We are trying to keep up with technology by signing up to Twitter, feel free to follow us with all the latest news to do with Supersonic Festival and of course if Frank ( the puppy dog) does anything amazing like looking cuter than normal. http://twitter.com/supersonicfest
Twitter illustration by Ben Javens, part of his bird and pattern series. Cute dog courtesy of Frank (Capsule head of security)
First ever Supersonic Festival design by CHU
Walsall born artist, CHU ( famous for his ‘Your Mum Rang’ sticker campaign) has produced a three colour signed screen print, limited to an edition of 50, 500mm x 700mm on archival acid-free, bright white Bread & Butter 270gsm.
They’ll be available from the Dreweatts collections during February, further details here.
Designed for Supersonic Festival 2003 which saw live performances from Coil, V/VM, LCD Sound System and The Bug amongst a host of other fine acts. Brings back happy naive memories of building a stage over the ‘lake’ at the Custard Factory, until we realised we could have electrocuted the entire audience, happy days.
Supersonic Festival 2003 over water
SUPERSONIC 2009 24TH – 26TH July Birmingham UK
Crafting extraordinary events for adventurous audiences combining music, art, film & cake.
“Of this welter of well organised, wisely curated festivals (ATP, Faster Than Sound, Sonar, Greenman) perhaps the best organised and most wisely curated was Supersonic. Plotted by Birmingham promoters Capsule, 2007’s Supersonic inhabited the nexus where metal, folk and noise met.” Plan B Magazine
“Supersonic, in our opinion the best festival in the world right now”
Rock-A-Rolla Magazine
”AS British music festivals go, Birmingham’s annual Supersonic event is the best kind of mixed musical bag, a dizzying assortment of avant rock textures and Heavy Metal thunder on a bill which swings from the sublime to the ridiculous without once seeming ostentatiously eclectic.” The Wire
We are pleased to announce the first confirmations – including HEAD OF DAVID who bring their driving bombast to proceedings for the first time in 23 years – for this year’s festival, which will take place in Birmingham on 24TH – 26TH of July 2009.
Now in it’s 7th year, the event will once again take place at the Custard Factory utilising the many rooms for music, art, film & of course cake.
Additional confirmations will follow in the upcoming weeks, but the line-up is shaping up to be another extravaganza – the rather incredible former Swan, JARBOE; the expansive drone-noise of GROWING; Brighton’s prog adventure, DIAGONAL; the wild avant futuristic jazz of ZU; the stoned pysch of EARTHLESS, the Virginian sludge rock of PONTIAK, the industrial experiments of 65 DAYS OF STATIC, the immense duo that is FLOWER/CORSANO DUO, KHYAM ALLAMI and one of the finest folk vocalists NANCY WALLACE will be featured in the line-up, once again highlighting the highly eclectic booking policy of the festival.
Initial line up :
Head Of David/ 65 Days of Static / Berg Sans Nipple / Caribou / Cave/ Chris Herbert / Diagonal / Earthless /Flower & Corsano Duo / Genghis Tron / Growing / Jarboe / Khyam Allami / Master Musicians Of Bukake/ Nancy Wallace / Pontiak / PRE / Theo / Venetian Snares /Zu / ZzZ’s
Many more to be announced over the coming months
Tickets go on sale early April
https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk/
For hotel deals and to volunteer check
www.capsule.org.uk/supersonic
A piece written by Plan B Magazines editor Louis Patterson on the Guardian Blog about the Home Of Metal project. It seems has stirred quite a debate, though some people have clearly missed the point of the article which is not saying that Birmingham isn’t a musical city but rather we haven’t marketed ourselves as such despite our rich musical heritage.
“Some cities are music cities: they have music in their DNA. Think of Manchester as you stroll along and see if you don’t get a hint of swagger in your step, your legs encased in a pair of voluminous corduroys as She Bangs the Drums filters down from some passing cloud.
Birmingham, however, is not a music city. That’s not to say it has no history of music. Indeed, from 1970s rock giants Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, through to later, less well-known but hugely influential outfits such as Napalm Death and Godflesh, the city has a history of music to all but rival Manchester. Yet, though Sabbath and Priest were certainly big bands, they were never Brummie bands, at least not in the way the Smiths or Oasis became synonymous with Manchester. Why?”
Read more here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/feb/05/birmingham-rock-metal
This is one of the comments from the article:
“This may come as something of a shock, but Black Sabbath are a 100 times more influential than The Smiths or Joy Division ever will be. I live in the US and they are feted as gods by folks here…It’s a bloody inspired place.”
Saturday 7th of Feb
Waterhall Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
11am – 4pm
Free event
11am – Doors open
Kerrang! Radio DJ in conversation with:
11.30 am – Pete Turvey
http://www.rockinamoeba.co.uk/
Grew up in the mid/late seventies Birmingham metal scene. Lots of memories and memorabilia.
