re#encounter . trance jazz from Brussels

re#encounter is a hybrid trance-jazz collective from Brussels that brings people together in festive ceremonies, floating between tradition and innovation. With gnawa grooves, cumbia chants, griot stories, and ecstatic jazz improv, the band creates a swirling, danceable soundscape that breathes spontaneity, cultural authenticity, and spiritual depth: a worldly, 100% Brussels sound. A re#encounter is not just a concert, but a shared ritual. re#encounter reflects the city as a rhizomatic network of encounters: chaotic, undefined, rich, and infectious. The collective originated somewhere at the end of 2023 from an ‘improvised encounter’. Since then, the roots and musical trajectories of the musicians form the sound: from gnawa and neo-griot to cumbia, futuristic soundscapes, and free improvisation. That collective sound is rooted in gnawa tradition and blossoms into spirit jazz with an afro-futuristic dimension. In September 2026, the debut album angels and demons at play (W.E.R.F. Records) will be released. gnawa maestro Hicham Bilali (guembri/vocals) and his Black Koyo the thunderous griot Kaito Winse (Avalanche Kaito) cumbia shamanka Paula León (Indios Beta, AMAWA) rising star Lúcia Pires (Kanda) space jazz poet Joos Vandueren (BSFOE, Abstract Inc., Aligaga) (sax + fx) groove wizard Falk Schrauwen (Echoes of Zoo, Compro Oro, Sylvie Kreusch), bass mother Anaïs Moffarts (Araponga, AiFanamenco). Robbe Bey Latré (trumpet + fx) Falk Schrauwen of Ismaïl Akharraz (percussion)