Derek Barbolla on the Vision Behind Cercle Festival’s Return to the Air and Space Museum

Cercle Festival returns to the National Air and Space Museum of France in 2026 with its most ambitious edition yet. Derek and the team expanded the event to three days, increased capacity, and pushed the scenography into new territory, building on the momentum of their instantly sold-out 2024 edition.

This year’s programming stretches across 44 artists from 19 countries, with a range that moves through house, techno, electronica, UK garage, afro house, and experimental edges. With stages set beneath the Concorde, an A380, and the Ariane rocket, the weekend aims to deepen what makes Cercle’s approach so distinctive: thoughtful curation, strong visual identity, and a crowd that embraces artists willing to take risks.

In our conversation, Derek Barbolla walked through the early planning, the internal debates around curation, and the energy he wants this edition to carry.

Interview With Derek Barbolla

What idea guided the early planning stages of the 2026 edition?

This edition of the Cercle Festival at the MAE was highly anticipated, as the previous one, in 2024, sold out in 30 minutes without even announcing the line-up. This year, we decided to increase the capacity to welcome more people and expand the event to three days instead of two.

Dancing under the Concorde, an Airbus A380, and the world-class Ariane rocket, is already exceptional and a memorable experience, but we want to push it even further: we are currently working on the scenography, with some surprises… The immersion within the venue is currently being designed with greater ambition.
Regarding the line-up, I really wanted to propose an eclectic line up, while staying true to our roots.

We just announced it and I’m so grateful to receive so much positive feedback. In a world where I see more and more negativity on social media, I’m very glad we’ve managed to get everyone happy and excited, and that was our goal!

Were there any conversations inside the team that shaped the direction of the lineup?

Absolutely! I actually spent so many hours and days thinking about this line up… really wanted it to be perfect.
First of all, we asked the whole Cercle team to send us suggestions, and they obviously helped a lot, because the team is very passionate in music.

Together with my dear curator colleagues: Clément Meyere & Claire Miller, we wanted to curate a lineup that truly reflects Cercle’s DNA, with artists who feel like family: Ben Böhmer, Monolink, Mind Against, Kölsch, Miss Monique, Adriatique, Artbat & many more, while inviting some real legends that we admire, such as Röyksopp, Eric Prydz or Kerri Chandler. We also wanted to include new shades of electronic music like the amazing Colombian artist Funk Tribu for example. We worked hard to craft a genuine musical progression across the three days.
Finally, it was also essential for me to spotlight some of our french talent, including Anetha, Enfant Sauvage, Thylacine, Marten Lou, and Etienne de Crécy.

I’m incredibly happy with the result: this year, we’re bringing together 44 artists from 19 countries, with a lot of different genres, from afro house to techno, melodic techno, tech house, house, electronica & more.

Which artists on the lineup bring something new to the overall identity of the festival?

This year, we will experience a wider range of genres, including retro-futuristic vibes from Funk Tribu, UK garage and higher BPMs with the amazing Sammy Virji, techno with Anetha, but also incredible jazzy vibes with Berlioz…
I’m also pretty thrilled about Meera, an extremely talented emerging artist I can’t wait to see perform on our main stage, the A380.

That same stage will also host a very anticipated b2b between Âme and Sama’ Abdulhadi, surely one of the highlights of the weekend. Without forgetting Michael Bibi & Lane 8 which both play very rarely in Paris…

What conversations with artists helped you understand how they wanted to approach their sets?

I actually deeply trust artists to shape their sets in the way that feels most authentic to them…

At Cercle Festival, artists are free to experiment, to slow down, to take risks, or to explore a side of their musical identity that they don’t always get to showcase in traditional venues.

Our community is made of passionate electronic music fans who appreciate this freedom, so artists know they can go in any direction that feels right to them…

How do you think this edition will influence the way you plan future events?

I think this edition will, like always, push us to raise the bar even higher.

Each project teaches us something new, and this one in particular reinforces our will to create events that are even more immersive, more surprising, and more meaningful for our audience… I’m sure we will be more motivated than ever to keep building a world that feels happy, safe, unique and unforgettable. I want everybody to remember this festival forever, that’s my goal!