GUIDE & PLAYLIST: Supersonic Festival 2024

EVENT: Supersonic Festival

WHERE: Digbeth, Birmingham, UK (O2 Institute & XOYO)

WHEN: 30th August – 1st September 2024

TICKET INFO:
Weekend ticket: £170 / Day tickets & 2 Day tickets: £40-£110

Full info about other ticket options available here

GENERAL INFO:
Supersonic Festival returns with another eclectic and exciting programme of alternative music and events for their 2024 line-up! Described as “championing experimental and adventurous music and creating an inclusive and joyful space where all are welcome,” the team have organised another three days of arts and intrigue for curious festival-goers to immerse themselves in.

DJ SETS & EXCITING EXTRAS

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 DJ takeovers all weekend, featuring actress and activist Maxine Peake, Boss Morris (a group of female creatives & musicians who share a progressive vision of morris dancing), Poor Creature, Hesska and Nyahh Records. On Saturday night, there will also be a huge gothic camp queer party courtesy of Homobloc x Fvck Pigs.

BBC 6Music presenter Stuart Maconie will return to host the iconic Freak Zone pub quiz, and there will be an ‘In Conversation’ event with two icons: Maxine Peake will be speaking with performance artist Cosey Fanni Tutti about her life and art on 31st August.

WORKSHOPS

FYI: Entry to most of these workshops is included in the Supersonic Festival ticket – a festival ticket for the relevant day (or the full weekend) is required

On Saturday 31st August, Do.om Yoga will return to the festival for a “Cosmic Resonance” meditation workshop (tickets here). Decolonise Fest (a collective of DIY punx of colour) will also be back hosting a “Decolonising Publishing Through Zine Making” workshop on the XOYO rooftop. You can also join Birmingham-based creative Maisie Violet Rees at her drop-in “Upcycled Objects” workshop, where she will assist you in creating your own unique upcycled objects.

On Sunday 1st September, experimental folk artist Debbie Armour (Burd Ellen) will be leading the “Ghost Songs – Exploring Revenant Ballads” workshop. Attendees will learn about Revenant Ballads – “manifestations of grief occupying a third space — an ambiguous zone between this life and what is beyond.” This event it currently at capacity, but you can sign up for the waiting list here. You can also try Transfer Printing with Shelanu, which translates as ‘belonging to us’. They are a collective of migrant and refugee women working with Craftspace to develop craft and social skills, and you can join them in making your own Supersonic key ring or pendant to take home with you.

LINE UP & RECOMMENDATIONS

As always, there are so many excellent bands and artists on the Supersonic line-up that it’s hard to pick favourites. But, at Get In Her Ears, we focus on female, non-binary and LGBTQ+ talent, so we’re putting the spotlight on sets from eclectic artists like Brìghde Chaimbeul, Dame Area, Daisy Rickman, Jacken Elswyth, Mary Lattimore, MC YALLAH & DEBMASTER, The Body & Dis Fig and Womb x Water.

You can listen to their work on our accompanying Spotify Playlist at the end of this feature. We also have a more fleshed out list of artist recommendations below…

GAZELLE TWIN

Having already witnessed the spine-tingling sensation of Elizabeth Bernholz aka Gazelle Twin’s live interpretation of her latest album Black Dog at Bush Hall in London, we can’t wait to relive it all again on Friday night at Supersonic. The electronic artist’s fourth record is an exquisitely raw, truly haunting piece of art, on which Bernholz reflects on her experiences with the paranormal, postpartum depression and the powerful fears and inner forces that direct us through life. We spoke to the artist about her anticipations for this year’s festival and much more in a recent interview, which you can read in full here.

TRISTWCH Y FENYWOD

Tristwch y Fenywod – which translates as “The Sadness Of Women” – are a Welsh-language gothic rock power-coven. Conjured from the experimental underground of Leeds, the collective take inspiration for their songs from bog bodies, flickering landscapes and queer enchantment. Formed of Gwretsien Ferch Lisbeth (Guttersnipe, Petronn Sphene), Leila Lygad (Hawthonn) and Sidni Sarffwraig (Slaylor Moon, The Courtneys), their music has been described as the “rediscovered unholy grail of edgy, atmospheric, occult feminist goth.” The dual-zither which leads their music is Gwretsien’s innovation, giving them a unique Celtic darkwave sound. Their first record will be released this summer by Night School Records. Catch them at the festival on Friday.

GROVE PRESENTS: TOYA DELAZY & TALIABlE

Returning to Supersonic festival for the second time, electronic artist & producer Grove will be presenting their new collaborative project featuring Toya Delazy and TaliaBle. Fascinated by each artist’s ability to blend genres like afrorave, Hip Hop and punk, Grove shares their expectations for the eclectic set:

“Toya Delazy and TaliaBle are two of the most incendiary, powerful and badass live performers I’ve ever seen, so to host them head to head for a soundclash at Supersonic is a dream. Both are pioneers in fusing genres, with Toya’s statement ‘afrorave’ combining their Zulu roots with heavy rave music, to TaliaBle’s punk-drenched hip-hop setting rooms into a frenzy. If my past experiences with these two is anything to go by, this SOUNDCLASH is going to be heavy, energetic and WILD. I feel Supersonic Festival is the perfect place for this big, bad extravaganza. It’s one of the UK’s best melting pots of sonic wizardry, with the best audience to match.” The performance will take place on Friday.

