Synth East is a festival of synths and modular nestled in the heart of Norwich at the tail-end of the winter. It is brought to you by the Norwich Arts Centre, Electronic Sound Magazine and Molten Modular. The festival includes films, performances, interviews, workshops and an Expo that packs the auditorium with music machines from many manufacturers for the hands-on delight of every enthusiast. Above all, Synth East celebrates what it is to be part of a community of synth-lovers and modular fiddlers with a weekend of electronic music immersion like no other.
Synth East 2027 – 19th to 21st February
Tickets are now available on the Norwich Arts Centre website.
We are very excited to bring you our fifth Synth East festival in February 2027. While we’re largely sticking to a format that has worked brilliantly over the last couple of years, we are pushing something new out into the Sunday. The intriguingly named Electronic Cabaret will feature a day of diverse performances from artists who exemplify our ideals about community, synthesisers and electronic quirk.
For full details of the line up please click on Artists, and also check out the Exhibitors page for information about the Saturday Expo, but here are the highlights.
Friday
It’s All About Vinyl Podcast with Adam Buxton | Resynator Screening
Synth East 2027 gets off to a thrilling start with a fascinating documentary about a long lost electronic instrument, and a live episode of Electronic Sound magazine’s podcast ‘It’s All About Vinyl’, with special guest Adam Buxton.
Saturday Daytime
Synth Expo and All-Star Patch-Off
The original all-day Synth Expo returns to the Norwich Arts Centre. It will be packed with synthesisers, modular and manufacturers eager to show you their latest creations and happy to answer any questions you may have.
During the morning we will have some performances from Korg and qrauer & Tape Shifter before leading into the now infamous All-Star Patch-Off. The patch-off brings together modular musicians who are required to improvise a performance for our entertainment. Pairs will be drawn out of a hat on the day, and joining regulars Robin Vincent, Gaz Williams, and Steve Davis, will be Laurie Black, Stephen McLeod (allmyfriendsaresynths) and Andrew Ostler (Expert Sleepers). It’s a unique set of performances that you won’t see anywhere else.
Saturday Evening
After a day of synth bleeps and bloops, the venue transforms for the Saturday night gig, featuring former DFA-signed minimalist electronic legends Factory Floor. Back with their first album for 10 years, ‘One Trip’, the band made their reputation with fierce live shows of stripped-down electronics which enveloped audiences into their hypnotic world of driving rhythms and ecstatic intensity.
Immersion is the ongoing electronic/krautrock-infused project from Wire’s Colin Newman and Malka Spigel formerly of Minimal Compact. Their new album, ‘What Is Lost Will Return’, is a reflective album of modular moods and stripped-down electronic psychedelia, leavened by a clipped guitar that you can nonetheless dance to, defying these chaotic times.
Sunday Daytime
Introducing our new Electronic Cabaret performance day, filled with a diverse range of electronic artists to delight the senses and excite your soul. We have performances from Molten Modular, Sophie Sirota, Still Fades, Laurie Black, allmyfriendsaresynths and Quasimodal. The days runs from a very civilised 11am until 4pm, giving travellers time to get home afterwards.