Transmusical express

>> A report from the Trans-Musicales fest in Rennes, France

by BOSS SAMBOSA

The French city of Rennes is in Bretagne, a province rich in mythology and tradition, the homeland of adventurers Asterix and Obelix. These days, Rennes itself is the home of the adventurous Trans-Musicales festival, the 23rd edition of which has just wrapped up after running from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1. The festival attempts to bridge the often insurmountable distance between a good party and sophisticated music. For the most part, it does so successfully. Unlike most festivals, which are thematic in nature, there is no stylistic dogma governing selections at "les Trans," save that the artists make people have a good time. The emphasis this year was not so much on the avant-garde vision of the underground as on exposing talent likely to break big in the coming months. This explains why the line-up included electro-dance acts, hip hoppers, indie rockers, breakbeat stuff, sensitive Euro-techno, inspirational world beat groups and American hardcore bands. There was a lot to see over the four days--since the sets were short and ran simultaneously all over the wild town, much juggling had to be done.

The first act we caught was a Mexican singer named Lila Downs at an uptown venue called la Cité. The fantastic lightshow and the level of audience participation immediately startled me. Downs' strident voice enraptured the crowd, who were compelled to sing along. I was so tired, I entered the venue feeling unusually cynical, but Downs' beautiful set washed it all away.

Following that was a sister act from Madagascar called N'Java. Another gorgeous folk combo, featuring two sisters engaged in constant harmonies which often seemed more like vocal combat than sisterhood. Again--beautiful, inspirational.

Toys from Tokyo

Because of delays, we had missed an act called Pascals (referring to artist Pascal Comelade), featuring 13 Japanese musicians playing various toy instruments. I cursed myself for missing what was certainly a spectacle until some Irish journalists we met described them as "Japanese Godspeed." Probably would have ruined my good mood, I thought.

The first French act I saw was Mouloud, at a venue called Antipode on the outskirts of town. The place was fully decked out, with a special bar for journalists and a press-conference room. Mouloud produced power pop via electronics and were a genuine pleasure to watch. While not remarkably innovative, they were a highly energetic post-Britpop duo with obvious similarities to the Chemical Brothers.

Later that evening at the largest of the festival's venues, la Liberté arena, we saw the American hip hoppers Ugly Duckling. Their comedy-driven, "Why you livin' with your mama?" brand of white-boy rap was a tired and boring rehash of early Beastie Boys. It occurred to me that their simple wit was probably lost on the audience. Not so much because of the language barrier, but because their MC-ing was cluttered, off-rhythm, and forced.

We went upstairs to watch Psyco on da Bus, a French/Nigerian psychedelic funk act that combined rich grooves with delicate electronic gestures and solid drums. I expect this group to attract the attention of North American Phish fans.

Royksopp, a Norwegian techno duo, followed. Their sensitive blips-and-bleeps, combined with choppy beats, gave them a texture similar to Boards of Canada. Their occasional sudden breakbeat/noise outbursts reminded me of a calmer Mouse on Mars. I fear that because they are simultaneously sophisticated and accessible, both the North American underground and mainstream may ignore them.

Lavender liquor leech

The highlight event for me was Chicago's Bobby Conn the following day. Clad in lavender leather, which he described as "the colour of gaiety, but not necessarily homosexuality," he performed an energetic, attitude-soaked, Motown-meets-metal set. During a press conference later he lambasted a Scandinavian journalist for accusing him of being pessimistic, and suggested she wear brighter colours. We sat down later for an hour-long interview during which he stole many of my beers and described to me the inherent hypocrisy of being a professional musician and a political revolutionary, referring to his lyric, "There will be no revolution here."

"Music today is more about timbre than song," he told me. "I'm still more impressed by a good song than a nice sound." And he certainly writes good songs. Conn deserves to be a star.

Fischerspooner resolves Conn's timbre/song problem beautifully, fusing synth-fuelled, crunchy retro-techno and contemporary dance beats without becoming repetitive. Fischerspooner are the new IDM--intelligent dance music that doesn't make one feel stupid for dancing. Awesome.