Synth East 2026 brings an eclectic mix of artists and performances to immerse us in a weekend of electronic music and synthesiser happenings.
Friday Night
From director Jamie Taylor we have a film about Sheffield-based Studio Electrophonique. A place snuggled away in surburbia where early versions of bands such as Human League, Heaven 17, Def Leppard and Pulp cut their first tracks.
Following the film we have the launch of a new podcast called “I’ve got that on vinyl” from the founders of Electronic Sound Magazine. Mark Roland and Push will be taking that stage to share how two ex-Melody Maker journalists accidentally became magazine publishers and somehow built one of the world’s leading voices in electronic music culture. Expect a night of wild anecdotes, creative chaos, and musical nostalgia, as the Electronic Sound office is lovingly (and haphazardly) recreated on stage. Video salutations from some of the magazine’s former cover stars will help make it an evening to remember.
Stay around in the bar afterwards to hear Electronic artist Lilly Sphire deliver a beat-driven DJ set with live vocals and electronic embelishments.
Tickets are available from the Norwich Arts Centre :
https://norwichartscentre.co.uk/event/synth-east-film-live-podcast-live-music/
Saturday Daytime Performances
During the day on Saturday we fill the Norwich Arts Centre with synthesisers for the awesome Expo. Full of manufacturers and every sort of electronic music making device it’s a marvellous time of exploration. During the day we have live performances on stage, right in the thick of it all. The opening acts are still be decided but in the afternoon we have our now legendary All-Start Patch-Off.
The concept is simple. Get a bunch of modular musicians together, draw a pair of names out of a hat, and make them play together unrehearsed, unplanned and under prepared. The results so far have been stunning, this is modular improvisation at its most unique.
This year, joining the three regulars of Gaz Williams, Steve Davis and Robin Vincent we have Jason Lim, founder of Instruo Modular, Starsky Carr, synth youtuber and educator, and Scanner, modular artist and musician also known as Robin Rimbaud.
Tickets for the all-day Expo that includes the Patch-Off performances are available from the Norwich Arts Centre:
https://norwichartscentre.co.uk/event/synth-east-expo-2026
Saturday Night (SOLD OUT)
Somehow we managed to secure the legend that is Cabaret Voltaire. Sheffield’s pioneers of industrial and electronic music, from the 1970s DIY electronica of ‘Nag, Nag, Nag’ and the’Extended Play’ EP, through to the razor sharp major label output like ‘The Crackdown’, their influence echoes through decades of synth, techno, and experimental sound.
Supporting them on the night will be the ever-innovative Scanner, bringing his signature fusion of found sound and expert electronic textures, collaborating live and unrehearsed with Molten Modular, whose live modular synth interventions will no doubt help create some unexpected sonic magic.
