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East Anglia: Where Weird is Welcome and the Volume Knob is Stuck on Eleven

Let’s get one thing straight: East Anglia is absolutely heaving with creativity. It's not just a sleepy backwater where nothing happens. This place is alive. It fizzes with ideas, like a can of Tizer that’s been dropped down the stairs.

Now some of what emerges from this creative stew is gloriously eclectic. If it were a playlist, it’d veer from ambient drone made with church bells and jam jars to shouty punk bands who think stage lighting is bourgeois. And yes, most of the music we’ve put a spotlight on could be called “electric” — not because it’s full of synths or plugs (although, sure, there’s a fair bit of that), but because it crackles with that you-had-to-be-there kind of energy.

You could call some of it outsider art. But that’d miss the point. Because the audience isn’t standing outside. They’re right there in the room, pint in hand, grinning like kids who've found the swear word section in a dictionary. They’re regulars at our “noise shows” (and I use inverted commas because frankly, the shows are often far more musical than most people’s Spotify Wrapped).

And the rules? Oh, they’re deliciously simple:  

**If you want to do it, do it.**  

**If you want to play a gig, put one on.**  

This isn’t some exclusive club where you need a lanyard and a networking strategy. This is punk rock with added buttons. Probably hand-sewn onto a boiler suit you found in a skip. If it works, great. If it doesn’t? Even better. You’ll learn something. Maybe about art. Maybe about electrics. Maybe about what _not_ to plug into a fog machine.

But the point is, this is DIY with a D for “don’t ask permission” and an I for “I’ll give it a go.” The Y? That’s for you, mate.

It’s the East Anglia Noise Alliance Weekender, baby.

The name sort of gives the game away, doesn’t it? Two nights. Two towns. Too good to miss.

Night one crashes into Ipswich at the Smokehouse. Night two rolls into Bury St Edmunds and takes over the Rehearsal Rooms like it’s squatting there rent-free. It’s loud, it’s weird, it’s glorious. And loads of folks come to both nights because that’s what weekends are _for_. Not spreadsheets and soggy washing-up. Adventure. Chaos. Saying “yes” to things before you know the details.

So, cancel your plans. Sack off that family gathering unless they’re up for crowd-surfing. Quit your job if you must (especially if it’s boring, which statistically it probably is). Do whatever it takes to be there. Because these aren’t just gigs. These are _events_. One-offs. Unrepeatable slices of sonic mayhem. Blink and you’ll miss it, and if you miss it, well, we’ll miss you too. And that’s not just sentimental guff — it’s the truth.

Because this thing? It only works when you’re in the room.

IPSWICH

Friday 16th May 2025

• The  Breedling

• Rules For Radicals

• Matt Rose

• Forget/Regret, Regret

• Chiba Neon (Toine Scholtz)

• Nukleapatra

BURY ST EDMUNDS

Saturday 17th May 2025

• Mawhrin Skel

• Sloughed 

• Dysfürik

• Fenland Drone Workshop

• SHIIVA

• Nick May

EMOM Ipswich

Electronic Music Open Mic in Ipswich

But why?

Electronic music is heavily based around experimentation. The usual rules of being in a band, or performing music often do not apply. The same theory can be applied to getting gigs. So we started EMOM (Electronic Music Open Mic) in Ipswich to create platform for electronic musicians to experiment, explore or simply enjoy a low-pressure excuse to perform in front of people.

If you have been tinkering with electronic music at home but feel you're not quite ready to start asking for gigs then bleep.works EMOM nights are a great way to dip your toes in the world of live electronic music in a friendly, supporting, nurturing and non-judgemental way.

If you have been playing electronic music live for years and you fancy playing at a bleep.works EMOM you are, of course, also very welcome. EMOM is a great platform for trying out new ideas that you might not be ready to take on tour.

So, leave your ego at the door and come and join us for an evening of interesting noises! You don't have to be a performer to enjoy EMOM, we are actively recruiting audience members!

To find out more about the ethos of EMOM have a look at https://www.electronicmusicopenmic.com/