The Trans 2021 in three rock’n’roll slaps – Magic RPM

In the midst of an eclectic program, the 2021 edition of the Trans Musicales de Rennes gave old rock a makeover.

From Wednesday December 1 to Sunday December 5, the 43rd edition of the Trans Musicales de Rennes was held, the festival to find the talents of tomorrow and the cradle of historic moments such as one of the first French concerts of Nirvana in 1991, the appearance of Daft Punk Without Masks in 1995, and James Murphy’s first gig under the LCD Soundsystem name in 2002, to name a few. The lucky ones who go there know it: we go from electro, to flamenco, to cumbia and then to trip-hop from room to room, and what they will discover there is still only known to a few people. This year, in our journey, three groups made us say that the future of rock was still very bright.

Lalalar: Turkish electro psyche

Friday 3:30 am. In complete darkness, three people enter the Hall 8 stage for a concert that will make everyone forget the cancellation of Amyl and the Sniffers, a highly anticipated Melbourne punk band, scheduled just before on the same stage. A singer, a guitarist and then another at the machines, appear under fine halos of light. The tension in the room is palpable at this late hour. People ask themselves: ” whose ? “. The programming indicates three syllables: Lalalar. A perfect schedule for the intensity of the electronic and psychedelic music of this Istanbul trio founded in 2018. If the trio shares the love of Anatolian rock with Altin Gün and Derya Yildirim & Grup Simsek, signed like them on the Swiss label Bongo Joe, their style is also close to that of KVB or Vox Low. A rare and successful mixture of post-punk, industrial, angular basses, rough electronic layers, abrasive fuzz solos, haunting, inhabited Turkish songs, and oriental melodies. All brilliantly maneuvered with a nihilistic attitude and a certain daring. The intoxicated crowd surrenders to the pogos and the hands move gracefully. Is there a better way to end a first night at Trans Musicales?

Voice Of Baceprot: Indonesian metal (and so brave)

Representative of the diversity of line up of the festival: Voice Of Baceprot, metal. Unlike Hellfest where less than 1% of groups have women in their ranks, the Trans Musicales have chosen to represent this musical style an efficient and minimalist formation of three teenage girls on bass, guitar and drums. These proposed a set composed as many covers as committed compositions. The desire not to evoke their young age or their appearance (they marry hijab and leather jacket) seizes us, as the media coverage they receive is based on these elements. But it would be missing out on the uniqueness, strength and courage of these women not to say so. They also interrupt their concert to push a rant: during the interviews they gave during the day, the journalists all asked a question about their hijab. What should be remembered is that the love of heavy metal takes precedence over the danger posed by such activity on their part in their native Indonesia, as the threats of death and physical attacks have increased since they started the group. This does not prevent them from continuing, which makes their presence for this first date in France special. We will long remember their energy, their enthusiasm and especially this good old public completely unleashed. Islamo-leftists, surely.

Komodrag and the Mounodor : United states of Armorica

Saturday 2:15 am. Seven people are on stage for what promises to be a mess made in Paimpol and Douarnenez, neighboring towns. The ghosts of heavy rock, those of hippies as well as Dionysus and undoubtedly Satan are invited to this great celebration. Komodrag is teaming up with Mounodor, two projects for a supergroup that provides nearly 1h30 (with a reminder, something rare enough for Trans to be noted!) Of a barge concert that gives the impression of a flashback to the golden age of psychedelic rock. Besides, nothing on stage is new, instruments with elephant legs, vintage is the order of the day. Long hair, two drums, pogos for a particularly receptive audience and saturated riffs make up the slogan of this group which advocates the “united states of Armorica” (!). We thought it must have been a bit like going to a Led Zeppelin concert in 1970. Amen. It will therefore be our palme d’or of the weekend among the twenty concerts seen during this 43rd edition.