Machina Bristronica

A festival of Knobs, Buttons and Discussions, laid out over 4 warehouse rooms and an outdoor stage in the heart of Bristol UK.

Machina Bristronica is back for 2024, and now over two days! Better, stronger, faster. We have the technology.

Join us on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th of October for two days of synthesizer stalls, panel talks, live hardware performances, DIY modular workshops, music production and performance training, DJ sets and the Escher Music Connection showcase.

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• 3rd Event Technologies
• Acid Rain
• AJH Synth
• Apollo View
• Archaea Modular
• Arturia
• Ashun Sound Machines
• AtoVproject
• Audio.Computer
• Auza
• Bastl
• Beepboop
• Befaco
• Bela
• Bitwig
• Bjooks
• Bleep Klub
• Blukac
• Body Synths
• Boredbrain
• Bristol Communal Modular
• Buchla
• Chase Bliss
• Circuit Happy
• Clacktronics
• Clatters Machines
• Componental
• Damaru
• Decksaver
• Doepfer
• DPW Design
• Dreadbox
• Drift Dj Industries
• Elektron
• Emute Lab
• Endorphin.es
• Eowave
• Erica Synths
• Error Instruments
• Eventide
• Expert Sleepers
• Expressive E
• Feed Me Synthesis
• Finegear
• Frap Tools
• Flowfal
• Fully Wired Electronics
• Future Sound Systems
• Half Time Modular
• Herbs and Stones
• Hikari Instuments
• Instruo
• Isotonik Studios
• Jolinlab
• Joranalogue
• Knobula
• Laine
• Landscape
• Love Synthesizers
• Making Sound Machines
• Midicake
• Modular Perfection
• MRG Synthesizers
• Music Thing Modular
• MyVolts
• Neutral Labs
• Neuzeit Instruments
• Noise Lab Sweden
• Novation
• Oaka Instruments
• Oberheim
• Officina Del Malista
• Olivella Modular
• Orgeldream
• Patching Panda
• Plankton Electronics
• Play All Day
• Pushpin
• PWM Music
• Rides In The Storm
• Rossum Electro-Music
• RYK Modular
• Schlappi Engineering
• Sequential
• Shakmat Modular
• Sleepy Circuits
• Song Athletics
• Soma Laboratory
• Sonocurrent
• SoundForce
• Steady State Fate
• Stochastic Instruments
• Stylophone
• Supercritical Synthesizers
• Synth Cables
• Syntonie
• Tenderfoot
• Thawney
• Thonk
• Torso Electronics
• Tubbutec
• U.D.O Audio
• U-He
• Velocity Press
• Verbos
• Vermona
• Vostok Instruments
• Winter Modular
• WMD
• WORNG Electronics
• XOR Electronics

Tickets for both, or either, days are available from Resident Advisor HERE

FESTIVAL TICKET(S) ARE STILL NEEDED FOR EVENT ACCESS. DIY TICKETS ARE A SEPARATE PURCHASE BELOW.

Roll up, roll up! All ye wielders of the solder wand, bedroom builders and hardware hackers – we’ve got you covered at Machina Bristronica this year! Join us in the DIY AREA where you can build top notch hardware with assistance from the designers themselves. With everything from desktop noise machines to eurorack modules and tape loop workshops.

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>>LIVE BUTTONS & MACHINES________

For the grand return of Machina Bristronica Live Stage we’ve left no stone unturned on this smorgasbord of expert performance patchers, sonic scientists and sound system troubadours! 

An aural, optical and haptic feast running throughout the day where wizened synth heroes intertwine with a new generation of performers, experimental systems clash with traditional hardware and audio visual alchemy is conjured before your very eyes. 

You can find everything from sparkling synthetic electro, DIY kraut-punk rhythms, subtle shifting ambient textures, cable-laden modular excursions and everything in between! 

We’ll be taking a closer look at our live artists over the course of the week so keep an eye out for more info on each set.

The Live “Buttons” Stage will be running from doors right through to the end of the day on the Saturday 22:00pm and till 19:00pm Sunday, while the main hall closes at 18:00 both days. We’ll be rolling on through till Sunday evening with some thumping headline sets. 

Full live visuals all day long from our expert team and the highest quality lighting and sound from NSL. For those who can’t make it over we’ll be streaming the full day of sets on Youtube thanks to Dan at Insect Feet!

>>SATURDAY________

>>SUNDAY________

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>> SURGEON

Who better to kick off our live stage highlights than the mighty Surgeon, the constantly flickering lightbulb in the sweat-soaked basement of UK techno will be closing off Saturday night of the festival with a bang.

