemed Mexican electronic composer with live strings in a synchronised visual environment.

Feel free to spread the word, more info about each of the bands in the coming up section of the website.