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Bring the noise: Supersonic Festival

Jenny Moore and Lisa Meyer are Capsule – Birmingham promoters of great alternative music and arguably the sole reason why great alternative artists visit the home of heavy rock music. In 2003 they launched Supersonic festival, which has carved out a reputation as the best and loudest noise festival in the UK – if not the world –seeing headliners including Mogwai and Sunn O))) – and has an undeniable knack for getting the world’s best alt. bands onto a UK stage for the very first time. Last year saw the first ever UK show for Italian soundtrack legends Goblin (whose credits include George A Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and Dario Argento’s Suspiria) – it was truly a magical moment.

Supersonic takes the best parts of city and field festivals and infuses them into one. The festival site – Birmingham’s Custard Factory – is closed off from the rest of the world, yet you still get to sleep in a comfy bed and have a shower every morning. The pool that provides the centrepiece to the Custard Factory is drained and made into the main stage, whilst readymade venues become other stages and a cavernous warehouse provides a second large stage, tailormade for the incessantly loud noise Supersonic has become known for. It’s a one of a kind, and the people who attend are described by Lisa as “people who want to experience something new and aren’t afraid to go see something a bit different, it's definitely not for fans of playlists.”

But it’s not just about the music. Supersonic has an extensive film programme, talks and debates, unique food stalls and a record market. Not to mention “tons of cake.” It doesn’t sound like the place you’d want to take young ears, but Lisa is keen to get more for the youngsters to do:

“We know families who bring their small children to the festival and they're so responsive to experimental music! We'd love to develop this idea more in the future...”

Why did you launch Supersonic?

We put on events in Birmingham all year round and have been for the last 10 years. We launched Supersonic in 2003, it seemed a good way to focus our annual program and appeal to people from all corners of the UK and further afield. We hope that we're offering something new and appealing to our peer group of music fans.

What can you get from a festival that you can't with a live gig?

I think at festivals you enter a little community of people, your own little world for a few days. What's particularly great about festivals is you can be daring and try new things, you can discover your new favourite band at a festival. Somehow a festival is more sociable, it's a way to meet new friends or catch up with people that you don't get the chance to see very often.

Were you inspired by other festivals?

We were really inspired by Sonar festival in Barcelona when we attended in 2000. We were so impressed by the setting - we were in a contemporary art museum rather than a muddy field which provided a much better context. We're also big fans of Roadburn festival in Tillburg.

Music wise, Supersonic is pretty much out on its own, how do you go about picking bands?

We put a lot of care and attention into creating a diverse and engaging programme and we really believe that each year we are showcasing some of the most exciting music around that you won't find anywhere else.

Since Supersonic's beginning we have showcased a range of music, from electronica, folk and jazz to doom, metal and noise. We couldn't ever stick to one genre, not when there is so much exciting, different new music out there. I believe this is what attracts people from all over the world, the festival is all about adventurous music regardless as to the tags or genres you might associate with the bands.

What has been your favourite moment from the festival?

Last year we managed to persuade prog legends Goblin to come over and play in the UK for the first time in their 30 year career. That was a pretty proud moment.

What do festivals mean to you?

Our job as a festival is to wade through what exists and pull together a sample of the most exciting and interesting music out there. It's also about bringing likeminded people from all corners of the UK together.

Would you say a festival is about the bands you put on, where you put it on or the people who come?

Festivals are about the whole package, people often come to see particular artists but they leave loving the festival because a great environment was created or they met wonderful people.

Where do you see festivals going in the next ten years?

There are so many festivals at the moment, more and more are popping up all over the country. I think in order for a festival to continue each year and to keep an audience it needs to carve out its own niche. I think, and hope that festivals in the future are more daring with their line ups - so we aren't seeing identikit festivals each year. Festivals should be driven by passion not by the idea of making a fast buck!

Where do you see Supersonic going from here?

We want to continue to embrace the weird and wonderful, so hopefully tap into more and more adventurous, underground art and music from all over the world. We're obviously looking to grow but not necessarily in terms of capacity, more in terms of ambition. We want to provide unique collaborations and opportunities for artists.

Capsule Film from Film Ficciones on Vimeo.