A quiet figurehead and tastemaker for 30 years, Surgeon’s signature blend of industrial textures, punk-sensibility and down-to-the-wire machine music ignites dancefloors across the planet utilising an ever changing, stripped back and forward thinking hardware setup.

A sonic explorer of the highest caliber, a quick dig into Surgeon’s many aliases will unlock various ambient, soundscape and drone projects from the man himself alongside beloved rough n’ tough live acts British Murder Boys (with Regis) and Trade (with Blawan).

>> ANTHONY ROTHER

It’s hard to think about the galaxy of electro without the vocoder-croon of Anthony Rother. Soaked in synthesizer squelch and laser-precision percussion, Rother’s live performances pull together influences of classic electro from the 80s, driving club heavy basslines and Kraftwerk-esque vocal riffs into a nebulous sound that stirs the mind and body into an undeniable rhythm.

With over 100 releases under his belt for labels such as Psi49net, Datapunk, Telekraft Recordings, Mechatronica and (one of our personal favourites) Cultivated Electronics – this is a strictly shock out set for all you cyborgs and sci-fi futurists.

>> LEGOWELT

A man who Alchemulator aka Bontempi 666 aka Calimex Mental Implant Corp aka Clendon Toblerone, aka Danny Blanco aka Dickie Smabers aka Gladio aka Hermit In A Rave Cave aka Jackmaster Corky aka Lords Of Midnite aka Nomad Ninja aja Polarius aka R-Zone aka Shadow Wolf aka Smackos aka Twilight Moose aka Westside Box Savants… but you may address him as Legowelt. 

A spokesperson for machine music since the dawn of time, Legowelt’s influence stretches from hiss-soaked synth pop to the rawest jackin’ house traxx, pixellated cybernetic electro, alien ambience and club cuts so wonky they can’t stand up. Armed with a synth collection to rival the gods and an encyclopedic knowledge of golden-era Casio tech he surfs the universe, spilling a techno-color wash of woozy sound in his wave.

>> LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER

There’s only one Look Mum No Computer. The boiler suit-ed boy wonder behind hacked hardware fables that echo around internet comment forums and in whispers at the back of the synth meet. Hushed tales of Furbies mutated into an unholy orchestra, church organs belching forth musical (and literal) flames and a hundred Game Boys wired into a wall of glorious 8-bit sound.. 

But Look Mum’ is more than just a folkloric figure to the synth community – he’s an electric bard of the highest order, summoning forth ripping synth-pop singalongs with support from his trusty Kosmo 5U super system, tried and tested in live scenarios from packed clubs to festival stages, from the beaches of the South Coast to the sprawling space of the Scottish highlands. 

From reviving ancient sound machines, bending 90s toys, writing pop bangers, car restoration, musical collaborations with Hainbach, telephone switchboard reconstruction, putting flamethrowers things, to running the incredible This Museum Is Not Obsolete (where you can find many of these madcap creations) – is there nothing the polymathmatical Look Mum No Computer can’t do?!

(We have heard he’s not great at Minesweeper, what with the lack of computer and all..)

>> NIK VOID

Sitting at the centre of an intricately woven web of murky industrial dub sonics, hypnotic synth minimalism and skittering, fleet-footed techno pulses is Nik Colk Void. A true sonic shapeshifter, Nik is capable of de/reconstructing her sound from project to project, while keeping a tight grip on the techniques and approaches to performance and production that cement her as an undeniable root of the electronic underground. Preceding a masterful full length ‘Bucked Up Space’ on Editions Mego Nik has a dizzy history of musical projects, from the era-defining Factory Floor and noise-pop outfit KaitO to the iconic Carter Tutti Void linkup alongside years of her own sonic experiments, twisting live performances and aural creations.

A prolific collaborator, 2024 alone has seen Nik pair up with Alexander Tucker, Klara Lewis, MAOTIK, Ute Kanngiesser, ALM Busy Circuits, Shiva Feshareki and the late, great Peter Rehberg across all manner of experimental, audio visual and avant-garde international performances and productions. 

At Machina Bristronica 2024 we’ve got an uninterrupted hour for Nik to let loose on the system.. This is set to be something very special.

>> HAINBACH

A true icon amongst the overburdened online world of synthesizer aficionados, Hainbach crosses time and space in pursuit of unique and unusual machines – conjuring forth sounds both time-worn and yet strangely familiar.. A master of the magnetic world, it’s rumored he can control a Naga tape machine using only soft spoken tones and subtle hand movements, Jedi style. 

