It’s not easy to do something that is completely out of the ordinary, yet on your own terms, particularly when creating a festival, where the choosing of bands is often influenced more by financial concerns than artistic integrity. Yet Supernormal Festival seems to have done it.
By being, in their own words, a "a 3-day determinedly non-commercial, non-funded, not-for-profit event", organised by artists and musicians themselves, they have gone about organizing a what looks sure to be a fascinating weekend of experimental music in the countryside between Oxford and Reading.
The line up includes some well-established bands, including Skullflower, The A Band, and Cindytalk, who have just played the Ray Davies-curated Meltdown Festival. Alongside these are a whole load of newer bands, and bands in between too, such as Flats, Rumour Cubes and Gum Takes Tooth.
I expect my personal highlights to include Teeth Of The Sea who recently supported British Sea Power on tour, and the intense sounds of Dogfeet. Accompanying all this is a strong performance and visual arts programme, all of which fits in with the leftfield ethos of the event.
It’s entirely run by volunteers and the bands themselves are doing it for the love of the event too, but sadly the self-funded nature of the festival means that it’s in danger of not selling enough tickets in advance to cover the costs, potentially putting the festival in jeopardy, which would be a huge shame.
So if you are thinking of buying a ticket, it’s worth getting in quick to help support this passionate showcase for all things alternative and experimental.
STREAM: Teeth Of The Sea - Sentimental Journey
For more details and to buy tickets, head to Supernormal's site.
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