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Bristol's Experimental Music Listings

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Bristol's Experimental Music Scene

It’s Bristol’s dance music that has earnt Bristol’s music scene international recognition, but the city’s playful experimentation between musicianship, electronics and sound art that is starting to gain the most traction. It's with a sigh of relief that we bid farewell to loop-pedal-powered hippies of the past and embrace the patch bays, compressors and modular synths of the future. All Bristol’s experimental music events are listed on this page.

Buy tickets for experimental music events in Bristol

Our recent experimental music recommendations

Round 2 of A.R. Kane’s immaculate dream-pop re-conception is a vast and heavenly affair. With our greatest living dub poet Roger Robinson, Lord Tusk’s cerebral afrofuturist electro, Jabu and their astral Bird of Peace arkestra all leading you to a blessed state unmatched by St Thomas himself (probably). Part 2 of a two-night special presented by Do You Have Peace? + Music to Come

What our editors say

“Even as its five members have been pulled by tides of their own, Ulrika Spacek has always been a symbol of collective art. Despite a range of day jobs (experimental physicists, graphic designers, music producers) the collective pursuit is there in the shared dream logic of the music: the off-kilter melodies, jagged guitars and cirrus cloud atmospherics. It’s there, in all the things that are said and unsaid between them; there in the writing, producing and mixing processes they share in. And even as each of their parts moves toward a unified vision, it’s never more keenly felt than in the bigger picture to which Ulrika Spacek belong.”
From: ULRIKA SPACEK

“STRANGE FUTURES Bristol's Strange Futures invite you to join their underground electro-punk dance party and ethereal goth séance, bringing dark beats, arresting basslines and ethereal melodies together with disarming lyrics. Having supported artists such as Drab Majesty, S Y Z Y G Y X, Male Tears, Traitrs, Ductape, and Dancing Plague, they are quickly gaining a reputation for an energetic and intense live show. Bring your own bleakness.”
From: Creux Lies + Strange Futures + tbc

“Formed through a mutual love of 80’s goth and alternative rock music. Sanctum Sanctorium are a live 4 -piece band that faithfully recreate classic hits by artists such as The Cult, Killing Joke, Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, The Cure, Bauhaus and more. Smoke machines at the ready with the clothes and the attitude. Visually and musically, they are startlingly accurate. Sanctum Sanctorium deliver a blistering live set from She Sells Sanctuary and Love like Blood through to Bela Lugosi’s Dead & This Corrosion. Dust down your leather jacket and paint your nails and get ready to be transported to The Dark Side of the 80’s.”
From: Sanctum Sanctorium

“An advocate for inspiring more arts and culture in his hometown, Finn Hails from the industrial town of Middlesbrough in the North East of England and his songs come from places of real truth, deliver anthemic melodies and shine light on the trials and tribulations of his youth told through captivating vocals.”
From: Finn Forster

“After the remarkable success and acclaim that greeted her second album, Carry Them With Us, Brìghde Chaimbeul returns with a magic(k)al third album, Sunwise, which sees her push forward experimentally but also immerse her music more deeply in tradition, folklore and mystery. Extending the fearless, experimental ethos of her lauded 2023 album "Carry Them With Us,” Brìghde Chaimbeul's new music continues to push the boundaries and expectations of both experimental and traditional sonics.”
From: Brìghde Chaimbeul + Nora Brown with Stephanie Coleman