We are extremely proud to announce that Capsule have been appointed to curate the Library of Birmingham’s opening ‘Discovery’ season.

As producers we will produce a dynamic mix of events, activities and performances on the theme of Discovery. Capsule will programme events throughout the new Library, in its new and innovative spaces, and in Centenary Square and other city venues in the lead up to and after its opening on 3 September 2013.

Highlights of the opening season will be announced later this year.

Ian Ward, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, comments

‘We are really excited by what Capsule has to offer and impressed by its cohesive approach to working with the Library’s many partners, including The REP. Capsule’s understanding of audiences along with their creative thinking and energetic approach will result in an opening season that will be contemporary and forward-thinking whilst also celebrating the Library and the city’s past.’

Lisa Meyer, Capsule’s creative director, says

‘We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with the

Library of Birmingham, a flagship cultural hub in the city and assist it in meeting its aims and achieving its ambitions. Capsule’s reputation and experience for delivering high profile, artistically ambitious events to the highest quality make us well equipped as Producer for the Library of Birmingham’s opening season. The season will invite us all to discover the library as a building and its contents. With its dynamic architecture and multitude of facilities, the audience, will be encouraged to explore, learn and play within the space. The programme will be reflective of the wealth of creative and cultural talent from within the city whilst also playing host to exciting international works.’

Read more about the city’s new library via http://libraryblog.birmingham.gov.uk/ and http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/rewritingthebook

HARVEY MILK

Birmingham Hare And Hounds – 22nd May 2012

Review by Matthew Tilt

It’s a rare enough event to catch the incredible Harvey Milk live in the UK; to catch them on Harvey Milk Day is something that puts the average mind at the risk of exploding. It seems pointless discussing and debating what genre these Georgian boys fall into because in the live setting they fit neatly into some heavy, nasty and obscure corner of jazz.

You’re all looking at me now; wondering what the hell I took before I saw Harvey Milk but I assure I know what I’m talking about here. You see, escaping from the heat and into the top room of the Hare and Hounds I stumbled into the venue a little disorientated and I stood staring wide eyed at the three piece on stage, each riff creating a monolith of feedback that literally shook people in front of me.

The advantage of seeing the band literally working like cogs in front of you, is that you see where each song starts, and every time it started from the slightest thing and built up around this idea creating something that seemed simple, deceptively so because in reality it was something that carried a complexity that kept all three in time and in sync with each other.

Creston slips his inimitable voice into crevices and cracks

in the music; wailing like a shaman or crooning before he rocks out in sudden, almost improvisational blasts of good, solid classic rock. There’s no such thing as a perfect set, but it’s hard to think of a better one. Half the time they don’t even need to speak because the crowd stay transfixed throughout, only daring to move when the speakers roar with the openings of a new song, and never daring to disrespect something as rare and as beautifully ugly as a Harvey Milk performance.

Review from sonicshocks.com

We’re looking for a designer/illustrator to work on this year’s Supersonic Festival. We’re looking for a creative and innovative team or individual to create a brand new look and feel for the festival, helping us to celebrate the 10th anniversary of one of the most dynamic arts events in the world.

The deadline is looming – please send your expression of interest to us by 5pm on Wednesday 30th May by sending a covering letter, CV and links to examples of work to [email protected]. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to tender.

Read more about the position via http://www.supersonicfestival.com/info/jobs/

Saturday 26th May at Club PST, 71 Lombard St, Digbeth, Birmingham
What if science fiction had become fiction?
What if we’d moved to Mars?
What if robots lived amongst us?
What if we owned flying cars?

Prepare yourself for a night of cosmic wonders with Kismet at PST on the roof, as we take you into a future that never was.

The term retro-futurism  developed into a music scene predominantly in Birmingham, which included the bands Broadcast, Pram, Plone, Novak, Avrocar and Magnetophone (and most famously, outside of Birmingham, Stereolab and St Etienne).

With future hip-hop, 60s psych, psych-funk and electronica DJ sets, Kismet aims to delve deeper into the themes of retro-futurism.

Kismet are also delighted to announce that Mark ‘Mack’ Macdonald will be Djing in the main room, who will be bringing along some of his famous visuals.
Mack ran the renowned club Sensateria in Birmingham from 1984-1994. The 60s psych-themed events offered an alternative night out for non-strict-mods and non-strict-rockers in the 80s, and brought live performances from the likes of Spacemen 3.

Retro-Afro-Futurism is in conjunction with the ‘Something in the Water’ magazine launch, featuring an in depth article with Broadcast, Plone, Pram, Tele:Funken, Brian Duffy, Seeland, Stereolab and Mack (Sensateria) about the Birmingham underground movement.

DJ sets on the roof from:

Bobbalin’ Hot (Rea River Soul/psych funk, afro-funk)

Helix The Space Cat (future hip-hop)

Roscillator (electronica)

DJing in the main room and visuals from:

Mark ‘Mack’ MacDonald (Sensateria/Klub Catusi)

Entry £4

http://pst-club.co.uk/2012/05/24/sensateria/

Thanks to all who came out to the Hare & Hounds last night for Harvey Milk. It was as crushing and heart wrenching as we’d hoped. Thanks also to Einstellung who made a welcome live return. Sorry to those who were hoping to catch Grimpen Mire, they unfortunately had to pull out of the show due to illness.

