We’re really excited to announce that Paddy Steer has been confirmed to perform at The Grand Cross Fayre on Saturday 6th September in Hanford Park. Recorded, he produces a sometime cartoon-like music  dense with events, new textures and the colours of children’s paintings, 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.

PADDY STEER | Live at The Kazimier Jazz Club from Jack Whiteley on Vimeo.

In rejection of the notion of ‘immaculate reproduction’, live performances  are more daringly and admirably on the frontier of chaotic abstraction, expression and focussed blunder, dice rolling down the hill in case of duende, as from behind his stacked array of instruments, the anarchically intrepid punk gargles through a vocoder with his xylophone, all a-clatter under disco lights and doilies.

Paddy joins a line up that includes psychedelic sounds from Californian 4 piece White Manna, stunning 12 string acoustic maestro James Blackshaw and the delightful hypnotic rhythms of duo Rattle.

With a selection of workshops led by artist collective Juneau Projects and the dynamic, costumed Swoomptheeng. An array of Street food, vintage stalls and more to entertain!

Free – family friendly
Open from 12 with live performances from 1pm – 7.30pm

We’re delighted to be partnering with the amazing Supernormal Festival in Oxfordshire this weekend to present one of our Supersonic Kids Gigs. Performing at the Kids Gig are FLAMINGODS –

This Bahrain-born, Brixton-based troupe take African rhythms, repetitive grooves and a hedonistic sensibility to form a riot of sound and fury that’s both sonically adventurous and feverishly compelling. With po-faced muso tactics at a minimum and dancefloor frenzy to the fore, they bring a welcome and vibrant splash of day-glo to all or any proceedings.

Ever since Schoenberg and Kandinsky became pen pals back in 1907, avant-garde art and experimental music has been attempting to find some common ground. But, it’s not been easy. Here’s Capsule’s contribution towards a solution: Supersonic Kids Gigs ‘Big Sounds for Little People’. If you couldn’t guess from the snappy title, it’s a gig for kids and their families, which aims to introduce children to experimental music at an early age. Kids Gigs provide a fantastic opportunity to show children the beauty of live music.

Listen to Flamingods here http://flamingods.bandcamp.com/

Capsule have been invited to curate a festival of new music and performance as part of Appetite in Stoke-on-Trent. Appetite’s mission is to get more people in Stoke-on-Trent to experience and be inspired by the arts, working with a range of local and national artists and communities to deliver an expanding menu of artistic projects to develop the appetite for the arts.

The Grand Cross Fayre will be taking place on Saturday 6 September in Hanford Park and will include live performances from James Blackshaw, White Manna from California and Rattle to name but a few as well as workshops led by artist duo Juneau Projects and the costumed Swoomptheeng .
An array of Street food, vintage stalls and more to entertain!

The event is free and will be open from 12 – 7.30pm
More confirmed artists coming soon…

James Blackshaw – We Who Stole The Dream from esther may campbell on Vimeo.

General Manager
Capsule are seeking a highly organised and systematic individual with excellent communication skills and a successful track record in project management to join one of the UK’s most dynamic arts organisations.

Capsule is a Birmingham based arts organisation, we craft extraordinary cultural events for adventurous audiences. Capsule is a cultural alchemist: an innovative arts producer initiating, commissioning and producing multi disciplinary work, which includes festivals, events, artist development and partnerships with a range of organisations. Audiences are at the heart of our thinking. We champion extraordinary artists, working across artforms including digital culture and sound, ensuring many can enjoy them. Our work is of the highest quality, authentic and inclusive, our role as cultural developer – spotting as-yet unmet potential and building on it.

Capsule have a successful history of creating and producing projects including the groundbreaking heritage project Home Of Metal and one of the UK’s leading experimental arts festivals, Supersonic. In addition we deliver high profile work for clients which has included curating the cultural programme for the opening of Europe’s largest public library, exhibitions for the Royal Shakespeare Company and international work for UKTI.

You’ll work with the Director to deliver our flagship project Supersonic Festival, now in its 11th year, and  shape the year round programme.

You’ll have a successful track record in project management and fundraising, with hands-on experience of delivering complex arts events, a proven ability to manage budgets and cashflow, and the ability to lead small teams of staff.

Key areas of responsibility:
–       Running the Capsule office, including:
–       Team management / recruitment
–       Finance management
–      Servicing Board meetings
–       Project management, including:
–       Project logistics
–       Liaising with and managing project stakeholders
–       Report writing and project evaluation
–       Fundraising

Contract: Freelance for 12 months beginning in Oct 2014
Hours: Part time
Salary: £25 – £28k depending on experience
Deadline for applications is 22nd August 5pm.
To apply, please email info[at]capsule.org.uk to request an application pack, with General Manager in the subject line.

