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 Two & Photo Recap

Hello again from the other side of the globe, I'm currently in London where I actually ended up catching shows by Rah Rah & Dear Rouge, and The Wooden Sky & Yukon Blonde, but I'm going to catch you up on Day Two of the Rencontres Trans Musicales De Rennes!

This was the busiest day for sure of the festival, and it had me running from hall to hall to make sure I didn't miss anything I wanted to see. That said, I made sure to spend some time in Hall 5, where there were about a dozen different themed bars and restaurants set up (including a champagne bar!), and where I had one of the best festival meals I've ever had. Good food really makes a big difference when you're running around all evening! 
I put a few photos in the slideshow to give you a sense.

The evening began with punk/garage rock all the way from Madagascar with The Dizzy Brains. The energy the band had was a perfect start to a long evening, with lead singer Eddy belting it out all over the stage. I only stayed for about half of the set, but their passion was evident, and the loud rock had the hall moving. [Listen to: "Nicotine"]

Over in the next hall was Son Little, a performer I was told I should definitely see. Hailing from the States and working with artists like The Roots, and RJD2, I had high expectations. The smooth vocals, and beat a mix of everything from hip-hop to reggae had the room grooving and definitely feeling sexy. I witnessed several make outs from the photo pit, but that might just be France. [Listen to: "Cross My Heart"]

If there was one band I was looking forward to hearing live most, it was TOTORRO. When looking into the artists performing at the festival, I liked this one so much that I downloaded their album Home Alone and have been listening to it for weeks now. The live show proved to be just as good, with the band going all out and adding a few guests, including a trumpet player. I still compare the soaring crescendos to that of early Broken Social Scene, and when I thought they had the energy of a band like We Are The City, I was proven correct there as well when the drummer continuously stood up while playing a la Andy. If I had to recommend you check out just one band that I saw, this is the one. [Listen to: "Chevalier Bulltoe" or the whole album HERE]

When TOTORRO was done I headed over to catch some of Grand Cannon, mostly out of intrigue as to what kind of show a band that included 70-year-olds would be putting on. What I didn't realized that in addition to drums and guitar there would be less traditional 'instruments', including garbage cans and bags (see photo), metal chains, you name it. They were doing covers when I entered, and I particularly remember hearing "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll", which, to me, kept sounding like they were saying "It's only second row"...given their unconventional nature, I wouldn't put it passed them. [Listen to: "Dirty Ways"]

Slide guitar and soul music, Vintage Trouble, from the United States, had Hall 3 MOVING at 1:30 in the morning. It's hard not to tap your toes and dance along to that kind of music, and feeding off of front man Ty Taylor's energy. The band was great to photograph, and definitely brought the party, but at a festival full of new, raw, different musical sounds, I lost interest after a while, thought the audience was still loving it when I moved on. [Listen to: "Run Like The River"]

At 2:30am a little slice of home came on stage; Dralms, who also came all the way to France from Vancouver, filled the hall with their haunting music, and a large crowd. I couldn't help but smile in the photo pit, finally hearing some familiar songs and seeing familiar faces. I photographed for a little bit and then took in the rest of the show from the crowd, happy to see a positive reaction to my fellow Canadians. Side note, Dralms is performing in Vancouver at the Fox Cabaret on February 18th. [Listen to: "Crushed Pleats"]

My evening ended (mostly because I couldn't feel my feet anymore and it was 4:30am) with whom I dubbed the Dutch Sheepdogs, Dewolff! The similarities started with the look (hair!) and continued to the music, although I found Dewolff to be a little more psychedelic in sound, and there were only three of them on stage. I enjoyed their live performance very much, as they were as much a joy to photograph (that hair!) as to watch. [Listen to: "Don't You Go Up The Sky"]

Day Three (final one!) of my Trans Musicales festival experience is up next, which was pretty casual compared to this busy night, but definitely had some highlights!

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!