Supersonic festival review
- Nov 04, 2010
Let’s be honest, Supersonic festival is unparalleled. No other festival offers such an eclectic line up, such unholy noise, such juxtaposition of genres or the sense of true discovery. What other festival would you find the likes of Swans playing their first UK festival set in over ten years? What other festival would have the chutzpah to sit veteran metallers Napalm Death next to the likes of East End hipster favourites Factory Floor? At what other festival could you attend a workshop to make your own optical Theremin, grab a home baked cup cake from the market place and attend a panel discussion comparing dissonant music to the art of Mark Rothko?
Set in Birmingham’s utilitarian Custard Factory complex Supersonic is, purposely so, always at odds with itself. But in doing so it manages to somehow craft a unique synthesis. Although it shares a similar inquisitive spirit with the All Tomorrow’s Parties franchise, Supersonic focuses its attention on the more abrasive end of the sonic spectrum. You can easily find yourself in a cavernous factory space watching local industrial metal pioneers Godflesh before stumbling across Melt Banana bursting out five-second songs in their own inimitable frantic, speed core style. Supersonic is all about surprises - the twists and turns you’d be hard pushed to find at your perennial summer camping festival.
Music aside, the festival has its own theatre space offering an excellent array of workshops, seminars and a left of centre cinema programme. For instance, Michael Rother, founding member of Neu! gave a talk on the influence and impact of the motorik drum beat. Elsewhere at the festival he performed a typically transcendental career spanning set with Hallogallo, which included Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelly and Tall Firs bassist Aaron Mullen.
This concept of cross-pollination is the corner stone of the festival – Seattle based drone collective Master Musicians of Bukkake (which consists of members of Earth and Asva) performed a specially commissioned set with Iraqi oud player Khyam Allami to absolute rapturous praise. Similarly, in the old library space, game boy chip music pioneer DJ Scotch Egg combined efforts with Gorgonn in the shape of Devilman to create a cohesive meld of 8 bit chip music and dubstep or, in their own words, a “noisestep” collaboration.
In terms of new discoveries, I never thought I’d get to see Japanese hardcore legend Ruins do a solo drumming set, nor did I expect to come across Tweak Bird, whose low slung boisterous blues and saxophone solos where the flip side of the coin to the psychedelic head trip of Gnod I’d just come from. But the festival highlight, expectedly, came from Swans. Their latest album 'My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky' ranks as one of the year’s highlights and after their long hiatus they were on fine live form.
Supersonic has more than enough to offer if you’re feeling disenfranchised by the run of the mill UK festivals. Always brave, always new and always excitedly different.
Nik Jeffries
