After a triumphant UK debut which saw Nosferatu matched with Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac, the groundbreaking cinema experience Silents Synced has announced its next major event: Buster Keaton’s 1924 classic Sherlock Jr. scored live to R.E.M.’s Monster and New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Screenings will take place nationwide from 5th February 2026.
Silents Synced, which pairs legendary silent films with era-defining albums, offers audiences a bold reimagining of cinematic sound and storytelling. Each pairing is meticulously curated to create emotional and thematic synchronicity between film and music, bringing fresh life and renewed energy to century-old works.
Following the success of its inaugural UK programme – featuring F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu re-scored with the atmospheric textures of Radiohead – Silents Synced now turns its attention to one of silent comedy’s most innovative achievements.
Sherlock Jr. follows a daydreaming projectionist who imagines himself as a detective inside the films he screens, featuring breathtaking stunts that cemented Buster Keaton as a visionary of physical comedy and cinematic imagination.
R.E.M.’s music, which spans the raw alt-rock power of Monster to the expansive ambition of New Adventures in Hi-Fi, brings a thrilling new dimension to Keaton’s surreal, genre-bending comedy.
The project is endorsed by R.E.M. themselves. Bertis Downs, the band’s longtime manager, commented: “The guys thought it sounded like a great idea. They were struck by the uncanny way their music aligned with Sherlock Jr. — it’s kind of perfect. What a brilliant and unexpected way to present great art.”
Each pairing in Silents Synced is thoughtfully curated, with albums selected not only for their musical resonance but for thematic parallels to the films themselves — resulting in unexpected yet harmonious cinematic experiences. The films and music are synced with care, creating emotional and narrative synchronicity that brings new life to century-old classics.
Created by independent cinema pioneer Josh Frank — writer, producer, and founder of the famous Austin, Texas boutique urban drive-in, the Blue Starlite — Silents Synced is designed for and by the indie cinema community. Frank has previously collaborated with Black Francis, David Lynch, Harold Ramis, The Marx bros. Estate, and Tim Heidecker, and authored official biographies on the Pixies.
Conceived as a creative solution to the challenges facing cinemas around the world, Frank explains: “The question for independent cinemas all across the world has become: what can we do to not remain solely reliant on new tentpole Hollywood releases to get product and experiences people can—increasingly—often wait and get at home? This has led us to something brand new out of necessity, in the same way great outsider art has always been created. It’s a whole new cinema experience that we feel both film obsessives and music fans will find something really unique in.”
The screening of R.E.M. X Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. in cinemas will be preceded by a special short film presentation of one of Keaton’s classic short film works, The Balloonatic (1923), soundtracked by a new composition by renowned Brazilian electronic artist, Amon Tobin.
R.E.M. X Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. in cinemas from 5 February 2026
Tickets are available here.