The annual Supersonic festival has been part of the more adventurous music lover’s calendar for over 20 years. The visionary artistic director Lisa Meyer and the ever-amazing Capsule crew have been curating the best in the most challenging, experimental and downright rocking music and art year after year to huge acclaim. After admiring it from afar as the UK’s closest festival to Roadburn, we are slightly embarrassed to say that this is our first time here. So, with a mixture of excitement and a slight tinge of uncertainty, we are bound for Birmingham.
Day 1
The Supersonic welcoming committee The F Choir, a queer, all genders community choir led by composer Jenny Moore is in fine voice in XOYO as it kicks off this celebration of the most thought-provoking music and arts here in Digbeth and indeed worldwide. There’s already a warmth on display that hints at great things ahead. Gazelle Twin AKA Elizabeth Bernholz is truly mesmerizing as she shifts through ever changing personas in a highly theatrical performance of her dark twisting recent album, Black Dog. Frail dark ambience gives way to thunderous percussion reverberating around the hall as she accompanies in higher register calls and responses, it’s a truly immersive performance as she moves across the different set pieces and projected images all the while bathing in layers of tone and deep electronics. Utterly captivating! Back at XOYO, gothic rock power coven, Tristwch Y Fenwood treat us to a minimalist take on a journey into feminist Welsh-language, occult driven landscapes. Over at the Institute The None bring us some angular punk rock rage and they are utterly furious! This is honestly one of the most compelling displays of hardcore rage we’ve seen since Better Lovers decimated Trees earlier this summer, it’s that good! In singer Kaila Whyte, they have attitude and sass by the metric ton alongside a huge voice that commands the crowd and stage with an authority that betrays the fact that this is apparently, “The biggest gig they’ve ever played.” (Together I’m presuming, bass player Gordon Moakes has Bloc Party in his credentials) You’d think they were a legendary band based on this performance! UKAEA are up next at XOYO and judging by the hardware onstage this is about to get loud and lairy! We weren’t expecting trumpets, a yeti on the floor and electronic darkness with added folk poetry, the light show was intense on its own, and the sonic assault was a primal and unsettling bonus! Scene legends, the iconic some say grindcore act, Melt Banana are intense, hyper speed and glorious!! Their total blasting chaos is utterly mind melting and the most fun we’ve had in a long time!! With Yasuko Onuki on total overdrive with barely a let up for breath the crowd are utterly enraptured, this is what Supersonic is all about I’m guessing, it’s only day one and it’s been a 360-degree assault on the senses in the best possible way. There are danceable grooves in amongst the all-out chaos and even a snatch of (kinda) disco but most of all its digital hardcore punk obliteration! Hands down the most intense set we’ve seen by anyone! So far.
Day 2
After last night’s sonic decapitation, we have screwed our head back on and venture out to Digbeth for another dose of Supersonic Festival’s sensory obliteration. First up on day two here at Institute we have Smote who deal in transcendence through repetitive mantra like guitar workouts with an eastern flair and looping drone effects. It’s an intoxicating tribal affair with additional flute and vocals being used for texture and percussion rather than as a lead instrument. The overall sound is warm, fuzzy, psychedelic and hypnotic. Performance wise it’s a communal affair with players mostly facing each other lost in their otherworld. It’s not all peace and love though when Smote erupts into some immensely heavy churning passages, all the flowers in our hair soon turn to dust. Over at XOYO it’s time for Shropshire based two piece Modified Youth who are indeed youthful and trade punky, riot grrrl inspired songs with titles like, “I don’t like you” that remind us of never ending 90’s summers and the glorious feeling of waking up without aching bones. Without a doubt Senyawa are one of the heaviest acts we’ve seen all summer, Wukir Suryadi plays a kind of home built stringed percussion instrument that’s played with sticks through thunderous effects providing all of the accompaniment whilst vocalist, Rully Shabara contorts, growls and chants along through two microphones, one being heavily affected. It’s an insanely tribal experience and it’s heavy as hell!! Heavier than any death metal act I’ve seen, definitely heavier than Soulfly who are coincidentally separately playing downstairs tonight! This is pure primal rage as we’ve never seen it before, we are hooked. There is melodic respite here as well, the modern primitive contraption being played is also played as a bowed instrument and it delivers a kind violin-esque sound albeit and heavily distorted effected one. Local hardcore punk heroes Flesh Creep are up next at XOYO and turn the place into a sweaty mosh pit immediately with their fast and furious anthems putting wide grins on all in attendance. Big things are tipped for this band and judging by today’s performance I wouldn’t bet against it! Watch out for this band, mark our words. Inviting a couple of guests on stage for some two stepping beatdowns was a great touch too and gave the whole show a Birmingham hardcore community vibe. Talking of vibes over an Institute, Agriculture are showing us what happy major key Black metal sounds like with blast beat shoegaze, it’s ultimately positive and upbeat. We have literally seen it all this weekend and it’s not over yet. A bit like a good-natured kicking delivered with a smile and a kick on the forehead as you lie bleeding, it’s all very confusing but rather brilliant. The Shits are predictably anti-social, like a sludgy oi punk band, they’re full of attitude and it’s hard to tell if their well-wishing is doused in sarcasm or not, we think it is, but we’ve been wrong before. Either way this band isn’t here to make friends but make a lot anyway as the crowd shimmies along to their bile-soaked low-slung grooves. It’s also occurred to us that The Shits don’t do choruses, instead preferring to stick to a highly economical one riff per song. Seeing us out at the O2 Institute is the sublime Emma Ruth Rundle with her twisting turning acoustic guitar lead ethereal explorations. She’s utterly enchanting and her songs display a vulnerability alongside a huge amount of power as she stands alone commanding a huge audience of mesmerized music lovers. After another day where anything and everything was up for grabs sonically speaking Supersonic definitely has lived up to its name in every way! We unfortunately have to sign off here as real life beckons but our weekend break to the outer perimeters was a total education, and we are now an enhanced 2.0 version of our former selves.
Review & Photography By George Miller – https://www.facebook.com/oneflamemedia
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