NPO funding

Last Wednesday the Arts Council announced their National Portfolio, unfortunately Capsule’s application was not successful.

This was the first time that Capsule had been invited to apply for such support through Arts Council, with the intention of supporting our year round program and underpinning the activity of the organisation. Our application was received very positively in the first round, however we were turned down in the second round and feedback was that due to the current financial landscape & competition we were not taken on.

Whilst the decision is of course extremely disappointing to us, it will not halt us in our dedication to conducting a first class, innovative programme of activity.

2011 is set to be an exciting year with the ground breaking Home of Metal project to be launched across the region in late June.

We’d like to thank our audience for their continued support and to say that we need you now more than ever, so watch this space for exciting announcements over the coming months!!

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Home of Metal At The Public

What a success! On Saturday 26th March Home of Metal filled The Public with Metal lovers in celebration of the region as the Home of Metal.

The mix of people was very eclectic, from old

To young! 

Juneau Projects’ offering of letting people create their own guitar from cardboard, which were then made PLAYABLE went down an absolute treat and many incredible creations were made.

The Public’s Saturday Art Club had to remain open past it’s 1 o’clock deadline due to such high demand! People of all ages enjoyed colouring in Black Sabbath and adding those special finishing touches to their guitars.

It was the same busy story with our memorabillia desk. We were (thankfully) over run with fantastic artefacts that will be gradually added to our online Archive, so keep your eyes peeled for some amazing new additions!

Johnny Doom compered the event interviewing both Rock Photographer Ian Harvey and the legend that is Krusher.

Other activities of the day included a blow up igloo in which Johnny Doom would give you a very metal interview, an amazing large display, which I can only describe using a picture:

This was courtesy of The Public’s education department. Finally, the ‘Animo’ where you could have your picture magically taken with giant bats, wolves, Ozzy and other Heavy Metal Images!

Renowned Photographer Steve Gerrard delivered an incredble fully booked up masterclass on the day as well as photographing our Band Photoshoot competition winners Action Replay. Take a look at Steve’s blog at some amazing pictures from the day.

We would like to thank all of you that attented and those that took part in creating the day for making it such a success!

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Home Of Metal comes to West Brom


Home of Metal hit West Brom last weekend – which included a number of large scale vinyls of fans portraits taken by photographer Steve Gerrard.

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RIP Elizabeth Taylor


Image taken from http://dachshundlove.blogspot.com/

RIP Elizabeth Taylor, the actor best known for her roles in Cleopatra, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and National Velvet died of heart failure aged 79

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Capsule recommends…

…another excellent event coming up at Flatpack Festival. This Thursday 25th March at IKON Eastside, Flatpack will be screening ‘We Don’t Care About Music Anyway’, a portrait of the Japanese experimental music scene with a performance from Sakamoto Hiromichi, an intriguing cellist who also uses voice, musical saw and an array of instruments to craft beautiful, and always surprising, pieces. I’m personally hugely excited, having discovered him through his collaborations with sound artist Haco.

Tickets are available here, and there will also be opportunities to donate to the Red Cross at the event in the wake of recent events in Japan.

Don’t forget on Saturday 26th March Home of Metal will be screening ‘In Bed with Chris Needham’ at IKON Eastside, tickets for that event are available here

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Arbouretum + Health & Efficiency + Tigernaut – TONIGHT!

ARBOURETUM
Arbouretum first began in late 2002 as a vehicle for singer/guitarist David Heumann’s songwriting. The sweeping, atmospheric textures of the first record soon gave way to a more visceral, elemental approach.  Amplifiers were turned up, drums were hit harder, and songs crescendoed into spiraling, noise-soaked climaxes on the second full-length, Rites of Uncovering.  Released on Thrill Jockey in early 2007, the record garnered much attention and critical acclaim.  XLR8R called it “the best doom-folk record of all time” and Uncut referred to it as an instant “cult classic”.

Arboretum’s 4th Album,’The Gathering’ was inspired by Carl Jung’s ‘The Red Book’, with the central metaphor of the song ‘The White Bird’ referring directly to the work. The album’s theme is one of loosing one’s way and finding it again, detailed by ellaborate allegorical imagery. Heumann’s lyrics take you on an adventure through conflict, redemption and revelation.

The Examiner stated that, ‘The attention to detail in recording and in writing, in concert with the performance, result in the other-worldly experience of The Gathering.’

http://www.myspace.com/arbouretum

HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY
The Band say of themselves: ‘Twelve feet strong with a head for dizzying heights, Health & Efficiency were raised by wolves in a forest. Leaving the pack and relocating to their practice space in historic Deritend, they experiment with sounds and music, surrounded by priceless works of contemporary art.’

Their music traverses an encyclopaedia of influences; psych, folk, no wave noise and electronic perhaps being some of the more predominant. They utilise banjo, two basses, two guitars, synths, samplers and more effects and loop pedals than it’s reasonable for one band to need.

Uniquely tuned guitars howl, chiming harmonics sing, drones and loops are punctuated by distant chanting and crisp syncopated drumbeats. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, always Health & Efficiency.

Free music download : http://music.healthandefficiency.net/

http://healthandefficiency.net/

TIGERNAUT
Tigernaut make instrumental rock music that combines delicate guitar melodies with serious riffs. Folk elements vie with math and jazz time signature changes and inviting soundscapes to make music that always drives forwards, but often hides pleasant surprises.
Spending years practicing in garages and bedrooms (in their words, ‘gathering momentum like New Labour circa 1994’), unable to afford the latest musical technology advertised in Guitar Monthly, Tigernaut were forced to fall back on music carefully written to engage the listener. They now have two delay pedals between them, but the habit has stuck.

http://www.myspace.com/tigernaut

http://tigernaut.wordpress.com/about/

To guarantee yourself a ticket, head to http://www.tickesellers.co.uk

OR pop down to either:
Swordfish – Temple Street, Birmingham
or
Polar Bear – York Road, Kings Heath

Doors will be at 8pm and we can’t wait to see you there!!

