Supernormal 2011

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.


Taking place in the sprawling ramshackle rounds of the 17th
century mansion that is home to Braziers Park School of
Integrative Social Research (BSISR), Supernormal investigates
the power of multiple arts practice to reshape the festival
format through collective action thus continuing the tradition
of counter-cultural activity established by BSISR, Britain’s
oldest secular community that dates back to the Second World
War. As well as being the childhood home of Ian Fleming and
Marianne Faithfull, the likes of Alexander Trocchi, R.D.Laing
and John Latham have all contributed to the revolutionary
Braziers spirit.


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), 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, Rose Elinor Dougall, 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 perfomance 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 five hundred, 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.