Not long to go til our late summer event with Sleepy Sun, they’re touring their new record ‘Spine Hits’ and are a must for fans of Dead Meadow and Jefferson Airplane.

“Sleepy Sun’s miles, months, and days in the van are a tangible presence in Spine Hits, an LP of whimsy, restlessness, and urgency that leaps nimbly from landscape to landscape with ease, irreverence, and a catch-em-before-they-ain’t changeling nature. Recorded under the big skies of the California high desert, the jams on Spine Hits are alternatingly precision whittled and moodily muscular.”

Support comes from Mustard Tiger, who describe themselves as “Toxic, Loud and Obnoxious” and a new band featuring ex members of Mothwasp and Stinky Wizzleteat.

They play the Hare & Hounds on Monday 10th September. Tickets are available via https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk

We’re very pleased to confirm that as well as performing with Bill Nace as Body/Head, Kim Gordon will be presenting her installation Reverse Karaoke at Supersonic Festival. This collaborative installation by Kim Gordon and Jutta Koether consists of a painted Yurt style tent housing a lo-fi rehearsal set-up with guitar, microphone, bass, and drums. The visitor is invited to play the instruments and record their own music along with a pre-recorded vocal track of Kim Gordon’s voice. The track is recorded live by a sound engineer who burns two CD copies of the track, while the visitor decorates two CD sleeves using materials in the gallery. One copy of the CD becomes part of the piece itself on display in a record box, and the other the visitor takes home. This installation will take place at Eastside Projects 19-21 October.

Another new highlight includes Modified Toy Orchestra , festival alumni who first performed in 2005 (some may remember the set that was cut short due to the bomb scare) and again in 2006. In 2012, Modified Toy Orchestra continue to explore the hidden potential and surplus value latent inside redundant technology; a process creating sophisticated new electronic instruments from abandoned children’s toys. The results of this process can be shockingly beautiful, funny and also extreme.

In partnership with Sound and Music, Supersonic present a half-day extended panel discussion exploring contexts for the presentation of sound works and performances and approaches to listening. Bringing together artists, academics and industry professionals Counting In: The Art of Listening is an opportunity for a discuss how artists and producers can best stage work, how audiences can be best encouraged to enjoy it and how we can all become better listeners. Participants in the panel discussion include artist Lucas Abela (aka Justice Yeldman), music writer Frances Morgan (deputy editor at The Wire Magazine), curator Irene Revell (Electra) and Dr.Simon Hall (composer, sound engineer and academic).

In-keeping with tradition, Supersonic proudly announce the Kid’s Gigs programme which will this year feature Flower/Corsano Duo and Islaja, the sole aim being to create big sounds with little people. Though really, this is fun for all the family!

Other programme additions include:

Grey Hairs – The kind of raucous grunge that can only be created by kids from the 90s

The Outcrowd’s Festival of the Rea – An exhibition exploring the lost myths and pagan rituals of Digbeth

Moonn – A haunting performance inspired by the Heavens Above, featuring Conny Prantera and Mark Wagner of Sunday Mourning

Wildman Life Drawing – A drop in drawing session featuring a semi tame Wildman

SOUNDkitchen – Electroacoustic composers perform in the Theatre Space

Scratch ‘n’ Phase – Come and destroy some CDs and needles in the name of noise in this sound work where you control the volume.

Blood Harvest – A collection of films looking at the wild stuff that happens way out on the back roads. Curated by Network Awesome.

Trash Humpers – Harmony Korine’s 2009 drama centred around an elderly cult in Nashville, Tennessee

Black Mass Rising – A lo fi experimental film exploring visions of the darkness, The Mystic, The Occult, The Religious and The Apocalypse.

Volunteers chopping lemons backstage in 2012 – one of the many and varied tasks to undertake over the weekend!

SUPERSONIC NEEDS YOU!

Capsule’s internationally renowned festival runs 19-21 October 2012 and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved as a volunteer.

We need a dedicated team of volunteers to help deliver Supersonic over the festival weekend (19-21 October) and also in the run up to the festival (early October onwards). We expect a minimum of 12 hours over the festival period in exchange for a weekend wristband.

The festival is small enough for everyone involved as a volunteer to gain an overview of how the festival works, and to give real input and value.

A regular Supersonic volunteer, Ross Cotton wrote this piece about the life working behind the scenes last year, have a look via http://domesticcity.posterous.com/

HOW TO APPLY:

Please click through to download the application form

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjucQi45lUQqdGpGYWp0YTZSZEpYUVFPUlpkTndBbEE

Completed application forms should be emailed to volunteer[at]capsule.org.uk by 5pm on Tuesday 25th September. Please mark in the subject line of the email VOLUNTEER. If you have any issues downloading the application form, contact volunteer[at]capsule.org.uk and we can email you a copy direct.

The first volunteer meeting will take place on Tuesday 2^nd October, 6.30pm at Custard Factory where you will be able to find out more about the festival and meet the team.

NB/ unfortunately we can only consider applicants who are 18 years old and over.