See https://www.capsule.org.uk/about/#recruitment for more details

The Song Remains The Same – When will Birmingham’s Music get its due respect Birmingham
Birmingham City University Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Capsule’s director Lisa Meyer will be a panelist at this event, joining Matt Everitt (BBC 6Music), Vix Vox (Vix and her MsChiefs and ex Fuzzbox) and music writer Pete Paphides (Guardian Music), which will be chaired by Prof. Paul Long (BCU School of Media), discussing Birmingham’s place in popular music, and whether the city and region gets the credit it deserves.

What do you think – When will Birmingham’s music get its due respect? Why is this question necessary? Is it?

VOTE HERE

We are delighted to have reached the finals of The National Lottery Awards for our Home of Metal project.  The Awards are an annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects, and they aim to celebrate and recognise the difference that those projects have made to people, places and communities all across the UK. VOTE HERE

Home of Metal is competing against six other projects for the title of Best Heritage Project. Home of Metal is up against – Cotton Famine Park, Mary Rose Museum, Moments in Time, Museum of Liverpool, The Restoration of Hackney Empire and St George’s Market.

After over 5 years of dreaming, planning, championing and charming, Capsule managed something quite extraordinary in the summer of 2011.  Music fans as well as gifted curators and producers, Capsule threw down the gauntlet to the region.  Where were the shrines to Heavy Metal? Loved the world over, Heavy Metal in its many forms had its roots in Birmingham and the Black Country.  But you wouldn’t know to visit it.  Nary a plaque, tour or tea towel marked one of the region’s most prolific cultural exports.  But Capsule changed all that.

Home of Metal is a celebration of the music that was born in the Black Country and Birmingham, and is a project created and produced by Capsule.

At last fans in Birmingham and the rest of the world had a chance to pay homage to the music and its industrial home.

–  Over 200 000 people attended events and activities as part of Home of Metal
–  The total economic activity for Home of Metal is estimated at £2.69 million
–  The PR value was over £1 million
–  Home of Metal events and activities had visitors from countries such as USA, Australia, The Philippines, South Africa, Canada, Egypt, India, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Iceland and Finland.
–  At least 80 volunteers were engaged in the exhibitions and events of Home of Metal
–  35% of all visitors to the exhibitions were visiting to the museum/gallery for the first time
–  92% of all respondents felt that their overall experience of the exhibition was either ‘very good’ or ‘good’.

Every vote counts, so we really appreciate your support!  We’ll keep you updated on our progress – thank you.

VOTE HERE

Supported by the legendary the one and only Mr. Tony Iommi

Remember “Home of Metal” exhibition back in 11? Well it’s up for an award so we need your votes now to make permanent http://t.co/HkTVYUPOwy

— Tony Iommi (@tonyiommi) June 28, 2014

We’ve pulled out just a small selection of items to show you from stockroom. All these bits and bobs are available to buy on our online shop, so have a look for yourself HERE. There’s plenty more where that came from!

Need some new music in your life? Then check out our edition of live recordings taken at previous Supersonic Festivals and issued on high quality heavyweight vinyl. Harvey Milk, Tweak Bird, Iron Lung, Capsule’s 10th Birthday 7″ and other items on CD…. these are VERY reasonably priced right now, so now’s the time to christen your deck with something new!

Thanks for all the support to those of you who’ve already gone shopping with us!

Visit the Capsule Shop

We’re delighted to be partnering with the amazing Sineater Festival in Shropshire to present one of our Supersonic Kids Gigs. Leading the Kids Gig is Woven Skull – think “minimal psychedelic repetitions made inside of haunted woods & burning bogs.” This will take place on the afternoon of Saturday 21st June. This is recommended for children under 10 and their families.
Tickets for the festival can be purchased from HERE

Ever since Schoenberg and Kandinsky became pen pals back in 1907, avant-garde art and experimental music has been attempting to find some common ground. But, it’s not been easy. Here’s Capsule’s contribution towards a solution: Supersonic Kids Gigs ‘Big Sounds for Little People’. If you couldn’t guess from the snappy title, it’s a gig for kids and their families, which aims to introduce children to experimental music at an early age. Kids Gigs provide a fantastic opportunity to show children the beauty of live music.

Woven Skull

Previous Supersonic Kids Gig with artist Sarah Kenchington at Symphony Hall, Birmingham