Barbatuques

Leading lights in the art of body percussion – a folk tradition that incorporates everything from hand-clapping to tap dancing – Barbatuques infuse their rhythmic stew with a pinch of humor and gallons of expression. Conceived by São Paulo musician Fernando Barba in 1995, the sprawling collective released its first album, Corpo do Som, in 2002, with follow-up O Seguinte é Esse arriving in 2005. In 2014, they contributed to the soundtrack for animated film Rio 2 with the songs "Beautiful Creatures" and "Don't go away". 2015 marked the release of Ayú and in 2018 they turned their attention to a younger audience with children's album Só + 1 Pouquinho. Constantly looking for new ways to innovate their practice, the group has performed live all over the world, including the US, Senegal and Lebanon, and picked up numerous accolades and achievements. In 2010, they participated in the World Cup in South Africa and in 2016 they participated in the closing of the Rio 2016 Olympics at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Over the next few years, Barbatuques returned to recording with the studio album Só + 1 Pouquinho (2018) and kept touring internationally with their body-percussion live format. In the late 2010s and early 2020s, “Baianá” gained new global exposure through high-profile remixes that carried the group’s sound into club and festival contexts. Following the death of founder Fernando Barba in 2021, the group continued touring and releasing new projects, and in 2024 they marked 25 years with a Brazil-wide anniversary tour that combined concerts and workshops, later adding the guest-focused project Barbatuques Convida (2026), which featured contributions from Emicida, Lenine, and Russo Passapusso.