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Seefeel + Dead Fader + Epic45

SEEFEEL
Before the electro-infused indie and post-rock of today, there was Seefeel. They provided a bridge between the electronic nouveau and indie-rock; being ultimately instrumental in opening up the parallel reality of electronic music to the more adventurous members of the indie scene.
They released their first EPs and first album on the British independent label Too Pure in 1993. Seefeel’s music was stylistically situated at the intersection of dream pop/shoegaze and ambient techno/IDM. The band signed with electronic label Warp Records in 1994, after which point Seefeel’s music became much darker and more abstract.
In 2008 Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock relaunched Seefeel and were joined by Shigeru Ishihara (DJ Scotch Egg) and former Boredoms drummer Iida Kazuhisa (E-Da) who fill in the bass and percussive sections respectively.
Following the success of their comeback EP  Faults, Seefeel are proud to announce the true fruits of their recent labours. Seefeel, the band’s new LP and first full length since 1996’s (Ch-Vox).

http://www.myspace.com/seefeelmyspace

DEAD FADER
Rollin’, batterin’, FUBAR-steppin’, maxed-out, funky-ass bastards. That’s who Dead Fader are. Their hybrid of distorto-death grooves, limited-to-hell wonky-not-wonky productions, sound like Distance playing though Slayer’s back line.. On first impression it’s hardly a production sound you’d associate with the backdrop of Dead Fader’s home base, Brighton. This sounds more like it was born out of some grim industrial slum on lockdown, all pent up anger and a serious need to party hard; 2-step garage from a Hair Police state.
It’s playful but sick. Like a puppy with extremely sharp teeth’ –  Justin K Broadrick
http://www.myspace.com/deadfader

EPIC 45
Epic45’s acclaimed 2007 album May Your Heart Be The Map was a vivid exploration of the British countryside, tinted by childhood memories and the metamorphosis of the seasons, influenced by dramatic post-rock structures and warm acoustic folk. Last year’s mini album In All The Empty Houses explore the resonances of abandoned buildings; the ghosts of past lives and memories that inhabit them as they fall into dilapidation.

Tracing emotional reactions to shifting seasons, May Your Heart Be the Map did something new with old materials and gave the Black Country its very own Boards of Canada.” – Word Magazine, Best of the Noughties

http://www.epic45.com/

To guarantee yourself a ticket, head to http://www.tickesellers.co.uk

OR pop down to either:
Swordfish – Temple Street, Birmingham
or
Polar Bear – York Road, Kings Heath

Doors will be at 8pm and we can’t wait to see you there!!

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What better way to spend your day…

…than with Home of Metal?

If you’re around the Black Country, you may have seen Home of Metal splashed all over your buses, metro stations and more, all promoting our Heavy Metal dedicated day on Saturday 26th March.

We’re starting off at The Public, West Brom where we’re inviting Heavy Metal fans to bring along their memorabilia to add to our digital archive, anything from t-shirts, ticket stubs, fanzines and records are all invaluable to the project!

Johnny Doom will be hosting the event, interviewing cult metal hero Krusher (former ‘Raw Power’ presenter and Kerrang! art director) who will be talking about some of the Black Sabbath and Monsters of Rock artwork he has created.

Steve Gerrard will be giving a masterlass in music photography, showing you how to get the perfect live shot. Please note that this class is now full.

Steve has been an accredited photographer for bands such as Radiohead, Metallica, Kiss, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Iron Maiden, The Sex Pistols, Bon Jovi and Melvins. As part of the Home of Metal open day he will be giving one lucky unsigned band a free photoshoot!

We’ll also be screening the first and only Led Zeppelin feature film  ‘Song Remains the Same’ – along with (sometimes bizarre) dream sequences the film sees the band storm through ‘Stairway to Heaven’, ‘Black Dog’, ‘Heartbreaker’ and the rest, to thunderous effect.

Birmingham based artists Juneau Projects will be in attendance on the day to help you create your very own  electronic cardboard instrument. Use cardboard to build your own Telecaster or Flying V, drumkit, keyboard or invent your own instrument. Then add some simple electronics to trigger sound samples, take to the stage, dress up and play!

It’ll be a great day, and it’s all FREE – Home of Metal Open Day, The Public, 11am-4pm

And that’s not all as in the evening we’re hooking up with Flatpack Festival and The Quietus to bring you a very exciting screening of ‘In Bed with Chris Needham’ at IKON Eastside

“The plot: Chris Needham, a 17 year-old Thrash Metal fan from Loughbrough who has been absolutely lacerated by the puberty stick, is about to play his first gig with his band, Manslaughter. The problem is, they’re complete rammel. Between their first painful attempts to stand musically upright and their debut gig, Chris takes the time to defend Metal and Youth, unleashes torrents of adolescent venom upon the Green movement, ‘old bastards’, vegetarians, ‘Chart Music’, organised religion, teachers, and Neighbours, conducts a relationship with his girlfriend in excruciating silence, gets hassled by Mr Taggart and His Amazing Shirt, and goes fishing.”
– Al Needham, Leftlion

‘In Bed with Chris Needham’, IKON Eastside, 8.30pm, tickets from HERE

For up to date news and to contribute to the archive go to http://www.homeofmetal.com/

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