The powerhouse trio of Stephen O’Malley, Oren Ambarchi and Keiji Haino perform a very special show at CBSO Centre on Tuesday 9th July. This is going to be loud. Nazoranai are psychedelic avant doom from “three undisputed masters in their field”.

“…It was one of those ‘what now’ moments you never imagine happening, having been a fan/follower of Haino’s playing, concerts and recordings over the years. Five years later, somehow, we ended up as this trio. Haino, Oren and I were all in Holland for one reason or another and decided to try it. I played bass for the first time on stage with this group. Maybe it shows but the idea was a power trio backing up Haino-san, with a lot of amplification…It’s hard to describe the lessons through real-time communication in music with such a master of form, but needless to say, they were much different than what I was expecting and beyond! Proof again that expectations lead to dead ends. Was a most challenging experience in real-time music. I feel incredibly honored to be part of this trio.” —Stephen O’Malley

Listen to an album preview soundcloud.com/experimedia/nazoranai-nazoranai-album

Nicholas Bullen (Napalm Death, Scorn, Black Galaxy) will be launching his new record Component Fixations at this event, released on Type Records.

“Over 25 years since that first Napalm Death release, Bullen is primed to release his debut solo LP through Type*. Component Fixations will offer “tape manipulations, drones and noise” spread over three long-form tracks. The album promises a synthesis of Bullen’s influences, with a particular emphasis on the electronic pioneers of the 1960s. Intriguingly, all the sounds on the record were directly sourced from field recordings made around Bullen’s house and garden” Fact

Listen to the opening track soundcloud.com/_type/nicholas-bullen-element

Tickets are £15 and available via www.theticketsellers.co.uk

Got the June playlist for you nice and early  – enjoy the sounds of Deerhoof, Nicholas Bullen, Nazoranai and more.

The next Capsule event sees noise popsters Deerhoof play an intimate show at the Hare & Hounds, on Monday 24th June. They’ve not played in Birmingham since 2005 and it seems you’ve not forgotten them as tickets are selling fast. Joining the bill are two great, and very different Birmingham bands, Victor and Free School.

Free School will bring the sunny Balearic sounds of summer and the icy kosmische sounds of winter for some disconcerting dance music. Here they are opening Supersonic Festival’s 10th anniversary where Stool Pigeon enjoyed their “insidiously groovy, shiny pop-tinged approach”.

And this video was made for the release of their album Tender Administration on Tirk Records

There’s lots of videos and tracks to peruse at www.wearefreeschool.com and you can buy tickets for the event at www.theticketsellers.co.uk

On Wednesday 26th June Eric Isaacson of Mississippi Records will be at Vivid Projects in Digbeth showing us some very rare footage from the label’s archive as we as film footage from Alan Lomax’s North American music archives.

Mississippi Records is based in Portland, Oregon, operating as both an old style record store and a label digging up joyous albums, singles and unheard songs. They have managed to do this on a shoestring budget and distributing only through DIY avenues. Among it’s catalogue you can find Fred McDowell, Mahmoud Ahmed, Irma Thomas, Dog Faced Hermans, George “Bongo Joe” Coleman, Kleenex/Liliput, The Georgia Sea Island Singers, The Clean, Alamayahu Eshete, Dead Moon, Clara Rockmore, The Ex, Washington Phillips, Philip Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble, G.I. Gurdjieff, Marisa Anderson, Peter Buck and Michael Hurley and some killer compilations.

Many of Mississippi’s releases—especially those compilations—share a distinct design sensibility, with mysterious, slightly sloppy-looking collages, awkwardly handwritten text often appearing in place of type, and a near-total absence of promotional folderol. They also have the kinds of deluxe physical materials that have been almost totally absent from record manufacturing for decades.

Mississippi Records Tour Preview Film from plastic shaman on Vimeo.

David Hand has created some lovely limited edition screen prints of his super cool design for the Daniel Higgs show in black/gold or white/pink. Be warned, they are SUPER limited and shan’t be available for long. You can also buy screenprints from the Barn Owl show, in an equally lovely design. Snap one up for £20 via the shop

Thanks to everybody who came to the show last week. It was a lovely, intimate event with great performances from Daniel Higgs, the Horse Loom and Adam Beckley. We’ve been wanting to bring Daniel to Birmingham for a long time and it was a real honour to host him.

David Hand has created some lovely limited edition screen prints of his super cool design for this show in black/gold or white/pink. We’ll make them available online this week. You can also buy screenprints from the Barn Owl show, in an equally lovely design.

The next event sees Deerhoof return to Birmingham (it’s been ages!) with support from Free School and Victor on Monday 24th June. Tickets are selling fast so get yours from www.theticketsellers.co.uk

We’ve got two great acts to add to the bill for Deerhoof on 24th June, quite contrasting, but we like to mix up our events!

Free School are an amazing Birmingham act making a real impact on the UK electronica scene, taking retro futurist disco as a starting point, they kicked off Supersonic 2012 nicely.
“Bringing the sunny Balearic sounds of summer and the icy kosmische sounds of winter to a venue near you, Free School are maximalist and minimalist all at once. But in a good way.”
www.wearefreeschool.com

VICTOR are fairly new on the local scene, a noise quintet with a ” post-rock sound verging on grunge, subsequently creating a wall of noise that will make you deafer than your nan” Counteract Magazine
www.facebook.com/victortheverbose

Monday 24th June
Deerhoof + Free School + Victor
Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

Tickets are available for £10 adv via www.theticketsellers.co.uk

Sarah has been busily exploring the collections at Winterbourne and Lapworth Museum of Geology over the last few months, making new work inspired by the botanic and fossil collections. Here is her first update on the residency, with some amazing images.

“The Lapworth collection is home to hundreds of fossils, maps and geological items, whilst the arts and crafts era Winterbourne House houses, amongst many other living libraries, a rare collection of succulents as well as display glasshouses containing plants from all over the world. It also features an original letter printing press which can be used by visitors.

Using techniques relevant to archeology and the arts and crafts movement – casting and printmaking (screen, letterpress and photoengraving) I have been gathering images and objects that focus on the textures of the fossils and plants to make my own ‘collection’ based on pattern, texture and the similar designs of the minerals and flora.

This collection will take shape as a set of records formed not by cutting or pressing but by casting images into resin which, which when played on a record player will provide a multitude of different sonic textures, beats and drones that will serve as a sonic archive of the objects and will be used to create a new sonic work.  Following the notion of collections, a series of poster prints and printed record sleeves will accompany the discs.”

Read more about Sarah’s previous work via www.sarahmfarmer.co.uk
Capsule are producing this artist residency in partnership with University of Birmingham.