Cercle is a music company headquartered in Paris, France. It operates as a

livestreaming Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

platform for music, an event and festival producer and a record label. Founded in 2016 by Derek Barbolla, Cercle originally specialized in organizing, filming and broadcasting

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

concerts in unconventional venues of cultural, natural, aesthetic or artistic significance. While the music programming originally focused on various subgenres of electronic music (

deep house Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ( ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

), it broadened its spectrum as of 2021 by featuring neoclassical and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

artists such as

Sofiane Pamart Sofiane Pamart is a French pianist, based in Paris and originally from Hellemmes in the suburbs of Lille. He is known to the French public for breaking the elitist codes of classical piano. As a gold medallist at the Conservatoire de Lille, he ...

(2021) and

Hania Rani Hania Rani (born Hanna Raniszewska; 1990) is a Polish pianist, composer and singer. Early life and education Rani was born in Gdańsk. She studied music at the Music School Feliks Nowowiejski in Gdańsk and the Fryderyk Chopin University of Musi ...

(2022).

History

Derek Barbolla founded Cercle in 2016. His first livestreamed videos—which streamed every Monday—featured an interview with a DJ followed by a live set. After receiving complaints from his neighbours, the live shows were exported to various underground locations in Paris: the "basement of a sandwich shop", a "club" or on a "moving barge on the Seine". Barbolla met Philippe Tuchmann at this time at the Faust club in Paris. Tuchmann later became the artistic director of the Cercle. Pol Souchier,

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and head of communication, said in an interview with

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

that the idea of producing concerts in

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...

locations “wasn't there at the beginning.". It germinated from their first live show at the Eiffel tower in October 2016 with French DJ

Møme Møme (born 28 July 1989 as Jérémy Souillart) is a French DJ from Nice. His most successful single was "Aloha", which charted at a peak of 10 in France. In October 2016, Møme was confirmed to play at the 31st edition of Eurosonic Noorderslag ...

on the occasion of his ''Panorama'' album release. Barbolla had sent a request for a live music performance via the Eiffel Tower’s website’s contact page and received a positive response. Since then, Cercle has invited an artist on Mondays for a live performance or one-hour DJ set in cultural heritage sites across the world. The guest was then interviewed by Cercle, with questions from online viewers.

Key events

Cercle has produced and broadcast more than 240 programmes in 31 different countries, among the most notable: * Ben Böhmer on a hot air balloon over

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

(2020) *

Boris Brejcha Brejcha (; born November 26, 1981 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein) is a German DJ and record producer. He describes his music style as "''high-tech minimal''." His style has been compared with DJ Umek, and Solomun. Brejcha frequently wears a joker ...

at the

Palace of Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence ...

(2018), the

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arro ...

in Paris (2019) and the Arena of Nîmes (2022), * Black Coffee at Salle Wagram, Paris, France (2018) * FKJ at the

Salar de Uyuni Salar de Uyuni (or "Salar de Tunupa") is the world's largest salt flat, or playa, at over in area. It is in the Daniel Campos Province in Potosí in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes at an elevation of above sea level. The Sal ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

(2019) *

under auroras,

Lapland Lapland may refer to: Places *Lapland or Sápmi, an ethno-cultural region stretching over northern Fennoscandia (parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia) **Lapland (Finland) (''Lappi''/''Lappland''), a Finnish region *** Lapland (former pr ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

(2021) *

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

at Brighton i360, United-Kingdom (2019) *

Nina Kraviz Nina Kraviz (russian: Нина Кравиц, Nina Kravits) is a Russian DJ, music producer and singer. Early life and career Kraviz was born and raised in Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia. She moved to Moscow to study dentistry where she later gained h ...

from the first floor of the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

, Paris (2018) *

Carl Cox Carl Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, as well as radio DJ and record producer. He is based in Hove, Sussex, England. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has performed at numerous clubs and ele ...

at the Château de Chambord (2018), * Amelie Lens at the

Atomium The Atomium ( , , ) is a landmark building in Brussels, Belgium, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo '58). It is located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken (northern part of the City of Brussels), where the exh ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

(2019) * Disclosure at the Plitvice Lakes National Park,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

(2020) *

Stephan Bodzin Stephan Bodzin (born 4 August 1969 in Bremen) is a German DJ techno- and trance producer and label owner.Piz Gloria Piz Gloria is a revolving restaurant at the -high summit of the Schilthorn near Mürren in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. Overview The cable car station and the restaurant were designed by Bernese architect Konrad Wolf. The Piz restaurant c ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(2018) *

Sébastien Léger Sébastien Léger () is a French house DJ and producer. His singles "Hit Girl", "Hypnotized" and "Aqualight" have become hit dance singles played in clubs across Europe. In March 2021, Magnetic Magazine placed his track "Firefly" at The 15 Best ...

at the

Giza Pyramids The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

(2020) * Adriatique at the

Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is part of th ...

