Supersonic Festival 2022: Divide and Dissolve, Big Brave, Grove and more complete the lineup

Returning after their spectacular sell-out 2019 edition, the greatest underground festival in the UK is back! It is with tremendous delight that Supersonic Festival brings us their complete line-up in advance of their return, with a new location on the outskirts of Digbeth in Birmingham. Apart from the previously announced batch of incredible artists, the festival now welcomes even more impressive artists a new projects that will whet anyone’s appetite for unique and irreverent music.

We start off with a new project from powerhouse percussionist Valentina Magaletti (Tomaga, Vanishing Twin) and her ever in-demand sticks as Holy Tongue, as well as a glorious and surprising collaboration of Pharaoh Overlord with Aaron Turner, featuring motorik soundscapes, Italo-pop, EBM and corrosive vocals. In addition, Supersonic seeked out and invited an array of the most vital and relevant artists that live and breathe music, including Divide and Dissolve (on the photo above), who use a compelling blend of guitar, drums, saxophone and live effects to create galvanising music designed to decentralise and destroy white supremacy; and Grove, whose ingenious noise concoctions come from the ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ energies that reside within, filtering them through a sensuous; rave-a-licious lens, with lyrics inspired by political angst, queer euphoria, and the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in the city of Bristol. Big Brave also join the line up on Sunday evening to immerse audiences in their heavy waves of sound, in which minimalism, structural freedom and meticulous timing form the cornerstones of their precise, rhythmical sound. The Swedish collective Orchestra of Constant Distress, formed by members of The Skull Defekts, Union Carbide Productions, Brainbombs and No Balls, have prepared something special and unique especially for the festival – all we know is to expect the unexpected. Elsewhere, we have Abronia‘s mixture of free-jazz, Morricone-soundtrack twangs via German kosmische, 60s Folk, and ritualistic drone envelopment will bring a taste of unbridled psychedelia to the proceedings, as well as the eerie industrial synths coming from Birmingham’s very own gloomy duo Matters. Last but not least, Shovel Dance Collective are aiming to uncover proto-feminist narratives and queer histories, and will explore the folk traditions of England through a melding of drone, improvisation and metal. Additionally, sound artist and musician Paul Purgas shall reveal a new work as a special commission for the festival, which will combine the trailblazing reel-to-reel tape experiments of the Radiophonic Workshop and the exploratory spirit of Musique Concrète.

As part of their curatorship program, Supersonic Festival invited two very special guest curators – Radwan Ghazi Moumneh of Jerusalem In My Heart, the immersive audiovisual performance project founded together with Montréal-based filmmaker Erin Weisgerber – who will also be performing at the festival -, and the fine folks at Decolonise Fest, an annual DIY punk fest that advocates for emerging artists of colour to connect against the global struggles of the legacy of colonialism, and indulge in their love of punk. Jerusalem in My Heart have invited Bint7alal, a Palestinian producer/rapper who specialises in smooth flows and energy-filled sounds from the depths of the Arab underground. Farida Amadou, one of the up-and-coming Belgian artists on the international free and improv scene, will bring her unique approach to electric bass – making use of pedals to create fuzzed out noises and textures – to the stage. Jessika Khazrik scavenges sounds from the debris of online media and militarised ads & technologies, and will be performing alongside 3D/real-time visual artist Nurah Farahat. Erin Weisgerber, Tiohtia:ke/Montreal-based artist and member of Jerusalem In My Heart shall be screening a series of short films as part of Radwan’s guest curation. She manipulates the photographic, chemical, and material properties of film to transform the world framed through her camera, rendering moving images that exist between figuration and abstraction, external vision and internal landscape. Decolonise Fest have invited Rachel Aggs who, having found acclaim with Shopping, Sacred Paws and Trash Kit, will deliver her distinctive guitar and vocal style, mixed with a lo-fi pop sensibility. Hardcore punks Nekra, will raise the tempo as they serve up blistering mosh-inducing tunes with themes ranging from Bell Hooks’ theories to the trauma of immigration. PRNCSS‘ will no doubt be an enigmatic presence, hitting on an expansive formula that mixes voodoo vibes with trap, grime and outré electronics. Additionally, DJ Awkward Black Girl, an avid vinyl collector of over 20 years, who spins a mixture of rock, R&B, soul, funk, garage, disco and more to get you on your feet. An array of talks, films and workshops will also be included in the program, and will be announced soon.

Supersonic Festival 2022 takes place in Birmingham, UK, on July 8th-10th. Daily tickets are now available from 30 to 50 pounds. Two-day and three-day tickets are also available from 80 to 130 pounds. Both can be purchased online via the festival’s website, here.

Photo credit: Jaimie Wdziekonski