Previous Capsule zine cover by Matt Snowden

Capsule are currently putting together a zine about all things Supersonic and we’re looking for illustrators to contribute. If you’re interested, please contact [email protected] by 16th August and we can send you more details.

It’s that time of year again when things start hotting up on the Supersonic front. The wonderful Little Chris of Brumcast fame has lovingly put together a series of podcasts together for your listening pleasure. Here is the first Supersonic special – ENJOY!

There is a great piece in the Guardian today with an interview with yours truly entitled ‘Pop music’s mavericks: In the conformist age of Simon Cowell and the overhyped indie band, is there still room for the maverick in music?’

I encounter Supersonic organiser Lisa Meyer at Euston station on the way to a meeting. With her black hair and piercings, she doesn’t look like a typical festival mogul, and indeed Supersonic – which runs every October at Birmingham’s Custard Factory – is far from Reading or Glastonbury.

Last year’s bill included heavy dub and extreme metal bands, noise pioneers Swans, and local grindcore outfit Fukpig, who “terrified everybody in their wake”. Somehow, the revelation that Meyer was an art student whose degree project was a sculpture of her head made from blue cheese – “It looked like marble, from a distance” – is not surprising. She transferred this worldview into music, putting together a festival dedicated to celebrating extreme noise.

Like many great events, Supersonic came about by not so much ignoring the rules as not knowing them. Meyer and a friend had enjoyed small-scale all-dayers in Leeds and Nottingham, and wondered if they could host a much bigger version. So they started emailing their favourite bands, using the computer at an arts centre. “We didn’t know what we were doing,” Meyer says. “We’d get really excited if we went back the following week and someone had actually replied.” Perhaps intrigued by how innocent enthusiasm bypassed accepted channels, people did reply.

For the first Supersonic, in 2003, a barely known LCD Soundsystem played their first show outside London for £600, alongside Sleazy Christopherson’s influential Coil. It wasn’t plain sailing: after someone dived into the venue’s water feature and then ran on stage, dripping on the electronics, they were told they could be sued; another year brought a bomb scare. But gradually Supersonic has grown to attract a global audience.

“We’re not approaching bands who want to play V festival,” Meyer says, with huge understatement. The music at Supersonic is a mix of the popular but culty – Psychic TV, Mogwai – and challenging unknowns. The idea is that by appealing to minority tastes that aren’t catered for elsewhere, Supersonic can assemble a huge community for which like-minded bands will want to play. Battles are just one band who performed there when they were (fairly) unknown and returned when they were (fairly) famous. Meyer’s matter-of-fact enthusiasm lures – and pacifies – notoriously difficult artists. Psychic TV’s Genesis P-Orridge may have been called a “wrecker of civilisation” in the House of Commons and undergone feminising surgery in the name of art, but Meyer found him “lovely – like your favourite auntie”.

Read the full article written by Dave Simpson HERE
For more information and tickets for this years festival see HERE

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.

A 10 artist show at Umbrella Arts in New York opens on 23 June 2011, one of the featured photographers is Jamie Robinson. Jamie will be displaying artist portraits from Supersonic 2010.

Swans

Lichens

http://www.jwrobinson.co.uk/

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.

This year’s Supersonic Festival runs 21-23 October 2011 and there are two excellent opportunities to get involved as an intern. The festival is small enough for you to gain not just an overview of how the festival works, but to give real input and value.

I would definitely recommend the internship to any individuals seeking a fast paced, hands on internship which is hard work but also lots of fun

Laura Coult, Production intern 2009

Capsule have two internship opportunities:
1. Marketing/Communications
2. Artist Liaison/Production

As an intern you will be required to contribute at least 10 days between July to October, and then follow up report based work in November/December. You will receive valuable work experience and be credited as part of the core team that delivers Supersonic Festival.

To register your interest please send an email to: admin[at]capsule.org.uk and mark in the SUBJECT of the email either ‘Marketing/Communications internship’, or ‘Artist Liaison/Production internship’. On receipt we will send you an application form and further information on the role.

Deadline for completed applications is 3 June 2011
Interviews will be held Thursday 9 June 2011

Good luck!

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!