Surrounding Hainbach is a whirling sonic universe, combining Musique Concrete composition with saturated percussive flutters, melancholic poly-warble and rich analog melodies. This deep tapestry of sound bursts forth from any manner of hardware, it could be mis-used ancient laboratory equipment or the esoteric wooden creations of Ciat Lonbarde, a honed and toned eurorack system, precision engineered emulation software or an Italian 70s synth you’ve never heard of. It’s this time-traveling and open minded approach to machinery that solidifies Hainbach’s position as a unique voice in the world of contemporary electronic music.

>> LOULA YORKE

If going on a journey through sound is your goal, then you’d be hard pressed to find a better guide than performer, composer and sound artist Loula Yorke. Her monthly mixtapes are a personal favourite at Machina HQ,  interweaving rich field recordings with drifting modular musing. This creates a microscopic view into the lines between nature and civilisation and the micro-soundscapes that exist within our homes, our streets and the fields that surround our cities.

An accomplished producer and performer, there are hints to the halcyon days of rave within her award winning compositions – melodies arc and interpolate like murmurations and snippets of voice skitter through dense layers of harmonics. It’s not all beauty and light though, Loula’s earlier releases and the Oram Awards winning ‘Atari Punk Girls’ project peel back the quantisation and reveal the bubbling, boggy chaos beneath from which all beautiful things grow.

>> PADDY STEER

50% time traveling exoplanetary mage, 50% punk-tronic DIY pirate and 100% tripped out – there’s only one Paddy Steer. 

Dressed in the traditional garb of his home planet, he sits at the controls of a staggering array of custom synth designs, haphazard towers of hand painted synthesizers and sequencers recalling the glory days of psychedelic synth pioneers. 

Doing auditory donuts in the sonic space between krautrock and the Arkestra, electroclash, synth pop and the whimsical early electronics of Jean-Jacques Perrey. A treat for the ears and (third) eyes alike, strap your in, don your helmet and get ready to warp into the alien realms..

>> THOMAS RIDLEY

With one foot in heady, swirling bass and the other firmly rooted in sharp, slicing techno Thomas Ridley is a (not so) secret weapon amongst Bristol’s underground electronic scene. Released on GOTO and Sine Language Records, his productions solidly echo the live experience with tenderly layered textures, rolling percussion, sparse cavernous reverbs and body-thudding sub punch. 

Although drawing from a winding path of influences and production styles, Thomas squishes these all down to a tightly honed live setup, focussing on both performance and improvisation. Catch him kicking off the live stage on Saturday with a special exploration into the deep and dubby machine world.

>> HINAKO OMORI

Light as a feather and just as soft, Hinako Omori’s delicate compositions tie together silken strands of hazy ambience, binaural field recordings and precision synth work – all dangling from a baroque harmonic framework. With two records for London experimentalist label Houndstooth in her sails, Hinako journeys deeper into the ocean of performance with her keyboards, pedals and processors as shipmates. Her tender approach to sound is also reflected in installations and commissions for Radio 3, The Serpentine Gallery, soundtrack works and radio broadcasts. 

Her solo performances have graced The National Gallery, ICA and Barbican alongside extensive touring in the US, Japan and EU as both a solo artist and keys maestro for Floating Points, Kae Tempest, BBC Concert Orchestra and Shabaka Hutchings. Turn up, lay down and lose yourself in the soothing synthesized sounds..

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THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF EURORACK: AN INTERVIEW WITH DIETER DOEPFER & HOLGER ZAPF. Hosted by Mylar Melodies

Mylar Melodies takes to the sofa on Saturday afternoon at Machina to interview the father of the Eurorack synthesizer, Dieter Doepfer, on his life and works.

Exploring the history of creating the format, designing tools for Kraftwerk and more. Dieter will be joined with Holger Zapf, the new managing director of Doepfer, to discuss how the company will evolve into the future.

An absolute must see for any and all modular heads. Get in early to save yourself a seat , this one will be rammed !

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In need of some post Machina plans? Maybe an invigorating full body electro workout or some spaced out electronic oddities to wind down after a long day on the buttons?

We’ve got you covered with the OFFICIAL MACHINA AFTERPARTY on Saturday night at Strange Brew. More live sets than you can shake a stick at including electro luminaries DMX Krew, London Modular Alliance and Ben Pest, eurorack-attack techno bounce from Trovsrsi b2b ALX-106 and Andy & Grace and everyone favourite kooky synth wizard True Cuckoo!

Tickets up on Headfirst now, please note these are separate to the Machina Day tickets. 

Tickets – HERE