JIM CARROLLon music
Why aren’t there more winter music festivals? While no one, obviously, is hankering for music gigs in the open air or in tents on nights like these (unless you’re a reindeer or a polar bear), it’s a surprise that more promoters don’t go for city-based multi-venue, multi-night affairs later in the year.
Of course, there are a few that buck the trend, such as Eurosonic, which will be taking over Groningen in Holland again in January, with the cream of new European acts, including nearly 20 Irish ones, but there’s still room to manoeuvre for any promoter looking for an angle and a competitive advantage.
Anyone intending to hit the winter market should first head to Rennes in France to sample Trans Musicales. Established in 1979, Trans Musicales has been pulling punters from far and wide with a bespoke, smartly curated selection of French and international acts ever since. It’s been going this long because they know what they’re doing.
What’s remarkable about Les Trans is that there are no headline acts on the bill to pull in the punters. Instead, 30,000 people pay their cash and trust in the curatorial abilities of the bookers who, in turn, have spent their cash on new acts and superb production instead of overpaying some superstar act.
OTR came back from Rennes with a long list of acts to check out (see Now Playing and New Music for some of these), as well as a few extra pounds in weight thanks to the city’s many crepes cafes and a new-found appreciation for festivals that go against the grain.
As the queues outside Rennes’s city-centre venues by day, and the happy hordes who roamed between the various halls in the Park Expo outside the city by night demonstrated, audiences too sometimes appreciate festivals that go against the grain.
lestrans.com
New Music (at Trans Musicales, Rennes)
CARBON AIRWAYS
Superior electrorave from teen brother and sister Enguérand and Elanore from Besançon in eastern France, who turn Prodigy and Ministry-style sounds into supersized, distorted, massively energetic big-room excitement. The Les Trans crowd went bananas.
Facebook.com/carbonairways
IM TAKT
The French for indiehouse, Im Takt's live show was awash with fantastic grooves and twists which reminded you of Battles, LCD Soundsystem and Liquid Liquid. Their debut EP (and especially a belter of a track called Afrika) is the place to go to find out more.
Imtaktdance.com
ORCHESTRA OF SPHERES
From Wellington, New Zealand, Orchestra of Spheres wear weird hats and cloaks and play even weirder cosmic psych-rock and acid-disco. We dig their homemade instruments. Check out their Nonagonic Nowalbum for Fire Records.
Orchestraofspheres.bandcamp.com
Now Playing (at Trans Musicales, Rennes)
Breton Kensington System(Fat Cat) We're expecting great things from Breton's debut album in 2012, especially on the back of this electronic thriller.
Hollie Cook Hollie Cook(Mr Bongo) Sunnyside tropical pop and riddims from the London lass with a Sex Pistol and a Belle Star for parents and who ditched school to tour with The Slits.
Janice Graham Band Murder(Acid Jazz) Four Manchester lads with old musical heads on young shoulders shout to the top.
Colin Stetson New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (Constellation) Far-out woodwind adventures from the session player who has worked with Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Tom Waits, TV On the Radio and many more.
Hanni El Khatib Will the Guns Come Out(Innovative Leisure) Snappy, snarly and sharp garage rock with attitude from the Los Angeles-based greaseball.