EMMA RUTH RUNDLE

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of her first official album, Some Heavy Ocean, American songwriter and visual artist Emma Ruth Rundle will be performing the record in full on Saturday night. Described as “a collection of impassioned, cathartic songs, exorcising the ghosts of one of life’s dark detours,” we’re looking forward to hearing the artist’s melancholic sounds live for the very first time.

ØXN

ØXN are an experimental Irish super-group consisting of Percolator’s John ‘Spud’ Murphy and Eleanor Myler, Lankum’s Radie Peat and multi-instrumentalist Katie Kim. The first signing to Ireland’s iconic label Claddagh Records in 18 years, ØXN dig deep into the earth and excavate tales of love, loss, longing, revenge and ritual. Blending these traditional folk elements with their eclectic sonic textures means that their set on Sunday is not one to be missed.

F*CHOIR

F*Choir are firm favourites here at Get In Her Ears. They are a queer, all-genders community choir led by composer and multidisciplinary artist Jenny Moore. Collectively, they use their voices to sing songs about gender, sexuality, freedom and rage, rejecting the use of traditional sheet music and gendered voice parts. We have witnessed the raw joy and power of their live performances many times, and we recommend you do the same on Friday evening.

MATANA ROBERTS

Critically acclaimed avant-jazz practitioner Matana Roberts will be bringing their radical “panoramic sound quilting” to Supersonic on Sunday. Roberts creates a “sound art tapestry” from a mixture of field recordings, loop & effects pedals, saxophone sounds and spoken word recitations. On their most recent offering from their Coin Coin project, Roberts creates an “adventurous and socially engaged definition of what jazz can mean today, maintaining a deep and substantive engagement with narrative, history, community, and political expression within sonic structures.”

UPCHUCK

Festival-goers will be able to immerse themselves in Atlanta five-piece Upchuck’s boisterous blend of punk, psych and hardcore noise on Saturday. Formed from connections made in skateboarding, construction, and teenage delinquency, the band offer their listeners the opportunity to transcend the chaos of everyday existence by swirling around in the pit, sweating the stress out together.

THE NONE

Another experimental super-group here! With Birmingham and Supersonic Recordings’ Kaila Whyte (Blue Ruth, Youth Man) on vocals, Gordon Moakes on bass (Bloc Party, Young Legionnaire), Jim Beck (Cassels) on guitar and drummer Chris Francombe (Frauds), THE NONE are a live force to be reckoned with. They formed at the start of 2023 and bonded over hours in the rehearsal room together, making noise and discussing shared obsessions. The elusive nature of their name reflects the band’s creative approach; ego-less experimentation and open collaboration.

 

MELT-BANANA

Tokyo grindcore icons Melt-Banana will be pulverzing festival-goers ear drums on Friday night. Since they formed in 1992, the band have released numerous albums, toured worldwide with bands like Melvins and Napalm Death, and won high profile fans in Steve Albini, Kurt Cobain and Lou Reed. Their relentless, unclassified heavy sound will make for a manic and unique live experience.

MODIFIED YOUTH

This DIY two-piece from Shropshire know how to pack a punk with their grunge and Riot Grrrl inspired sounds. Armed with a drum set and a guitar, they deliver politically-charged, gritty anthems fuelled by power chords and pure DIY enthusiasm. Catch them at the festival on Saturday.

For more information visit Supersonic Festival’s official website

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

 

Kate Crudgington
@kate_crudge

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LISTEN: GIHE on Soho Radio with Whitelands (05.02.24)

The full Get In Her Ears team were back on Soho Radio’s airwaves this month, playing loads of new music from some of their favourite female, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ artists. Tash, Mari and Kate enthused about the eclectic tracks on the playlist, which included Seraphina Simone, pink suits, Tusks, Fraulein, Ski Lift, Worse Off, pecq, NYX Drone Choir, The Baby Seals, Fears, Grace Petrie, Moor Mother, Alvidrez, otta, Slowdive, Dermabrasion and more.

London-based shoegaze band Whitelands also joined them in the studio to talk about their upcoming debut album, Night-bound Eyes Are Blind To The Day, which is set for release on 23rd February via Sonic Cathedral. Etienne, Jagun, Michael and Vanessa chatted about their beginnings as a band at First Timers Fest and Decolonise Fest, the inspirations behind their latest single ‘Tell Me About It’, and their anticipations for their upcoming sold out tour supporting shoegaze icons Slowdive.

