In the early evening of this Saturday (14th) during Carnival, Cais da Alfândega, in Recife, will host another edition of Rec-Beat – a festival that celebrates 30 years in 2026, keeping alive the vitality and restlessness that marked its origins.
Founded in 1995 by Antonio Gutierrez, known as Gutie, Rec-beat has built a trajectory throughout its history guided by diversity, where different audiences, aesthetics and generations meet.
The festival has established itself as a space for discovery, experimentation and circulation of new musical ideas, united by the dialogue between traditions and avant-garde.
In a scenario increasingly marked by sameness, Rec-Beat brings to its programming a mix of genres, styles and scenes, mixing artists from Brazil and the world, and responding to the transformations in music, establishing itself as a cultural manifesto that is increasingly necessary today.
From February 14th to 17th, free of charge, the festival inaugurates its platform for discovery, circulation and dialogue between scenes from Brazil, Latin America and Africa.
Among the highlights of this edition, emerging names such as NandaTsunami, AJULLIACOSTA and Jadsa join artists such as Djonga, Johnny Hooker and Carlos do Complexo.
Johnny Hooker from Pernambuco makes a return to Rec-Beat with the national debut of the tour Living and Dying with Love in Latin Americabased on her fourth studio album.
The festival also features Chico Chico, Josyara, AJULLIACOSTA and Felipe Cordeiro, who celebrates 20 years of career as one of the pioneers in the fusion of Amazonian sounds, sharing the show with Layse, an emerging name on the Pará scene.
International names such as the Senegalese Momi Maiga Quartet and the Colombian Ghetto Kumbé will also be present. The curatorship reflects the festival’s proposal, guided by aesthetic diversity and sound experimentation.
With an audience of more than 60 thousand people per edition, the festival continues with a renewed interest in providing an unforgettable experience in a democratic and inclusive environment.
Electronic music
One of the main novelties of this edition is the launch of Moritz, a project dedicated exclusively to electronic music, which debuts within the Rec-Beat program, taking the stage on this first day of the festival.
Designed as an autonomous platform, Moritz was born as a natural expansion of Rec-Beat’s DNA and should have its own editions in the future, with a focus on the track, authorial curation and experimentation.
The Pernambuco DJ and producer Paulete Lindacelva, Carlos do Complexo, Colombian Piolinda Marcela, SPHYNX, LOFIHOUSEBOY and DAVS are confirmed in the program.
Among this year’s highlights is the Senegalese Momi Maiga Quartet, virtuoso of the traditional kora instrument, which fuses ethnic jazz, flamenco and African music. His second album, Kairo (2024), brings a political and humanist approach, in a dialogue between Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean.
Another name is Faizal Mostrixx, a Ugandan producer and performer who created the concept of tribal electronicsmixing field recordings, regional East African rhythms and electronic dance music.
Also on the program is the Nigerian-British DJ and producer based in Germany Kikelomo, with a fusion of drum’n’bass and jungle.
THE lineup of DJs who perform at the opening and intermission of showsbrings a diversity of styles and sound proposals. For another year, the festival highlights the local electronic scene with a lineup entirely from Pernambuco, with KAI, DJ and music researcher, as co-curator.
Zoe Beats, Camaragibe’s calf, makes a set based on grime, garage and junglealigned with Pernambuco references, such as the manguebeat.
Afrobitch proposes an exchange of the multiple aspects of house with genres like dembow, dancehall and funkalways with a black and Afro-diasporic perspective. Bobi joins record and house with Afro-Latin rhythms, with samples that go from the floor to the funk.
The complete program can be seen at festival website.
