SOUNDIT 2026: The Barcelona festival hits its stride

SOUNDIT returns with standout sets from Helena Hauff, gyrofield and Kode9 b2b Tim Reaper, alongside takeovers from Ilian Tape and TraTraTrax.

It feels surprising that this is only SOUNDIT Festival’s second year. Boasting an enticing line-up that unites dance music heavyweights with underground talent, anticipation around the festival has been steadily mounting in the run-up to the two-day event. Arriving at Barcelona’s Parc Nou, that excitement is tangible: a buzz that speaks not only to its impressive billing but also to a genuine appetite for fresh energy within the city’s festival calendar.

On first impression, what’s immediately apparent is the level of care and consideration behind SOUNDIT, something that is consistently reinforced across the weekend. The park, framed by pine trees, provides a scenic setting, while the thoughtful design of each of the five stages and their sound systems is evident throughout, with every area cultivating an atmosphere that complements its programming.

The Eco stage on Friday plays host to a run of standout sets, including gyrofield’s adventurous club mutations and Barcelona-based Memory Palace, who delivers an immersive two-hour journey through bass atmospherics that builds from hazy dub sonics and percussive kinetics into dark, hypnotic techno.

Elsewhere, Ilian Tape takes over the Laberint stage on Friday. As part of the label’s curation, Atrice delivers an exhilarating live set. Speaking to the duo’s background in composition and sound design, their performance offers a distinctly sculptural approach filled with twisted and textural club experimentations. 

Back at Eco, the closing b2b between Kode9 and Tim Reaper is an assured Friday highlight. In true style of the Hyperdub boss and Future Retro head, together they provide a schooling in dance legacy and futurism, weaving Burial footwork and Donna Summer hardcore edits amongst a heady barrage of jungle, skittering bass and juke. Their set leaves a lingering euphoria and anticipation for what’s still to come.

Kicking off Saturday, Nosedrip and Vlada unite; two underground cult heroes known for an unpredictable breadth in their selection prowess, they delve into slinky EBM, downtempo electro and acid to ease us into the day. This blissed-out ambience is only augmented by the picturesque backdrop as a flock of birds circles above the trees behind the stage.

Taking things up a notch, the energy is high at the Laberint stage as DJ Lag brings the gqom and amapiano heat. His set is followed by Bitter Babe, who sustains this energy albeit taking things in a different direction; playing live, she delivers a sucker-punch of brooding dub and low-slung dembow. Both artists play as part of TraTraTrax’s takeover, a stacked curation that hosts some of the most highly anticipated sets of the weekend – a hype that is very much lived up to.

A historic highlight comes in the form of DJ Babatr and DJ Yirvin playing together for the first time ever. Two trailblazers from Caracas’ dance scene, the raptor house pioneers put past rivalries behind them to celebrate Venezuelan music culture. Throughout their set, this manifests in a celebratory joy that emanates from both DJs and extends throughout the crowd – and it’s a feeling that is representative of SOUNDIT as a whole: this is a festival that’s rooted in the celebration of underground music culture. 

Amidst hyper-commercialisation across music and commodification of the cultural underground, SOUNDIT carves out a much-needed space. It hits a sweet spot, uniting huge names like Helena Hauff and Honey Dijon whilst also championing the local scene and celebrating grassroots cultural resistance. One key example of this is a new area introduced this year which sees Berlin’s Refuge Worldwide and Barcelona’s Canino FM curate the Resso stage, predominantly hosting a series of DJ sets from Barcelona-based artists and providing a space for more ambient-leaning sonic meditations across the weekend. 

Rounding out the festival, CCL and Verraco’s b2b is a gloriously relentless odyssey through wonky bass pressure and percussive club innovation. A testament to both artists’ status as key figures in contemporary dance music, their set provides a resoundingly impactful conclusion to SOUNDIT’s impressive second edition, leaving plenty of excitement for next year while cementing the festival as a refreshing addition to the dance music circuit.