Weirdos abound, it seems, but hey, that’s cool. If you wanna get together in a field in Oxfordshire and freak out for a weekend while all kind of folks do all kinds of whacky stuff, I can think of way worse ways to spend that time. In all seriousness, over the last couple years, the UK’s Supernormal Festival has built increasingly strong and wildly diverse lineups, and as this year’s features a heavy touch from Caravan of Whores, 11 Paranoias and a slew of others — Coma Wall, who are the acoustic alter ego of Undersmile, will also play — posting the lineup for anyone in the area who might be able to attend didn’t seem too far fetched.

If anyone’s going or has gone, I’d love to hear how the vibe is at one of these things. Less so the Disco Tent than in general, but still:

Supernormal is a festival like no other, providing a powerful antidote to the current malaise of festivals-as-big-business. Blurring the boundaries between art and music, performer and audience, it champions the iconoclastic and the experimental, allowing risks to be taken and leaps of imagination to occur. Somewhere in spirit between the original Glastonbury Fayre and an eccentric village fete, Supernormal is the alternative’s alternative.

Featuring:

Clinic | Terminal Cheesecake | Bass Clef | David Thomas Broughton
Shit And Shine | Woodpecker Wooliams | Hookworms | Michael Chapman
11 Paranoias (Feat. Members Of Ramesses & Bong) | Agathe Max & Cyril M
Art Of Burning Water | Baby | Coma Wall | Daniel Wakeford
Cosham Community Players Association | Dan Haywood’s New Hawks
Dead Sea Apes | Dogeeseseegod | Dethscalator | Duke Garwood
Caravan Of Whores | Feature | Comanechi | Elle Osborne Trio
Evil Blizzard | Good Throb | Greta Pistaceci | Guncleaner
H Zamzam | Headquarters | Hugh Metcalfe | Las Kellies | Mugstar
Olanza | Mothers Of The Third Reich | Poulomi Desai | Red Square
Richard Dawson | Shabash | Shield Your Eyes | Snoozie Hexagon
Sun Skeletons | The Physics House Band | Unicorndad Vrs Robotdad
Thee Bald Knobbers’ Church Of Chaos | Tomaga | Zombie Crash
Grey Hairs | Homosexual Death Drive | Horse Loom | Weird Menace
Shopping | I’m Being Good | Les Bonbons | Sea Bastard

Multi-disciplinary arts programme featuring over 30 international, contemporary artists, presenting work including installation, intervention, performance, sound and spectacle.

Plus

— Artist-Led Workshops
— Full Cinema Programme
— Disco Tent
— Local Food
— Discussions And Talks

Weekend Tickets £75 – No Booking Fee!

www.supernormalfestival.co.uk

Ramesses, Live at Supernormal 2012

Soon to be reviewed British doomers Undersmile released their first full-length, Narwhal, to much hyperbole at the end of May. Their label, Future Noise, sent quick word down the PR wire that the four-piece will be headlining the second stage at this year’s Supernormal Festival, which takes place this weekend. Check it while I delight in the grammar play of the phrase “Undersmile Supernormal,” thoroughly embroiled in my language geekery.

Click the fest poster to enlarge:

UNDERSMILE To Headline The Second Stage At The Supernormal Festival

Our very own UNDERSMILE will be headlining the second stage on Friday at this year’s Supernormal Festival, while the mighty RAMESSES are headlining the main stage. It takes place between Friday 10th to Sunday 12th August at Braziers Park, Oxford. The festival is sponsored by Rock-A-Rolla Magazine and below are some links for further information.

http://www.supernormalfestival.co.uk/

Artist Lineup:
http://www.supernormalfestival.co.uk/programme1/

Undersmile Page:
http://www.supernormalfestival.co.uk/programme1/undersmile/

Festival Schedule:
http://www.supernormalfestival.co.uk/2012/08/schedule-now-online/

[PLEASE NOTE: Got a winner for this one, thanks to all who got in touch. I’m going to leave this post up to help spread the word about the fest and for archival purposes, but we’re all good on the winner front.]

I just put a note up on the forum for anyone either British or traveling to the UK, the weekend of Aug. 19-21. The folks behind the Supernormal Festival were kind enough to hit me up with a pair of tickets to giveaway. If you’re around Oxfordshire or willing to get there and want to go, all I need is your name for the guest list.

Doesn’t cost anything to enter, you just have to send me a private message on the forum and say you’d like to go. If you really don’t want to register for the forum, you can hit me up on Thee Facebooks as well. Pretty low key, but it’s a cool fest, so I figure it’s worth making it easy.

There’s a ton of info on Supernormal‘s website about the bands playing, but it’s headlined by the mighty Skullflower, and really, that should be enough for someone out there to hit me up.

Here’s more about the fest from their page:

Supernormal is a surprising new addition to the summer calendar, a spontaneous and experimental artist-led event perfectly located in the magical looking-glass world that is Braziers Park in Oxfordshire.  Supernormal returns to the fundamental spirit of utopianism, imagination and adventure that is all too often lost in the financially-driven, artistically nondescript realm of the twenty-first century festival circuit, as a vibrant spectacle of cult live music, performance, discussion and cutting edge contemporary art.

The first Supernormal in 2010, headlined by Faust, was a heady, refreshing weekend of magic and mayhem, and this year’s event builds on its spirit by welcoming a host of guest curators, including Rocket Recordings, Heidi Heelz (Dice Club), and visual arts curator Matilda Strang, who have assembled a fresh, diverse and sparkling array of cult musical attractions and curiosities, from the legendary psychedelic transgressions of Skullflower, paragons of ethereal experimentation Cindytalk (fresh from Ray Davies’ Meltdown), Black ABBA (members of Moss), glam visionaries David Devant & his Spirit Wife and the last ever show by improv iconoclasts The A Band, to new talent like Gnod, Flats, Toy, Teeth of the Sea, Gum Takes Tooth and Maria and the Mirrors, with surprise headliners and alarming special guests still yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, everything from an Anat-Ben David (Chicks on Speed) collaboration with Dirty Electronics to a Sing-A-Long-A-Wicker-Man event, from a 36-hour continuous musical performance from Hákarl and friends to a performative lecture entitled Post-Colonial Cannibal will be taking place amidst the verdant English countryside.

Supernormal is an intimate event for an exclusive audience of 500, allowing the exploration of the site and out-buildings where a whole range of events will take place. Not run for profit, it is organised and curated by a small network of artists and musicians who share the aims and ethos of this truly alternative event, and takes place on an eco-site with fresh running water, eco toilets and hot outdoor showers with a wooded camping area.

Visit Supernormal’s website for more info.