Also full of love? The very dope Tank And The Bangas set in Hall 8! The New Orleans funky soul act slayed their set and made our hearts melt. Tarriona “Tank” Ball pulled the cutest of faces and danced as the jazzy R&B infused sounds got us all grooving. It was no surprise when the crowd demanded a rare festival set encore and after much cheering, Tank And The Bangas sweetly obliged.
Did we mention the delicious croque monsieurs onsite? This was the “petite” size.
We closed our night with KIRARA who made us smile and gave us chills as she played her biggest set yet (something she divulged to us earlier that day when we linked up with the South Korean big-beat talent). “In Korea the electronic music scene is very small. People think very commericaly when they think of DJ music. It’s not easy to have a chance. In Korea I only play to 20 or 30 people in a bar. This festival means a lot. It’s a new challenge playing to a bigger audience.” That night, the young punk electro act impressed us and the crowd, playing a range sounds. Hopping between video game inspired cuts to a sweet rework of “Beat It” by Michael Jackson, you couldn’t keep still as KIRARA crafted the sonic selections.
Saturday we started things off chatting with Thor & Friends, specifically Thor Harris and Sarah “Goat” Gautier. “The crew are amazing,” Thor said lovingly of the Les Trans staff, “We rent a marimba in the Netherlands and they forgot to send us the keys to it.” “It was terrifying” Goat confided, “we found out at soundcheck.” As Thor explained “It was like showing up to work and you forgot pants,” or as Goat described, “a living nightmare.” Indeed, how is one supposed to play a big stage festival set when your main instrument is missing its main parts?! “I tried to not let myself be devoured by the nightmare” Thor confessed, “but then the crew found us a xylophone to use and it was fine.” “We’ve been really impressed with the staff” Goat continued, “the sound was so good. Above and beyond.”
As it was our last day and we were already sad to say goodbye to what had already quickly become our new fav fest, but Gili Yalo’s early afternoon set turned our frowns upside down. The Ethophian reggae pop inspired act was playing an all ages show for families and thus the crowd was full of adorable kids – which makes for the best kind of crowd.
Feeling childish we wandered the winter fair that was taking place smack dab in the middle of town and next to Liberté, soaking in our last moments in Rennes.
From there we connected with Ernest Weatherly Greene Jr. also known as Washed Out, who would play Parc Expo later that night. “It seems really diverse,” Greene said of the festival’s line-up. “There’s artists from all over the spectrum.” When it comes to playing more unique fests like Les Trans (as opposed to big box festivals) he told us his favourite part is “stumbling into situations where you haven’t heard the music before. That’s the most exciting thing about touring in general. That chance of hearing something that could really change things. I try to be as open to that as possible.”
“I came here with my first band Jaguar,” Faty Sy Savanet of afro-punk act Tshegue explained to us (also before her Parc Expo set). “Les Trans is about emerging artists and discovering new stuff. The people who program it really take risks and are involved with the music. Evolving new talents whether they’re old or young.”
Northern French electronic act AZUR had also played Rennes before with other projects and also expressed his love for Les Trans to us. “It’s an ambitious festival” he said adding, “it’s also a great opportunity to discover new music.”
The last act we caught was Madagascar’s No Mady. The badass act played a packed room at Le Liberté’s L’Etage and shredded our faces off, leaving us more than satisfied.
As we said goodbye to Les Trans 2017, we couldn’t help but think back to their cultural action statement, “Each person has the right to choose, experiment and express their identity or cultural heritage…Regardless of your age or social status, everyone’s human dignity should be respected.” Indeed, as far as festivals go, Les Trans is a brilliant celebration of music that’s accessible and open to all ages. The “more known” commercial festivals could learn a lot from Les Trans in terms of diverse inclusive world-wide booking, environmental awareness and safe space proactivity. No wonder this festival has been around for so many decades! It is indeed ahead of the curve and made for true music fans, looking for something different. We can’t wait to (hopefully) return for their 40th edition of the festival next year!