GUIDE & PLAYLIST: Supersonic Festival 2023

Event: Supersonic Festival

Where: Digbeth, Birmingham, UK

When: 1st – 3rd September 2023

Ticket Info:
Weekend ticket: £160.00 / Day tickets: £40.00

Full info about other ticket options available here

General Info:
To mark 20 years since its inception, Supersonic Festival have put together another exciting programme of alternative music and events for their 2023 line-up. Described as “championing experimental and adventurous music and creating an inclusive and joyful space where all are welcome,” the team have organised three days of art and events for festival-goers to immerse themselves in.

Alongside the music line-up (which you can read more about below), Supersonic have a vast selection of extracurricular activities to get involved in. There will be workshops, guest DJs and Do.om Yoga, as well as a roof-top takeover by Decolonise Fest (a DIY collective organised by and for punx of colour). BBC Radio 6 Music’s flagship experimental show Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone will be in attendance, with a pub quiz hosted by Stuart, plus there will be film screenings from labels including Ipecac, The Flenser, Thrill Jockey and Constellation Records.

There will also be ‘In Conversation’ events with Eugene S. Robinson of Oxbow on his book A Walk Across Dirty Water and Straight Into Murderer’s Row: A Memoir, and with John Robb on his book The Art Of Darkness: The History of Goth. Finally, Supersonic will be hosting exhibitions of artwork by Black Lodge Press in collaboration with Dog Section Press, and by skateboarder and artist Richard “French” Sayer celebrating the Home of Metal, and a special celebratory display in response to the festival’s archive by artist and designer David Hand and friends.

 

Who’s Playing: Check out the full line-up here

There are so many excellent bands playing Supersonic this year, it’s hard to pick favourites! At Get In Her Ears, we focus on female, non-binary and LGBTQ+ talent, so beneath the official line-up poster below, there are some in depth recommendations about artists who we think you should check out.

You can get to know them all better by listening to our accompanying Spotify Playlist at the end of this feature too.

 

DIVIDE AND DISSOLVE

The gargantuan-yet-graceful sounds of this heavy duo will definitely be a festival highlight on Saturday night. Their doom-ridden instrumentals are designed to erode the foundations of colonialism and liberate the land for indigenous communities. Saxophonist and guitarist Takiaya Reed and percussionist Sylvie Nehill have been honing their unique form of noise in order to help cauterize the wounds of colonialism since the release of their debut album BASIC, back in 2017. The patience and empathy that underscores their creativity inspires a deep sense of awe and respect. Read our interview with Takiaya here, and check out our review of the band’s latest album Systemic here.

BACKXWASH

Supersonic will be hosting genre-blending rapper & producer Ashanti Mutinta aka BACKXWASH’s first and only UK show this year – making this performance totally exclusive. The Zambian-Canadian, Polaris Music Prize-winning artist will unleash her hip-hop, horrorcore and industrial sounds on festival-goers on Saturday night. The poetic and cathartic qualities of her seething lyricism are enhanced by the visceral, corrosive soundscapes she has built around them. Her latest album, HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING, is well worth your attention.

TOTAL LUCK

Birmingham-based post punk trio Total Luck will be performing on Friday night. Switching between spoken word and loud, punk vocals, the band create noisy, brooding cacophonies that are are sure to linger in your ears long after they’ve finished playing. Listen to more of their sounds via their bandcamp page here.

ELVIN BRANDHI

If festival-goers want to witness some truly chaotic, intense, experimental noise, then Elvin Brandhi’s set on Saturday is a must see. Described as “an improvising lyricist, producer and sound artist who builds aberrant beats from field recordings, tape, vinyl, instrument and voice,” the Welsh artist will provide her listeners with an unusual, visceral performance. Check out her latest album Drunken Love, here.

TAQBIR

Blending activism and abrasive music together to encourage and empower North African women to express themselves freely, Moroccan punks Taqbir will be a live force to be reckoned with when they play on Saturday night. The five-piece pay homage to the female pioneers of the UK punk scene such as X-Ray Spex, Bona Rays or The Slits, and use their own music as a vessel to unleash their anger and frustration at the systems that oppress them. Check out their bandcamp page here.

SILVERMOTH

On Sunday, Supersonic will be hosting the debut live performance of atmospheric noise-rock collective Silver Moth. Comprised of Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), Elisabeth Elektra, Steven Hill and members of Abrasive Trees, Burning House and Prosthetic Head, together they create genre-blending, evocative aural ruminations. Listen to their latest album Black Bay, here.

