Exhibition Launch - The Bristol Germ: 5 Years of Bristol's Avant-Garde Music (Upstairs Bar 5-11)

The Bristol Germ is an illustrated music publication, promoting Bristol’s contemporary underground and avant-garde scene. Initially presenting a dramatic new wave of artists going criminally overlooked, The Bristol Germ presents this scene’s growth and hard-won achievement of wider recognition, across five years and four issues: ‘Ch. I: The Noble Crusade Begins’, ‘Ch. II: New Ground’s Acquired’, ‘Ch. III: The Nation’s Eyes Turn’ and ‘Ch. IV: The Vision Realised’.

Giving early interviews to luminaries such as IDLES, Giant Swan, SCALPING and Lynks, each instalment comprises interviews with key figures from Bristol’s music community, artwork by local illustrators, and ‘manifestos’ responding to perceived ills in the British music industry. Its live showcases in Bristol and London have included festival stages, a pioneering 3D spatial audio show in collaboration with Dolby Atmos, and SCALPING’s first London show.

On February 7th 2023, The Bristol Germ launched its final issue, ‘Ch. IV: The Vision Realised’. Focusing on the rising profile of Bristol’s avant-garde scene – which sees the call of The Bristol Germ’s first issue answered – this concluding instalment features Grove, Ishmael Ensemble, Sarahsson, DAMEFRISØR and others.

Together, the figures in this publication’s pages have helped build one of the most vital, eclectic and forward-thinking communities in modern music