Melt Banana will be with us in just over two weeks! They play May 27th at Rainbow Warehouse, Digbeth… get your advance tickets here.

With drum and bass sections now replaced by sequenced samples, the band’s live sound is more left-field than ever. There aren’t really any bands to compare Melt Banana to, that’s how unique, weird and, frankly, ‘out-there’ they are. The best we can do is attempt to describe their sound. Imagine Tommy-gun style drum beats, ear-piercing riffs and sound effects that range from the chaotic to the hyper-catchy. Ichirou Agata emits sounds from his guitar that seem to defy logic, whilst Yasuko Onuki’s energy and vocal style is something to observe in awe.

Get the idea? Well if not here’s some really recent footage of the Japanese noise-rock duo blasting through 8 songs in the space of  3 minutes!

Supporting Melt Banana are these local noisemakers:

Glatze  – 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!

Thrilling Headgear – Thrilling Headgear is all about libidinous acts of creation, getting hyped off of hype stoked off of stoke.

Buy Tickets

Melt Banana Official

Listen to MELT BANANA‘s quirky cover of Queen’s classic anthem ‘We Will Rock You‘. It starts off fairly normal, but things get distinctively more Melt Banana-like as the track progresses…

Japanoise at it’s best, don’t miss a rare opportunity to see Melt Banana play this May 27th at the Rainbow Warehouse in Digbeth.

“One of the primary misunderstandings that people who do not listen to extreme metal or punk frequently articulate is that extreme music must be angry and negative. ….  One of the coolest things about Melt-Banana is that the mirth, whimsy, and elation in their music is almost unmistakable, even to people who cannot wrap their minds around extreme music.”  – Benjamin Hedge Olson, PopMatters

Advance tickets are available now from here & will cost you less than on the door on the night. Support comes from THRILLING HEADGEAR and Sam Underwood’s ‘nutjob’ solo project GLATZE.

For more information about all of these acts and to sample tracks read our preview.

Tickets here

Capsule were invited to curate an exhibition for the Royal Shakespeare Company in response to the Roaring Girl Season, we worked with the Girls Who Draw, a group of female illustrators from across the UK. Inspired by the Swan Theatre production, they playfully explore the tradition of cross-dressing in theatre and how clothes are used to express identity, the exhibition is entitled ‘Who Wears The Trousers‘.

Here is a sneak peak from our install yesterday, a huge thanks to Nicola Salmon from the RSC who has been a dream to work with, as has the ever amazing Jo Weldon who has magically fabricated the moving structures and of course Karoline Reerie and Ruth Green from the GWD who have worked alongside Capsule to make the exhibition a reality.

Go and see it for yourself, the show opens on the 7 May till the 31 August and is free to the public.
Artists include – Anke Weckmann/Elle Donlon/Jane McGuinness/Karoline Rerrie/Kristyna Baczynski/Laura Kate Chapman/Mina Braun/Ruth Green

Kristyna Baczynski

Laura Kate Chapman

Anke Weckmann

photos by Karoline Reerie

John Peel described the Melt Banana live experience as “Simply one of the most extraordinary performances I have ever seen and ever heard … just mesmerizing, absolutely astonishing.”

Expect impossible to memorize lyrics, relentless tempos and one of a kind prog-core. Melt Banana are Tokyo’s twisted take on punk rock. Now a duo comprising Agata on guitar and singer Yako (who signature staccato vocal style makes the band the unique monster it is), Melt Banana will be bring their wildly fun, frenzied and unpredictable show to Birmingham this May 27th at the Rainbow Warehouse. Advance tickets here.

Joining them will be Brum’s Glatze and Thrilling Headgear.

Glatze “is all about attention grabbing, energetic live performances” says the man behind it all, Sam Underwood. Drawing influence from the likes of Henry Rollins, Afrirampo, rave DJs such as Sy and Slipmatt, and of course Melt Banana, expect madcap inventions and theatricalities with a fun-at-all-costs mentality!

Meanwhile Thrilling Headgear are set to rock out with their Spock out, compelling us to think about what we listen to and why. As guitarist Neil Bailey states “… music to me is story-telling. Influence is nothing without critical function. You have to think about why you like what you like.”  We honestly have no idea how this story will unfold, we just know it’s going to be rad… with Ex/current members of Stinky Wizzleteat/Mothertrucker/Opium Lord how could it not be.