Some snaps below:

Capsule first coaxed Harvey Milk to the UK back in 2006, and at that year’s Supersonic Festival they made their debut UK appearance. We feel that its risks and ambition like this that makes Supersonic such a special event – and we really need your support to help us continue this. So we’ve set up a We Fund campaign so that people are able to pledge extra support to the festival. Go to our We Fund page to find out more and check out this year’s festival line up on the Supersonic website.

Our next show is with Unsane and Big Business on Wednesday 4th July at Rainbow Warehouse. Tickets are available via https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk

Since announcing the initial line up for Supersonic Festival’s 10th birthday, early bird tickets have sold out (and in record time) and the event is really starting to take shape.

Supersonic now proudly announce an extremely special collaboration of the unique and unpredictable guitar pairing of the iconic Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth and Boston’s favourite free-noise guitarist Bill Nace. Together, they are known as BODY/HEAD.

So far they have only played a one off UK show, released a limited cassette on Ecstatic Peace and included a cover of ‘Fever’ for an Ultra Eczema compilation. Given the credentials of both musicians, Supersonic are confident that BODY/HEAD will deliver a mind-melting performance.

Tickets are available via https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk/

There are other ways you can support the festival. We have set up a We Fund campaign to help us to deliver the festival this year, allowing us to continue this ambitious event. We’d truly appreciate your support.

There will be another announcement to follow in a few short weeks with more acts joining this celebratory event.

http://www.supersonicfestival.com/
 

Supersonic Festival celebrates its 10^th year in 2012, and we are looking for your support to make it the best yet.

Capsule truly appreciate the support we receive from Supersonic Festival’s loyal audience. We wanted to acknowledge this by keeping Early Bird tickets at the same price, despite costs rising each year. Early Bird tickets remained at £70 for a weekend bursting at the seams with exciting music, performance, film, talks and more.

Due to recent cuts in public arts funding, we are increasingly looking for new ways to continue what we do. We have created a ‘We Fund’ campaign to allow people, if they are in the position to, to support us further by making a donation to the 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.

£20 or more pledge – Thank you for your support! You will receive a festival brochure, badge and personalised thank you letter.

£50 or more pledge – Thank you for your support! You will receive a festival brochure, badge and personalised thank you letter. As a further acknowledgement of your generous pledge we will invite you to a Supersonic Tea Party.

£150 or more pledge – Thank you for your support! You will receive a festival brochure, badge and personalised thank you letter. As a further acknowledgement of your generous pledge we will invite you to the Sonic Feast, join us and a number of performers for a special sound led dining experience.

£500 or more pledge – Just cos you can. Thank you for your support! You will receive a personal thanks in the festival brochure of which you will receive a copy, plus a badge and personalised thank you letter. You will also receive a token of Capsule’s sincere appreciation. Your generous pledge will help us to realise the festival this year.

Click through to the Supersonic Festival We Fund campaign

There are other ways you can support and enjoy the festival. Each year we recruit a number of volunteers to assist us in the delivery of Supersonic, where you can gain real insight into the running of a live event, and enjoy it! For more info go to http://www.supersonicfestival.com/info/volunteers/

Operations Manager  – Capsule – Birmingham – UK

Fixed Term Contract 12 months / 4 days a week

£25-£30k pro rata (dependent upon experience)

Preferred Start Date August 2012

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 14^th June 2012

This is a unique opportunity to join one of the UK’s most dynamic arts organisations.

Capsule are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic professional with a successful track record in project management. You must be proficient in all areas of logistics and financial management with specific experience of working within the cultural industries and have experience of advocacy, fundraising and networking at a national level.

With new projects on the horizon & 2012 being Supersonic Festival’s 10th Anniversary this is an extremely exciting time for a passionate individual to join Capsule’s team.

Salary will be within the range advertised, depending on skills and experience of the candidate. There will be a 6 month trial period, with a view to full time employment being offered at the end of the contract period.

Key areas of responsibility:

–       Daily operations management

–       Project management

–       Project logistics

–       Team management / recruitment

–       Fundraising

–       Finance management

–       Liaising with and managing project stakeholders

–       Report writing and project evaluation

Person Specifications

Essential

The successful candidate must;

Ÿ       Have demonstrable experience of project management /event co-ordination and managing staff  – at least 3 years experience but can be over freelance contracts.

Ÿ       Have experience of working on arts events or festivals

Ÿ       Have experience of financial management to include production and management of project budgets and cash flow, company accounts and bookkeeping procedure

Ÿ       Have experience of fundraising within the cultural sector

Ÿ       Proven ability to manage a range of personnel (freelance, employed, volunteers)

Ÿ       Knowledge of legislation, regulation and compliance in relation to HR, health and safety and governance.

Ÿ       Be computer and web-literate Have excellent communication skills – both spoken and written

Ÿ       Have imagination and the ability to work creatively

Ÿ       Be resourceful, level-headed and able to work under considerable pressure

Ÿ       Be passionate about creating exciting events which reach out to a range of audiences

Ÿ       Have the ability to work collaboratively with teams (internal and external)

Ÿ       Have the ability to be self motivated and also be able to motivate others

Ÿ       Must have the capacity to work long hours.

Desirable:

Ÿ       Driver with full / clean UK license and own car

Ÿ       Advanced IT skills including both creative and practical software applications

Ÿ       First aid trained

To apply please contact Capsule for an application pack:

Email: [email protected]

Or telephone 0121 248 2252

Applications must include current CV, completed application form and covering letter

Deadline: 5pm Thursday 14^th June