Matt Watkins works in photography, light projection, motion graphics and animation. With Lucy McLauchlan he formed the Beat13 collective in his hometown of Birmingham to encourage the collaboration of artists and musicians and also worked extensively with Jamie Hewlett on his platinum-selling animated-band Gorillaz for 10 years.

In recent years he has been directing live performance visuals for stage projects such as Joy Division Reworked (with The Heritage Orchestra & Scanner) but with Mothwasp adopts a lo-tech philosophy utilising old projectors, modified instruments, homemade effects pedals and hand crafted visuals.

See Mothwasp perform as part of our Supersonic Festival presents series – with Ben Frost at Eastside Projects on Wed 12 Nov
Tickets from theticketsellers and Milque & Muhle

After completing his tour of the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Italy, Frost will be joined by Greg Fox (ex Liturgy) for a special performance at Birmingham’s Eastside Projects on 12 November and will include a  live AV set from Mothwasp.

Featured track Venter (AURORA, 2014) judders into life as a tightly woven, hypnotic industrial rhythm against the omnipresent hum of atmospheric guitar throb. Soon, these elements coalesce to form a huge, expansive ‘mechanical system’.

Aside from Frost’s two most recent solo albums – 2011’s Sólaris and this year’s AURORA, the interstitial performer has collaborated, amongst others, with Wayne McGregor and companies in the sphere of contemporary dance; with the directors of Australian drama films Sleeping Beauty and In Her Skin, and – most notably – with Brian Eno as part of the Rolex and Protégé Arts Initiative.

‘Ben Frost’s interests are vast, and that includes the way he approaches his music. For all this, his music is equally fascinating when you strip away the context and simply let the sounds he’s making overtake you.’ – Pitchfork

Tickets for the performance can be purchased either from theticketsellers or from Milque & Muhle

(This post was written by Poppy Twist who is currently on placement at Capsule HQ)

In advance of our Ben Frost show, which takes place on Wed 12 November at Eastside Projects, in Digbeth we’ve put together a selection of related tracks for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
Don’t forget tickets are available from theticketsellers.co.uk and from Milque & Muhle

Supersonic Festival and Milque & Muhle partner to bring you an explosive Xmas cocktail of aural delights and high-spirited performances across 2 rooms on Sat 13 Dec at the Hare & Hounds in Birmingham, advanced tickets from theticketsellers.co.uk and directly from Milque & Muhle at the Custard Factory.

with

Palehorse
Bludgeoning sludge rock from South London , now signed to Candlelight. expect heavy grooves, pounding drums and dual vocals.

Sly and the Family Drone
A primal orchestra of drum rhythms, radiophonic oscillator noise and electronically-abstracted vocals.

Lowest Form
Swirly nasty hardcore from one of britain’s finest ensembles, full length now out on iron lung records.

Ravioli Me Away
Ravioli Me Away are a dangerously ambitious and delusional all girl jazzy post punk, hip funk outfit from london.

Paddy Steer
Sounds like a Swiss cuckoo clock made of egg boxes and horsehair, glued together by an African Moog player in a Vietnamese iron monger’s shop.

Table Scraps
Local Garage Rock. Duo with guitar and stand up drumming with male/female vocals.

Rainbow Grave
Debut show formed from the ashes of Backwards (R.I.P) :’( – think Hate Sludge akin to  Stickmen with Rayguns/ Kilslug.

Advanced tickets from theticketsellers.co.uk and directly from Milque & Muhle at the Custard Factory.

Poster designed by the very talented Elle Donlon

We’re always on the look out for proactive and passionate folks to join us as a volunteer at Capsule, to help us deliver key events including Supersonic Festival and our year round programme.
If you’re interested please get in touch with [email protected] and we’ll put you on our database.

This month we have Poppy Twist doing a placement with us at Capsule HQ. Currently doing a Fine Art degree at Birmingham City University. Her practice utilises video installation to explore the links between identity and ambition in the regional music scene. Outside of education, she produces publications for a local media company and also drums and sings for DIY punk noise band Table Scraps.

Poppy is working with us to help produce and market the Ben Frost show which is taking place on 12 Nov at Eastside Projects.
Join our mailing list to find out about future internship opportunities which will be available early next year.

Sounding Out: Make it Happen is a symposium on the theme of fundraising.
Capsule’s Creative Director, Lisa Meyer will be joining a panel hosted by Sound and Music on Sat 8th Nov at the Custard Factory.

Ranging from practical tips for the writing of successful funding applications, to hearing from artists, producers and programmers about the changing landscape of arts funding and their own stories and thoughts about what works and what doesn’t.

Panel discussions will take place on the following themes:

• DIY approaches to fundraising/financing work (speakers include: Lisa Meyer – Capsule; Andy Abbott – musician/artist/writer, and Sam Underwood – sound artist and musicial instrument maker)
• Trust and Foundations (speakers include: Sarah Gee – Indigo Ltd and Adam Cooper – Head of Development at Sound and Music)

Chaired by Rich Whitelaw, Director of Programmes at Sound and Music

Tickets are available here
More info about the event see here

Capsule welcome to the team Sean O’Keeffe. After time spent in commercial graphics, fine art printmaking and production management Sean spent twenty years infecting the minds of young people while teaching art and design at Birmingham City University. Particularly interested in the places and spaces where creative disciplines intersect he has been making art and music throughout, most recently returning from Ritual Cvlt Festival in Barcelona where he performed with audio-visual project Giant Axe Field, a collaboration with drummer Simon Bailey. Sean joins the Capsule family as our Project Manager, to support us in delivering the 2014-15 programme which will include an integral role in shaping Supersonic Festival. In addition Sean will manage our intern and volunteer programme so do get in touch if you’re interested in volunteering. He is also part of a group of artists and architects working to develop the Birmingham Production Space, an exciting new proposal for a national centre for the production of art and design. He still dreams of being a stuntman.

Formerly of experimental black metal band Liturgy and a prolific collaborator and performer in his own right, Greg Fox will be playing alongside composer Ben Frost at Eastside Projects on 12 November as part of our Supersonic Presents series. In relentless pursuit of transcendental musical experiences, Fox’s rich and varied oeuvre includes Guardian Alien‘s 2012 ‘See the World Given to a One Love Entity’, a thirty-seven-minute psychedelic chant for the new era set to Fox’s fragmented, uninhibited drumming, and the three-piece incarnation of the avant-garde Zs’ 2013 ‘Wolf Government’, an exercise in exploring the very limits of free jazz drone which ‘made the floor shake’ at US community radio station CKUT. With a touring schedule that sees the drummer scale his way across Europe and New York City, Fox will join Frost in Birmingham with support from Mothwasp.
Tickets are available from theticketsellers or from Milque & Muhle based at the Custard Factory.