Four strong Swiss acts at Rencontres Transmusicales de Rennes – 2 – 6 December

Switzerland will be represented by four bands at this year’s Rencontres Transmusicales in Rennes: the Chikitas, Klaus Johann Grobe, FlexFab and Grand Cannon.

For 36 years, the picturesque Brittany town of Rennes has been the home of the Rencontres Transmusicales de Rennes, traditionally the last major festival of Europe in the year, and, equally traditionally, one of the most interesting. The “Trans” specialises in ignoring borders, be it those of countries, continents or musical genres. A program of nearly one hundred bands and artists in the course of five festival days offers ample opportunity to discover the new and the unexpected. Additionally, there are workshops, exhibitions and educational events to enjoy.

For the second year running, under the banner of “Focus Suisse”, Swiss Music Export is presenting a live showcase featuring three Swiss acts. The showcase will take place on Thursday, 3 December, in one of the festival’s more stylish venues, L’Ubu. The wonderfully raucous Chikitas will be first on stage, followed by Klaus Johann Grobe and Flexfab. Entry is free for everyone.

Preceding the showcase, SME will be hosting a networking aperitif at  the same venue for accredited music professionals. Anyone wishing to take advantage of this great opportunity to meet managers, promoters, media representatives and other professionals from all over Europe should contact marion.stucky@fcma.ch to have their name included in the guest list.

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Focus Suisse, L’UBU, Thursday, 3 December
Networking Aperitif: 15:15h
Showcase 16:00 – 19:45h

The Chikitas, on stage at 16:30h
The fiery Geneva-based post-punk duo of Lynn Maring (guitar, vox) and Saskia Fuertes (drums, vox) is enjoying a truly hot streak. Having already won the category Rock at this year´s m4music Demotape Clinic, they recently also won the Rock award at the Swiss Live Talents event. Throughout the summer they honed their raw and witty live shows at various festivals, culminating in an appearance at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York.

Klaus Johann Grobe, on stage at 17:45h
Not a solo artist but a duo consisting of Sevi Landolt (organ/synth/vocals) and Daniel Bachmann (drums/vocals), Klaus Johann Grobe somehow manage to sound deeply futuristic and experimental at the same time as being easy on the ear. Theirs is a hypnotic, analogue synth blend of smart cheesy-listening, psychedelic improvisation, sunny singing and strangely non-German German lyrics.

FlexFab, on stage at 19:00h
Like the Chikitas, FlexFab has been collecting the awards this year. First, at the m4music Demotape Clinic, he carried home the overall winner’s trophy. Then, recently at the Swiss Live Talents Awards, he was presented with the “Best Emerging Talents” award. FlexFab hails from Neuchatel and serves up a definition-defying stew of twisted beats, cavernous bass lines and weird noises.

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Grand Cannon featuring twice at Rencontres Transmusicales Rennes

Grand Cannon are by no stretch of the imagination a young band. They are, however, one of the freshest and most entertaining around. The trio consists of Zach Prather, Pfuri Baldenweg and Kniri Knaus. Prather was born in Chicago and has worked with the likes of Willie Dixon, Etta James, Screamin‘ Jay Hawkins and Luther Allison. Baldenweg is a wizard on the blues-harp whose style is rooted in the tradition of Woody Guthrie and Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. Knaus, a life-long trad.-jazz fan, is a devil on the trombone. A long time ago, the latter two were members of the much-loved jug band Pfuri, Gorps & Kniri whose popularity and success went far beyond the confines of the folk world.

With Grand Cannon, Baldenweg and Knaus have resurrected their old DIY ethos: mixing conventional instruments with a wild array of implements from kitchen, garden and garage, their music is huge fun. The blues, however, is never far away.

Grand Cannon will be playing on Friday 4 December at 00:40h at the Parc Expo. They will also be appearing on Saturday 5 December at 15:00h, at l’UBU. This performance is part of a new “Trans” venture, the “concert des familles”, designed to introduce children (and their parents) to the joys of music.

Les Rencontres Transmusicales de Rennes Website
The Chikitas Website
Klaus Johann Grobe Website
Grand Cannon Website