Trans Musicales 2016 - Photos & Recap

The 38th annual Trans Musicales festival took place again this year in Rennes, France, and was spectacular as ever.

I was there during the three main days of the festival (December 1-3, 2017), checking out bands 'til the wee hours of the morning (my latest night went until about 5am!). Artists came from all over the world to be part of a festival that showcases new comers in the field of music, from an array of genres and styles.

Day One had me on the move, traveling directly from Vancouver from the previous day. Two plane rides, a train, and a shuttle bus to the festival site got me there just in time for my first act, Trad.Attack from Estonia!

The rest of the evening saw Il Est Vilaine from Paris, British musician Anna Meredith, HMLTD from London, and Yuksek from France.

After catching up on sleep, I was ready for Day Two. (Side note: I was also taking portraits for Noisey - which you can see by clicking here.)

The second evening at the Parc Expo started off with Fai Baba of Zürich, followed by my first venture into Hall 9 (the HUGE electronic hall) for Con Brio (also from the West Coast, San Francisco), followed by the tag-team DJ duo of DJ Fly/DJ Netik.
Next up was The Barberettes, a doo-wop trio from South Korea (I know, right?!), and continuing the female-led band trend (which Trans is VERY good at representing), the punk rock duo Nova Twins, from East London, PACKED their hall full of people.

The only Canadian in the show, Das Mörtal, was playing the large, sweaty, dance-party hall, and I finished off my night with one of my favourite discoveries of the weekend, New York band PWR BTTM.

The final day was short and sweet for shows (I did a TON of portraits that days), but I managed to catch Helsinki's, Talmud Beach, and then got my brass band fix by the incredibly energetic band Lucky Chops (out of New York). Seriously, check out the full video of the show by clicking here (makes me want to go pick up my saxophone).
I ended my evening with one of my most anticipated acts of the festival - Reykjavíkurdætur. The name literally translates to Daughters of Reykjavík, and they're an all female rap collective from Iceland - and were exactly as spicy and entertaining as I hoped they'd be, even with the language barrier.

I took WAY more photos than the few in the slideshow above - so check them out on our Facebook page by clicking HERE.

Thanks again to Trans Musicales for having me and introducing me to so many more new, and especially international, artists.

Trans Musicales - Day Three & Photo Recap

I'm writing my last post (on Day 3) about the amazing time that was the Rencontres Trans Musicales De Rennes, while I sit in the airport in London, England, heading for Ontario.
I was just telling some friends about the bands on Day 3 and that it included one of my favourite sets of the festival.

I only caught three bands on the final night, and I started out the evening with Monika, a musician from Greece, that had an array of sounds. Going into the show, the music I had heard from her before that had a definite disco vibe to it, but it was a lot more chill live. She had a big backing back, including a trumpet player, and the upbeat songs were enjoyable and got the crowd going, but the mellow songs weren't for me. [Listen To: "Secret In The Dark"]

Next up was the band that was still holds the title (my choosing) for best band name: Steve'N'Seagulls. Their schtick is that they cover loud, metal and rock songs, with a folk twist - think AC/DC guitar solo on banjo. The live show was enjoyable (they look like they're having fun) but didn't hold my attention for very long - though they were a ton of fun to photograph though! [Listen to: "Seek and Destroy"]

Finally the biggest surprise of the night was Khun Narin Phin's Electric Band from Thailand, which featured lots of band members in all different age ranges, and a solid and well deserved encore. The band would dive into what seemed like a very very long jam, and bring it down at points where you would think that the song was coming to a close. You were wrong. There was 5 more minutes. Then they'd transition into the next song almost instantly, leaving the audience sweaty and exhausted from the huge dance party going on. [Listen to: "Lam Phu Thai #1]

That was a solid note (literally) to end my festival with though I was sad I didn't have the seemingly robotic-like energy that the rest of Rennes seemed to have as the party went well into the evening again.

I want to profusely and graciously thank Trans Musicales for an incredible festival experience and for having me all the way out from Canada. Hopefully next year we will see even more Canadian bands in the lineup and more discoveries from all over the world. All the thumbs up.

Trans Musicales - Day One & Photo Recap

Well hello from Europe! I traveled all the way to the other side of the world from Vancouver to cover what turned out to be one of the best festivals I have ever attended: Rencontres Trans Musicales De Rennes!

After being in motion for about 36 hours to get to the beautiful city of Rennes, France, I dove into a unique and fabulous festival at quite the venue. The Parc Expo had huge halls with different genres and styles playing in each of them, where you could move around between sets or hang out in the main bar area (more on that in the next post!).

I arrived just in time to catch Hector Bizerk, a Scottish hip-hop group, performing to a packed hall. The energy was high and buzzing, and watching Audrey Tait kill it on the drums in one of the final songs of the set was a great way to kick off the night.

Next up was one of the bands I was most excited to hear perform live: Her, from France. The band is still relatively new, and the two front men are just as fresh faced. That said, they put on a hell of a show, with sexy lyrics and ear worms beats. The songs were in English, but the mostly French crowd ate up the performance. Definitely my highlight of the day, and they didn't disappoint my expectations.

Finally I caught the 3SOMESISTERS, also out of France, who were one of the most unique performances of the festival, which is saying something when you have artists from all over the world. Difficult to categorize, but entertaining and captivating for sure, the band wore matching outfits (dresses) and elaborate headpieces, and played dreamy pop music that was a great send off to some much needed rest.

Day Two of my Trans Musicales festival experience is up next, so keep an eye out!