Algiers join Godflesh, Deerhoof, Lankum, Backxwash and much more
This year marks 20 years since the first incarnation of Supersonic Festival, celebrating two decades of championing experimental and adventurous music and creating an inclusive and joyful space where all are welcome.
Supersonic Festival has cultivated a forward-thinking, one-of-a-kind experience and pinnacle in the festival calendar, showing immense resilience against the odds in the 20 years since its inception. Supersonic are ready to welcome loyal fans and curious new audiences to Digbeth, in the heart of post-industrial Birmingham on the 1st-3rd September.
With only one month to go before Supersonic opens its doors, this year the festival is welcoming homecoming heroes Godflesh, whose origins are deeply entrenched in the backdrop of Birmingham, and Zambian-Canadian rapper & producer Backxwash, performing her first and only UK performance as a Supersonic Festival exclusive. Known for their captivating live performance are the widely acclaimed Irish quartet Lankum, and Deerhoof, one of indie music’s most influential bands. Just announced and joining them are Algiers who shall perform as a duo, presenting their anti-fascist dystopian grooves.
DAY LINE UPS:
FRIDAY
Deerhoof | Ex Easter Island Head | Hey Colossus | Infinity Knives x Brian Ennals | MC Yallah + Debmaster | Ondata Rossa | Total Luck | un. procedure
SATURDAY
Ashenspire | Backxwash | Blacks’ Myths | Blind Eye | Divide & Dissolve | Elvin Brandhi | Godflesh | Horse Lords | Oxbow | Ragana | Taqbir | DJ Bus Replacement Service
SUNDAY
75 Dollar Bill | Algiers | Avalanche Kaito | Big Brave with Jessica Moss | Jessica Moss | Josephine Foster | Lankum | Matana Roberts | Shovel Dance Collective |Silver Moth | Širom
“Over the last 20 years our aim has been to provide a means for unity, for escapism, camaraderie; for belonging and most importantly for unrestrained joy.”
– Lisa Meyer, Artistic Director/co-founder, Supersonic Festival
Joining Deerhoof on Friday, Supersonic will also present the hypnotic energy and unique spectacle of Ex Easter Island Head and Hey Colossus – who are celebrating their 20 year anniversary and promise to put on a special performance. Also taking to the stage are Baltimore hip hop/neoclassical experimentalists Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals, who masterfully execute live sets with both ferocity and vibrant joy. High energy, rapid flow and rugged beats will come from MC Yallah and Debmaster. Supersonic is also proud to present Ondata Rossa, a brand-new project from an experimental supergroup of epic proportions, comprising four renowned and wildly experienced musicians and improvisors Valentina Magaletti (Vanishing Twin, Moin, Holy Tongue), Agathe Max, Dali De Saint Paul (HARRGA) and Yoshino Shigihara (Yama Warashi) accompanied by 16mm film projections. Performing on Friday the dynamic No Wave hardcore trio, Total Luck, and un.procedure who create a post-apocalyptic sound through an avant-jazz filter.
On Saturday things get heavy with Backxwash and Godflesh, as Supersonic continues to celebrate artists who are portents of hope and solidarity, such as the avant-metal of Ashenspire, the queer and antifascist idiosyncratic black metal of Ragana, as well as the absolutely vital Taqbir, a post punk band who use their music to create a space to empower North African women to be themselves. Returning to the festival following a stand-out performance at the 2022 edition are Divide and Dissolve, promoting their new album, Systemic. Supersonic champions creative subversion from all walks of the underground and so, on Saturday we’ll also bear witness to the airtight grooves of Horse Lords, Blacks’ Myths’ meditative free jazz exploration of the history of blackness, and Elvin Brandhi (Yeah You) an improvising lyricist, producer and sound artist. Keeping the energy levels high with their catchy hardcore are the unhinged sounds of Blind Eye. DJ Bus Replacement Service shall provide a head-spinning rush of rapturous dance floor bangers.
A celebratory Supersonic line-up would not be complete without old friends, Oxbow. Now in the festival’s 20th milestone year, and with their first new album in six years now released, Oxbow will shake things up with their electrifying and visceral embrace of distortion, volume, foreboding emotional timbres, meticulous execution, and tension-baiting restraint.
“[Supersonic] have been the sisters in arms everyone should be lucky enough to have. To say I love them is an understatement. To be able to play Supersonic again this year, both a treat AND an honour.“
– Eugene S. Robinson, OXBOW
On Sunday, alongside Lankum and Algiers, Supersonic is proud to be hosting the debut live performance of Silver Moth, an atmospheric noise-rock collective comprising of Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), Elisabeth Elektra, Steven Hill and members of Abrasive Trees, Burning House and Prosthetic Head. Supersonic prides itself on curating a line-up of forward-thinking musicians with unique approaches to composition, and is proud to host Matana Roberts, an internationally celebrated composer and performer. 75 Dollar Bill are bringing the stamina of krautrock and math rock, fused with aspects of jazz in a variety of ecstatic performances, and Supersonic also welcomes the frenetic sound world of Avalanche Kaito.
Sunday sees the festival turn its attention to an exciting new wave of artists exploring dark folk and beyond. Born of Slovenia’s rural DIY free festival scene, Širom are a trio who create vividly textured and mostly imagined folk music. Returning are Shovel Dance Collective who weave traditional folk songs to uncover proto-feminist narratives and queer histories, seeing folk music not as an archaeological artefact to be unearthed, but as a living communal activity, they will also perform as part of Supersonic’s kids gig. BIG|BRAVE perform a special collaboration, exclusive to Supersonic, with fellow Montreal-based violinist Jessica Moss (Thee Silver Mt Zion, Black Ox Orkestar), Jessica Moss shall also perform a solo set on the Sunday. Supersonic is looking forward to welcoming playful storyteller Josephine Foster.
Supersonic will provide a line-up of extracurricular activities, which will range from panel discussions and In Conversations including Eugene S. Robinson of Oxbow (on his book “A Walk Across Dirty Water and Straight Into Murderer’s Row: A Memoir”) and also with John Robb (on his book “The Art Of Darkness – the history of Goth”). There will be guest DJ sets in collaboration with BBC Radio 6 Music’s flagship experimental show, Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone, and a pub quiz hosted by Stuart. There will be a roof top takeover by Decolonise Fest, the collective organised by and for punx of colour. Film screenings from labels including Ipecac, The Flenser, Thrill Jockey and Constellation Records, plus an array of participatory workshops to stimulate your own creativity. There will be artwork by Black Lodge Press in collaboration with Dog Section Press, an exhibition by skateboarder and artist Richard “French” Sayer celebrating the Home of Metal and a special celebratory display in response to our Supersonic archive by artist and designer David Hand and friends. As always, there’ll be a vibrant marketplace for independent distributors, record labels, poster artists and pedlars of all kinds of curiosities to sell their wares, and an array of delicious ethical food vendors and lashings of cake.
For further information about the artists + tickets visit: www.supersonicfestival.com