LANKUM

Admired for their captivating live performances, acclaimed Irish contemporary folk quartet Lankum will be playing Supersonic on Sunday night. They were first recommended to us by Dublin-based trio Bitch Falcon, and we’ve been assured that the atmosphere at their shows is completely magnetic. Listen to their latest record, False Lankum, here.

DEERHOOF

Festival-goers will be able to enjoy the idiosyncratic sounds of acclaimed alt-indie band Deerhoof on Friday night. Their melodic-yet-noisy infusions are not to be missed. Check out their latest record, Miracle-Level, here.

MORE TALENT

These artists are completely new to us, but we recommend you check them out too: un.procedure, BIG|BRAVE, Jessica Moss, MC Yallah & Debmaster, Ashenspire, Blue Ruth, Agathe Max, Matana Roberts, The Seer, Ondata Rossa, Ragana, Josephine Foster, Sirom

 

For more information visit Supersonic Festival’s official website

Check out our Supersonic Playlist below, featuring some of the female & LGBTQ+ talent playing the festival this year!

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

NEW TRACK: CLT DRP – ‘I See My Body Through You’

Following on from their incendiary anthems ‘New Boy‘ and ‘Nothing Clever, Just Feelings‘, Brighton feminist electro-punks CLT DRP have shared their powerful new single ‘I See My Body Through You’. Taken from their upcoming second album, Nothing Clever, Just Feelings, which is set for release on 8th September via Venn Records, the track is a dynamic, corrosive rumination on objectification and how it can affect our own identity and self worth.

Annie Dorrett’s distinctive, self-possessed vocals lead the charge alongside drummer Daphne’s considered percussion and guitarist Scott’s blend of melodic and visceral riffs. By combining quieter verses with a blistering chorus, CLT DRP reflect the tumultuous emotions and lack of control that can come from feeling exposed and viewed through a skewed and restricting lens. “They just say grin and bear it” Annie muses, before listeners are pummelled by a wall of cathartic, abrasive sound.

The single is accompanied by an intriguing set of visuals, directed by Alice Strutt. Annie explains the thought process behind the video: “‘I See My Body Through You’ is probably one of the tracks we’re looking forward to putting out the most. The content of the song set against the visuals all came out perfectly.”

“There’s a lot behind this song,” she continues, “different ways to interpret it, but the unsettling feeling and tension in the orchestration and in the video match up to the emotions that created this song in the first place—the emotions of being constantly on show, being objectified, and your own confidence being warped because of other people’s gaze. I think Alice heard the song and understood those feelings immediately, as most women do, and came up with some striking and strange concepts for the video.”

Director Alice Strutt comments further: “Inspired by the song’s content, the video embraces the use of ambiguous imagery, employing fractured reflections and obscured veils to symbolise the interplay between how we imagine others perceive us and its effect on our self-perception. The aim was to create impactful and disjointed visuals that invite contemplation of the blurred lines between reality and interpretation.”

Fresh from performing in their hometown at The Great Escape Festival earlier this year and a recent support slot with electronic music pioneer Gary Numan in Antwerp, CLT DRP are set to headline one of the stages at ArcTanGent Festival this weekend (18th August). The band have also announced a string of winter UK headline tour dates, including a show at The Lexington in London on 29th November. Full listings are below and tickets are on sale here.

Watch the video for ‘I See My Body Through You’ below.

CLT DRP UK Live Dates 2023
11.08.23 – Winchester, UK – Boomtown
18.08.23 – Somerset, UK – ArcTanGent
08.09.23 – Brighton, Green Door Store
15.09.23 – Sofia, BG – Wrong Fest
12.10.23 – Manchester, Beyond The Music
02.11.23 – Leeds, Oporto
03.11.23 – Glasgow, Hug & Pint
23.11.23 – Southampton, Joiners
24.11.23 – Bristol, Rough Trade
29.11.23 – London, Lexington

Pre-order CLT DRP’s new album Nothing Clever, Just Feelings here

Follow CLT DRP on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: Libby Malandrone

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

WATCH: Hinako Omori – ‘cyanotype memories’

A mood-lifting soundscape that offers listeners a moment of respite in an uncertain world, London-based artist and composer Hinako Omori has shared her latest single ‘cyanotype memories’. Taken from her upcoming album, stillness, softness…, which is set for release via Houndstooth on 27th October, the track is an ode to surrendering yourself to the unknown and finding peace within that process.

