“Discover new music”. In all we do, KEXP seeks to fulfill that mission and share with you the best new music we can find. But it’s a big world! We’re fortunate to have many resources at our fingertips, and a lot of great artists come directly to us, yet sometimes we rely on fellow curators whose passion for music leads us to new discoveries we might not otherwise find. Trans Musicales, or Les Trans, in de Rennes, shares a similar vision. Created in 1979, this winter-time festival has made a name for itself in featuring artists just before they break and seeking new talent from around the world.
In 2016, the organizers of Les Trans invited KEXP to handpick acts to record and share with our listeners. After narrowing down the list of nearly seventy artists to twelve choices, KEXP's video production team, along with KEXP's DJ Morgan, filmed live performances with each act over the course of four whirlwind days, in unique and historic locations, like a 19th-century church-turned-arts conservatory, an institute of sciences, the Rennes Opera house, and even a wing of City Hall. The diverse live sessions range in style from the jangly psych rock of Rennes-locals Chouette to the Estonian folk stylings of Trad.Attack! French band Octave Noire exemplify the festival's commitment to new sounds, while Barbagallo, the solo project of Tame Impala drummer Julien Barbagallo, has already earned buzz on Pitchfork.
During the next few months, KEXP will share these sessions, one per week, here and on the KEXP blog.
Posting Schedule:
| Date | Artist | Country |
| February 17 | Barbagallo & Fai Baba | France & Switzerland |
| February 24 | Grand Parc | France |
| March 3 | Trad.Attack! | Estonia |
| March 10 | The Madcaps | France |
| March 17 | Octave Noire | France |
| March 24 | Fishbach | France |
| March 31 | Talmud Beach | Finland |
| April 7 | Chouette | France |
| March 14 | Moon Gogo | France |
| March 21 | Vagina Town | France |
| March 28 | Blow | France |
The Sessions:
DJ Morgan's Blog posts:
DAY 1: One of my favorite things about humanity is when we discover common bonds between us regardless of environment and background. Of course there are the basic necessities: food, water, shelter, but the commonality we share that is the most interesting, because it is abstract, is music. [Read More]
DAY 2: We just returned from our second day of filming live sessions from the Trans Musicales festival in Rennes, France, and our host at the Magic Hall Hotel is playing a killer French funk LP from an artist named Michel Jonasz. And here I thought we’d be discovering only new bands, but now I have a new favorite LP from the 1970s. [Read More]
DAY 3 had us filming in the historic city center at the Rennes Opera House. The Opera House was built in 1836 and was the first Opera House built in Brittany, the region in which Rennes is located. It was designed in response to the Capitol building directly across the square from the Opera built 100 years prior. [Read More]
DAY 4: Our final filming site was Le Mairorie de Rennes, the City Hall. It is in the city center, directly across from the Opera where we filmed yesterday. The massive structure was designed in the mid 18th century by one of the architects that also designed Versailles. The room we occupied was absolutely gorgeous. [Read More]