In advance of their very special Home Comfort Sound System tour, which comes to Birmingham’s Custard Factory Gallery on Wednesday 19th September, Matt Valentine and Erika Elder discuss their music and what we can can expect from this specially crafted tour, that will see them perform a unique audio visual set each night in response to their surroundings.

we’ve learned to be pretty ergonomic yet sonically expansive from all the touring stateside. since we last hit the UK terrain erika and i have expanded the repertoire considerably and go beyond what people might think is possible within our lil’ homestead, so be on the lookout for some new jams and some pretty major tonal surprises.

Read the full interview HERE

Tickets for the show, which swill also see a set from Health & Efficiency can be purchased from https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk/

Folks we have just 5 days left of our We Fund campaign with the aim of raising £5000, the campaign asks those of you, in the position to, to support us by making a donation to Supersonic Festival this year. Your donations will help us to continue to put together a highly ambitious festival programme, allowing us to take risks on emergent artists and unique collaborations. We are hoping our loyal audience can help us further our ambition for this unique event. We’re currently at 87% which is pretty remarkable but without reaching the full 100% we get none of the funds raised. So dig deep – every bit helps.

Thank yous include an invite to a very special 10th birthday tea party which will take place over the weekend of the festival, and will give you the opportunity to share some sweet treats and a nice glass of fizz to toast 10 years of adventurous music and meet with some of the artists performing at the festival.

In addition there are some limited places left for our Sonic Feast, a unique sound led dining experience, featuring bespoke and unusual concoctions to celebrate the festival’s 10th year in style. Produced by Companis,  a nomadic artist and curatorial practice creating bespoke dining experiences that immerse the diner in performance, food and spectacle.

Many thanks to the 63 generous folks that have already funded us – much appreciated.
FUND US HERE

The Wire have published a glowing review of our show with The Alif Ensemble feat. Khyam Allami at Ikon Gallery. It was a wonderful show, and great to continue working with Khyam and his varying projects.

Our next gig is with Sleepy Sun, perfect hazy late summer vibes, with support from Mustard Tiger and a band rising from the ashes of Mothwasp (we’re waiting on the new name!). Tickets are available via https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk/

Poster designed by Ben Javens

Just one of the bands we’re stupidly excited about playing Supersonic Festival is year is Goat. Afro heavy psych punk from a remote Swedish village? Gotta be good! You can read a review of their album ‘World Music’ on Norman Records

Everything is perfectly in place here from well-segued samples and the odd field recording to the breathless running order. It’s hit after flipping hit with this band, they’ve concocted an alarmingly poppy creation filled with nine all-too brief excursions into a voodoo world where Swedish psychedelia meets belting Afro-rock and parties like there’s no tomorrow. Please, like with all your favourite albums, play it ridiculously loud, then, undoubtedly, re-rewind and crank it up again till dawn and beyond. Goat are worth falling out with your neighbours for. Read the full review via http://www.normanrecords.com/records/135427-goat—world-music

And if you’re into your psych rock, you’ll have a fab time at Supersonic, with the likes of Carlton Melton, Six Organs of Admittance and Hookworms all planning to turn us all inside out.

Thank to all who came to Corsica Studios last Thursday for our second Supersonic Taster. It was a bass heavy line up of King Midas Sound, JK Flesh (Justin Broadrick) and Glatze who all tested the excellent sound system there to its very limits also to Corsica Studios and The Quietus.

Freq have posted up this review of the show

King Midas Sound take the stage through a haze of dry ice, pumping a wall of sound that makes even JK Flesh seem quiet, with bass that makes your trousers dance before your feet have even had a chance to move. The twin vocal performances of Roger Robinson and Kiko Hitomi, somehow melodic, strident and languid all at the same time, put a human edge on proceedings, while behind the desk Martin unleashes the robots. It’s heavy. REALLY heavy. Imagine a Mezzanine-era Massive Attack hiding themselves behind a wall of sound with the biggest, and most stoned reggae sound system you ever heard, only breaking cover to pop out every now and then to punch you in the face. It’s like that. And it’s the perfect pick-me-up after the relentless vitriol of JK Flesh; the two acts complement each other perfectly. It would appear Broadrick and Martin being in the same room is ALWAYS an awesome proposition, even if they’re not making noise at the same time as each other. Read the full review HERE

We hope these tasters have given you a good opportunity to check out some of the artists due to perform at the festival and other interesting musicians we’re working with. King Midas Sound’s Kevin Martin will perform at October’s festival as The Bug, Justin will return with his JK Flesh project and Sam ‘Glatze’ Underwood will perform as part of a new collaboration – Ore and KK Null.

The Supersonic Taster have formed an exciting extension of our 10th anniversary celebrations. Other 10th birthday events include a special Tea Party and the Sonic Feast, which act as a thank you to those who have supported the festival through our We Fund campaign. There’s only a few days left to support and secure a place at one of these events. Learn more via http://wefund.com/project/supersonic-festival-10th-anniversary/p27749/