Whitelands will also be playing a series of headline in-store shows at Rough Trade, including London’s Rough Trade East on 5th March to celebrate their album release. We’ve all got tickets, so we’ll see you there!

Listen back to the show below:

 

We’ll be back on Soho Radio on Monday 4th March from 12-2pm!
 Make sure you tune in via www.sohoradiolondon.com

Tracklist
Dolly Parton – Dumb Blonde
Amy Gadiaga – Paloma Negra
Seraphina Simone – Better Days
Tusks – Adore
Fraulein – Wait and See
Ski Lift – Double Yellow
pink suits – C.O.F.F.E.E.
The Baby Seals – Mild Misogynist
pecq – closer
Maud – Wherever I Go
Worse Off – Memorialise My Horribleness
The Menstrual Cramps – Abortion
otta – overflow
Birthday Problem ft. Ailbhe Reddy – E.L.E
Alvidrez – Hymn For The Corner
Moor Mother – Guilty
Whitelands ft. Dottie – Tell Me About It
Slowdive – Kisses
**Interview with Whitelands**
Dermabrasion – Halbadier
Bonnie Banane – Franchement
Fears – 4th of the 1st
Schande – Relevant Campaigns
Grace Petrie – Start Again
Waxahatchee – Right Back To It
Smerz, Allina – My Producer
NYX – Void
Destiny’s Child – Girl

Kate Crudgington1 Comment

NEW TRACK: Whitelands ft. Dottie – ‘Tell Me About It’

A bittersweet rumination on the complexities of love, London-based Black British shoegaze band Whitelands have shared their latest single, ‘Tell Me About It’. Taken from their newly announced debut album, Night-bound Eyes Are Blind To The Day, which is set for release on 23rd February via Sonic Cathedral, the track is an evocative, hazy musing on the way in which neurodivergent minds perceive love and heartbreak.

Proving to be one of our live highlights at last year’s Great Escape Festival, Whitelands have been busy crafting their intoxicating shoegaze sounds since they met at Decolonise Fest many years ago. Fusing together their eclectic personal music tastes, and bonding over a desire to shake up the predominantly white male shoegaze scene, the band routinely disarm listeners with their blend of noisy-yet-melodic riffs and effervescent vocals, finding the sweet spot between heavy and heavenly sound. Their latest single ‘Tell Me About It’, featuring label mate Dottie from deary, perfectly showcases these talents.

“It’s about being lost with the aspect of love,” explains Whitelands’ frontman and guitarist Etienne about the track. “It’s about dealing with break-ups, not in the sense of missing a relationship or a person, but the question of ‘am I doing this right?’ To me, it seems loving while being neurodivergent (ADHD) doesn’t follow a lot of the same rules, because I tend to fall in love with other neurodivergent people.” Through their use of drifting, dual vocals and ethereal guitar tones, the band beautifully capture these fogged thoughts and feelings of indecisiveness. This is also reflected in the track’s accompanying video, created by the psychedelic videographer Innerstrings.

Etienne offers more context about the band’s upcoming album too. The record takes its title from The Prophet, a philosophical book by Kahlil Gibran (1923). “The full quote is ‘the owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light’,” he explains. “I think it encapsulates the feeling of the album. A common theme running through the songs is lots of ‘I’, ‘you’, sense and emotion. Very physical and intimate settings. Lots of descriptors of light, celestial bodies, water, Biblical stuff, abstract stuff. I don’t really know why I write things the way I do, but I do tend to write emotions as anything other than what they actually are. I consume a lot of media. Video-games, music, news, paintings, manga, animations and film are my go-to, especially anime. There is this drive to want to understand and feel the whole weight of an expression. So, the songs are based on other songs, pictures, aesthetics, ‘vibes’, an emotion someone else felt. Fundamentally, you are what you eat.”

In the lead up to their album release, Whitelands will be playing a series of shows with shoegaze icons Slowdive throughout February, as well as a headline show at London’s Rough Trade East in March. Full dates and ticket info are listed below.

Watch the video for ‘Tell Me About It’ here:

Whitelands UK Tour Dates 2024
3rd February – Bedford – Esquires (with English Teacher)
16th February – Brighton – Dome (with Slowdive)
17th February – London – Eventim Apollo (with Slowdive)
18th February – Birmingham – O2 Institute (with Slowdive)
19th February – Norwich – UEA (with Slowdive)
21st February – Liverpool – O2 Academy (with Slowdive)
22nd February – Newcastle – NX (with Slowdive)
23rd February – Glasgow – Barrowland (with Slowdive)
24th February – Edinburgh – Liquid Room (with Slowdive)
26th February – Cardiff – University (with Slowdive)
27th February – Manchester – Academy (with Slowdive)
28th February – Nottingham – Rough Trade
4th March – Bristol – Rough Trade
5th March – London – Rough Trade East

Buy tickets to see Whitelands live here

Pre-order your copy of Whitelands’ debut album here

Follow Whitelands on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter (X) & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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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