, in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, France (2019) * Solomun at the Roman Theatre of Orange, France (2018) *

WhoMadeWho WhoMadeWho is a Copenhagen-based experimental pop trio, who formed in 2003. The band consists of jazz guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg, drummer Tomas Barfod and singer/bassist Tomas Høffding. Career The band released several 12-inches on German dis ...

Abu Simbel Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel ( ar, أبو سمبل), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about sou ...

(2021) * ZHU at Hakuba Iwatake,

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(2020) * The Blaze at the Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix, France (2020) * Above & Beyond in Guatapé,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

(2021) * Bedouin at Al-Khazneh,

Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

(2022) * Innellea at

Jaisalmer Fort Jaisalmer Fort is situated in the city of Jaisalmer, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is believed to be one of the very few "living forts" in the world (such as Carcassonne, France), as nearly one fourth of the old city's population still re ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

https://www.thewildcity.com/news/19446-cercle-returns-to-india-with-colyn-at-jatayu-earth-s-center * Colyn at

Jatayu Earth's Center Nature Park Jatayu Earth Center, also known as Jatayu Nature Park or Jatayu Rock, is a park and tourism centre at Chadayamangalam in Kollam district of Kerala. It stands at an altitude of 350m (1200ft) above the mean sea level. Jatayu Nature Park holds ...

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Cercle Records

Cercle Records is a record label founded in September 2020 and owned by the parent company Cercle. Since its inception, Cercle Records has released around 40 singles and EPs from artists invited on the Cercle channel, such as ''Nopalitos'' by Kid Francescoli (2021), ''Cappadocia'' by Ben Böhmer and Romain Garcia (2021), ''Canopée des Cîmes'' by Jan Blomqvist (2022), ''Abu Simbel'' by

(2021) or ''BOREALIS'' by

(2021).

Cercle Festival

Cercle has produced two festivals (branded as "Cercle Festival") in 2019 and 2022.

Cercle Festival 2019

The 2019 Cercle Festival took place on 11 May 2019 at the Château de Chambord on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the castle.

Cercle Festival 2022

Originally scheduled for 10–11 October 2020, this edition of the Cercle Festival was postponed twice due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and finally took place on 14–15 May 2022 at the National Air & Space Museum near

Le Bourget Le Bourget () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero#France, center of Paris. The commune features Paris - Le Bourget Airport, Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hos ...

, France, with a total capacity of 24,000 people over the course of the event. The festival featured a line-up of 28 international artists. This edition of the festival was named "Best Electro Music Festival in France 2022" at the Heavent Awards.

Other formats

Cercle Stories

In January 2021, Cercle introduced ''Cercle Stories'', a new audiovisual format that aims to showcase an artist’s performance of a track in a location of cultural, historical, natural or aesthetic interest. Cercle Story: Chapter One released in November 2021. Cercle Story: Chapter Two was avant-premiered at Le Grand Rex in Paris, followed by a release party with the featured artists at the Rex Club

Cercle Moment

Since 2022, Cercle has also developed a new travel experience format, Cercle Moment. For example, Cercle announced in December 2022 a "five-day journey along the Nile" experience in February 2023, which will culminate at Adriatique's live concert at the Temple of Hatshepsut near

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

One Way

In April 2023, Cercle introduced One Way, a series of 20 underground concert experiences that aim to "bring back the essence of

" in an age of

image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

and digital

hyperconsumerism Hyperconsumerism, hyper-consumerism, hyperconsumption or hyper-consumption is the Consumption (economics), consumption of goods beyond ones necessities and the associated significant pressure to consume those goods, exerted by social media and othe ...

. In order to focus the experience solely on music, One Way rejects all superficial distractions such as phones, cameras, online music

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

and most importantly the identity of the artist. Artists perform within a cubic, modern and enclosed

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

and can see the audience, whereas they cannot see them. Their identity is kept secret until it is revealed at the end of their set. The first one is scheduled for May 11, 2023 in Paris, France.

External links

Official website

Notes and references

{{Reflist Live streaming services Internet television streaming services Dance music television channels Electronic music Electronic music festivals Live music French record labels Electronic music organizations