For  more information about all 3 acts, sample tracks and Q&A’s go here, here & here! Our events page on Facebook can also be found here. See you at the show! Buy your ticket now, here.

“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!

Last Friday 18th was indeed ‘Good’. In fact we’d go so far as to say it was bleedin’ brilliant! A fantastic atmosphere across both rooms and incredible performances all round.  If you missed it, you missed out! The Ex played an uber-fun, high energy set which had everyone moving their feet. Spurred on by the crowd they played 3 encores! Health & Efficiency and Rattle also entertained and delighted, whilst over on stage 2 Bayonnebleeder, Sump, Mob Rules and Ghold brought ‘the heavy’.

Massive thanks to our co-hosts that night, Milque & Muhle, who programmed an amazing line-up (stage 2) which both complemented and contrasted with the other stage really well.  A diverse mix most definitely! So a huge a thank you to them, to all our performers and most of all to all you great folk who turned up to party with us. We hope you had as much fun as we did.

Here’s a few live pics from the night, thanks to our favourite photographer, Katja Ogrin with some amazing additional photos from Wayne Fox

The Ex

Health & Efficiency

 Rattle

Bayonnebleeder

Ghold

Mob Rules

Sump

Don’t forget to join us May 27th for Melt Banana + Glatze + Thrilling Headgear at Digbeth’s Rainbow Warehouse. The biggie of the year is also fast approaching: Supersonic Festival 2014 Ltd Edt hits May 30-31st  and features an almighty line-up including Swans, Wolf Eyes, Pharmakon, Sleaford Mods, Felix Kubin and many many more adventurous acts. This event was sold out but we have issued 200 more tickets thanks to us opening a second stage (yes, with even more acts!) so get in quick as half of these extra tickets have already disappeared! Tickets for all Capsule’s events can be purchased here.

Over and out!

Love, Capsule.

In just over a month Capsule welcomes back one of our favourite acts, the one and only Melt Banana who play Rainbow Warehouse on May 27th (Tickets here). Hailing from Tokyo, these Japanese noise-punk pioneers have been enthralling audiences worldwide with their own brand of ecstatic, pop-grindin’ rock. After a six year hiatus (partly due to the dreadful earthquake that hit Japan in 2011) the band are back touring with their latest album offering, Fetch. They’ve been missed and not just by us. It seems there are quite a few people with nice things to say…

“A band who have justifiably been championed across the world, Tokyo’s MELT-BANANA have been responsible for some of the most complex punk rock ever made…. that far outshines ninety-nine percent of most other bands out there. The band once described their live show as “Shooting machine gun and laser beam, chaos in order”. And I think that pretty much sums them up.” – Olli Siebelt, BBC

“MELT-BANANA are in a league of their own. There are other extreme hardcore bands out there who are experimental and unique but MELT-BANANA are more than that. They are giants amongst infants. Masters amongst pupils. Kings amongst serfs. Nobody can do what they do and nobody can adequately use words to describe them.”  -Jeb, Crass Menagerie

“That Melt-Banana is making some of the best music of their career—over 20 years into the band’s existence—speaks to the universal and transcendent quality of their noise. The landscape of media, society, and even the microcosm of noise rock has changed greatly, but Onuki and Agata have locked jaws on the diametric constants: energy versus agitation, phobia versus euphoria, and instant nostalgia versus the relentless pursuit of the upgrade.” -Jason Heller, Pitchfork.

If all that hasn’t managed to convince you to see Melt Banana for yourself, then it’s worth also noting that the legendary John Peel went as far as to describe them as “one of the world’s great bands”.

Also playing this night are local acts Glatze (Sam Underwood‘s alter ego) and Thrilling Headgear (formed from the ashes of Stinky Wizzleteat). Listen to tracks and find out more about these two artists in two recently conducted mini Q&As for Capsule:

Glatze Q&A

Thrilling Headgear Q&A

Tickets for Melt Banana + Glatze + Thrilling Headgear at the Rainbow Warehouse May 27th can be purchased here.

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.