12.30 – Mike Clement
Mike Clement – “fell” into the rock and roll industry in the mid seventies whilst still at college in Manchester. Mike became a lighting designer working with a diverse range of artists in the late 70’s including Roy Harper, UK Subs, Wah Heat.
After a drunken encounter with an old friend, Ian Wilson from Sad Café, at local watering hole Mulberries, he was persuaded to take a new career direction looking after backline, taking up the challenge he spent the next 4 years working with Motorhead, looking after Lemmy and Wurzel for his sins! Early 1990 he got a call to be guitar tech for Sabbath and has been there ever since…”
1.00pm Chris Phipps – Music Archivist
Chris Phipps is a Birmingham born documentary maker, archivist and music historian. His credits include ‘Motor City Music Years’, profiling the rock history of the West Midlands, the definitive ‘Bob Marley – Time Will Tell’ biopic, an award winning history of North England rock ‘North Stars’ and countless Top 100 TV formats. As journalist, radio and TV producer he has tracked the evolution of blues-rock, metal and the NWOBHM for over 3 decades.
As an archivist he has worked closely with director Dick Carruthers on ‘Metal–Louder Than Life’ DVD and sell out ‘Zeppelin at 40’ shows all over the UK.
He was also the assistant producer of Channel 4’s controversial music show The Tube. Enabling TV debuts to bands ranging from Fine Young Cannibals to Twisted Sister.
Followed by a screening of Motor City Music Years
4pm Museum closes
6pm – till late Drinks at Scruffy Murphys
Just in time for our next Home Of Metal event which is due to take place in the Waterhall Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery on Saturday 7th of Feb 11am – 4pm, a short taster film put together from our previous open days at Wolverhampton Art Gallery as part of Hello Digital (1000 in attendance) followed by an evening event at New Art Gallery Walsall with a special live performance by Einstellung.
Special guests for Saturday 7th will include music archivist Chris Phipps, producer of the documentary Motor City Music Years, and assistant producer of The Tube. He will be in conversation with Johnny Doom at 1pm, followed by a screening of his documentary which profiled the rock history of the West Midlands.
Photographer Barry Lewis will also be at the museum taking photographs of Metal fans for the Guardian Saturday Magazine – some of you may remember him from his White Tent project which he set up with Rhubarb Rhubarb in the Bull Ring.
The film was created by Ella Turner, Matt Taylor and Martin Poyntz-Roberts and of course the project could not happen with out the hard work of the our volunteers.
The legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, whom we had the honor of meeting and interviewing at the end of last year when he was given a walk of stars, has kindly agreed to loan us one of his custom guitars for our next Home Of Metal event and also has given us his full support for the project.
“I’m really proud to be a Brummie and to call Birmingham my home, that’s why I’m supporting the Home of Metal events and message. Your surroundings and experiences influence your music so it’s important for people to know where that music came from!“
The next Home of Metal Open day takes place on Saturday 7th of Feb at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in Waterhall, 11am – 4pm.
Fans are encouraged to bring along related memorabilia, photos and stories to be recorded and digitised to add to the archive. Its a free event all are welcome.
Above photo of Tony Iommi taken by Steve Gerrard, whose photos of Metal fans will also be on display on the 7th of Feb.
We have just confirmed a slew of aural delights for your listening & viewing pleasure over the coming months. The very talented artist/illustrator (best known for his designs for Static Caravan recordings) Ben Javens has created some quite extraordinary posters for us. Its well worth checking out his blog and shop to sample more of his work.
First off on Friday 30th of Jan – WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, an eco Black Metal band of the darkest and most ferocious kind, support comes in the form of the mighty Welsh trio TAINT and ex Doom/Police Bastard and featuring Brummie of the Year, Johnny Dooms band HAXAN – this will take place on Friday 30th of Jan at The Dragon Bar, located on Digbeth High Street. (+ a plug for House Of Gods 16th Birthday at the Rainbow Warehouse which takes place on the same night with the dark lords PCM live from 10pm – 6am)
Then in Capsule style we have a special event for Friday the 13th of Feb with a headline show by Birmingham’s PRAM, visuals by Filmficciones, support from Jagjaguwar (home to Bon Iver + Black Mountain) latest signing WOMEN, this is on Friday 13th of Feb at the Hare & Hounds.
Later that month, a very rare live collaboration between drummer extraordinaire CHRIS CORSANO and the legendary jazz Sax player PAUL DUNMALL, with support from THEO aka Sam Knight, the solo guitar/drums act which blew audiences away when he performed last year for Capsule.
Advance tickets for these shows are available from www.theticketsellers.co.uk, and we’ve introduced an e-ticket which means a minimal booking fee for you. Tickets are also available from Swordfish in Birmingham city centre and Polar Bear on York Road in Kings Heath.
Tickets are also on sale for American folk band VETIVER and in time to celebrate their 10th anniversary MONO from Japan will be performing in Birmingham in March.