Following on from her recent single ‘foundation’, on ‘cyanotype memories’ Omori continues to trust her instincts and channel them into a more contemporary, song-based structure. Whilst her new efforts retain the wonderful soothing and enigmatic qualities of the tracks that formed her debut album, …a journey (which featured on Get In Her Ears’ Albums Of 2022 list) they expand and showcase her songwriting talents further. Guided by her wonderfully clear, gentle vocals, on ‘cyanotype memories’ Omori is “a careful observer among the chaos”, exploring the altering states of emotion and the often turbulent pace of life through her hypnotic synths and evocative beats.

“Synths really do respond to how you’re feeling,” Omori offers. “There have been times where I’ve felt stressed and my synth would go out of tune. I took it to a repair place once, thinking that something was wrong with it, but it was fine; I think it was to do with my energy levels. So when I sit down and write something, whatever comes out is relevant to how I feel in that moment because the synthesiser is responding to it. The music really becomes a map of my emotions.” Commenting on ‘cyanotype memories’, she explains: “[it’s] about reconnecting and returning to our inner stillness, and surrendering to the unknown. We ultimately don’t have control over how anything external might pan out, but when we trust our inner compass things seem to be revealed to us in the most beautiful and unexpected way.”

Paying attention to the physiological effects of music is something that’s deeply important to Omori. She blends her wonderfully heightened awareness of this alongside beautiful aesthetics, with cyanotope printing being a strong inspiration for this track and the accompanying photography and artwork for her new album. “I was fascinated by the idea of cyanotype printing,” she continues, “the act of placing an object on paper, and exposing it to UV light – the longer the object is focused under the light, a stronger or more detailed image can form on the paper. I thought there was a similarity in focusing and redirecting our thoughts to create new neural pathways in our brains, with the repetition of these thoughts creating stronger paths.”

This idea is explored further in the beautifully shot accompanying video for the track. Directed by Thomas Harrington Rawle & Cathal Mckeon and featuring contemporary dancer Chihiro Kawasaki, the monochrome visuals are a stunning blend of shadows and silhouettes, with Kawasaki improvising her movements in the lights which were programmed live by Richard Brade.

Watch the video for ‘cyanotype memories’ below.

Hinako Omori will be playing a headline show at London’s ICA on December 2nd
Tickets are available here

Follow Hinako Omori on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Photo credit: Luca Bailey

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

TRACK PREMIERE: Ich Bin Finn – ‘Summer Girlfriend’

A sultry, grunge-infused ode to the rush of feelings that come with a new found seasonal crush, London-based rockers Ich bin Finn have shared their latest single ‘Summer Girlfriend’. Taken from their upcoming album, Breakfast Pizza, which is set for release via Roadkill Records on 11th August, the track is a sweet celebration of the transient nature of summer infatuation.

Formed of Finn D’Albert (guitar, vocals), Kim Watson (bass, backing vocals) and Mike Brown (drums, recorder, backing vocals), Ich bin Finn are a proud, vehemently DIY band. The trio enjoy working together and alongside their friends to create their playful, garage rock sounds, and their latest single ‘Summer Girlfriend’ is no different. The track’s artwork features Mike’s son, Wilfred, and the album which it’s lifted from was mixed and mastered by close friend of the band Tom le Beau Morley.

As the title suggests, ‘Summer Girlfriend’ is all about the precious new days of dating someone when the summertime finally kicks in. With their snaking riffs and relatable lyrics, Ich Bin Finn explore the sweet behaviours we indulge in, from eating ice cream together, to showing affection by softly applying sun cream to each others skin. This tender, sentimental mood underscores many of the tracks on the band’s upcoming album, Breakfast Pizza.

“These songs have an optimism and poetic vulnerability about them,” bassist Kim explains. “From lonely post break-up reflections, to a sense of new found freedom to venture out, dive in and explore new romantic possibilities.” Kim and her wife Angie created the artwork for the album together too, further emphasising the love and passion that has gone into the band’s new project.

“It’s all about treading that tightrope between freedom and loneliness,” guitarist and vocalist Finn adds. “Pizza for breakfast? Freedom. Pizza for every meal? Loneliness.” However you view these things, we’re sure that Ich Bin Finn will have a song on Breakfast Pizza that will resonate with you.

Listen to ‘Summer Girlfriend’ below.

 

Follow Ich Bin Finn on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter (X), Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment