Music / Reviews
Review: Machina Bristronica 2025, Document
Machina Bristronica is a unique fixture in the musical calendar. A music tech trade show that gradually morphs into a warehouse party, it’s become unmissable for synth enthusiasts and fans of electronic music alike.
Festival-goers having an impromptu jam
The organisers are Bristol synth emporium Elevator Sound, whose owner Marco Bernardi is an avid gear collector and a highly accomplished producer of techno and electro. Ranging from panel discussions and gear demos to performances by leading electronic music artists, Machina is very much a world built in its creator’s image.
The DIY Stage
The main room at Machina 2025 was a vast playpen. There were areas where you could jam with other festival-goers on synths, samplers and drum machines. A busy DIY area had people soldering circuits to build new toys to take home.
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Tim Exile
There were opportunities to try out products from industry giants Novation and Elektron as well as boutique manufacturers like Bristol’s BugBrand and Czech eccentrics Bastl. We had fun with a weirdly addictive rotating colour sequencer from Berlin, while a gorgeously designed Eurorack modular from Glasgow’s Instruo was a real heartbreaker.
Shanti Celeste
Elsewhere there were discussion panels on various niche topics (field recordings, FX pedals) and a series of deep dives on cutting edge music products from sound designer and YouTuber DivKid. A DJ set from former Bristol resident Shanti Celeste featured her pick of unreleased tracks submitted by more than 200 producers from the South-West.
Nadia Struiwigh
Nadia Struiwigh played a thrilling set, demonstrating her mastery of sound design and intricate rhythm. Her fellow Dutch artist Gesloten Cirkel gave an all-hardware performance of powerfully off-kilter, acid-laced techno that really turned up the heat.
Gesloten Cirkel
Saturday’s headliner was Planetary Assault Systems, aka revered UK producer and DJ Luke Slater. For Bristol’s small, tight knit techno community it was a rare treat to see a giant of the genre up close, and this one didn’t disappoint.
Luke Slater, aka Planetary Assault Systems
Slater’s precision tooled performance of dystopian synths and lung-puncturing kick drums was so immersive it was virtually impossible to come up for air. Machina Bristronica’s transformation from synth geek convention to sweat-drenched underground rave was complete.
Top image: Instruo modular synth
Photography by Hannah Burrows
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