In the leading pack of current French electro, we have Fakear, Superpoze, DreamKoala… and Thylacine. All very young, they offer an uninhibited and updated redefinition of the genre, made of breaks and more incisive beats, inspired by an inventiveness without borders. In the case of Thylacine (William Rezé, 23), it is on the side of the Trans-Siberian tundra that he came to look for pieces of voices, traditional songs, ice cream. It gives "Transsiberian" (whose adventure was widely relayed at JustFocus), and this concert at the Trianon as part of his tour around this opus. Report and photos.
What makes the success of this new generation, why did you wait so long for a new wave of French electro to reach us? They'll say, "We're getting on a little bit, actually." They have started their journey… in their room, by composing the songs on their machines connected to the computer, with cracked software, using YouTube tutorials, to broadcast on Sound Cloud. They collect thousands of listens, have offered their albums without a label (on Band Camp for Thylacine for example) which sell very well, to fill the clubs of London today. Don't talk to them about French Touch: without labels (Trip-Hop, Techno-Pop, Minimal… sorry, without labels), it is their independence and freedom that has allowed them to propel themselves into this podium. And for Thylacine, it is the conservatory and his learning of classical music and jazz that is part of his differentiating part. The sax he plays then finds its place in the DJ set that we were able to attend on June 1, at the Trianon.
"Transsiberian" is the result of the journey he made on this famous railway line, connecting Moscow to Vladivostok. Lovers of sound, fond of musical warmth and ancestral influences: it is not him who says it but we who deduce this when we listen to this album, partly imaged. A documentary from the collection "Les Nouvelles Ecritures du Réel", made of moments of interludes, between 2 stations, where we observe the musician find inspiration in his compartment, computer + keyboard in hand, is available on the web. We see the artist meeting the inhabitants of the cities he travels, such as this stage in Kazan, a city populated among others by Tatars with Islamic influence. Each milestone is the subject of an episode. In particular, we see the moments when, in a nearby village, he feels amazed by traditional singers. Excited by these sounds, which he pecks at the same time as he thinks about how he will be able to integrate them into "Transsiberian", seeing him like this in this film can quickly prove fascinating. Like episodes 3 and 4 "from Kazan to Novosibirsk" where he tells the genesis of a flagship song of the album, "Belobezvodnoe".
" Belobezvodnoe, which is at the beginning of the album, will be played at the Trianon tonight, as an encore of a perfectly executed show. Like a fish in water, mastering his show while making it playful because communicative, Thylacine did the job, and did not fail to delight the public for this full date for a few weeks. Saxo in hand on some tracks, videos extracted from his trip, showing the landscape of the tundra and local populations, the change of scenery is guaranteed, reaching a young audience and also eager for good electro sensations. This Trianon was therefore "the stage of confirmation", now placing itself in the new references of the French scene, where its previous date at La Cigale last February was not without pressure.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-7wIJGb8e9866tauhNMyrFePDKU9pEm1
"Moskva, "Train", "Piany Pianino" have unlocked their potential live, giving the Trianon a club atmosphere. The more spiritual parts like those of "Irkutsk" or more vocal, including the voices recorded by children in his wagon, or that of the shaman, are not spared. We sometimes think of Nicolas Repac for this melancholic use of folk songs, and some ambient pieces tinged with oriental music, the Nitin Sawhney.These electro artists with mixed and cross-border music are welcome, because so beneficial in these times of withdrawal.
Photo credits: Ludivine Pellissier
Thylacine will be present at festivals this summer: Garorock (47) on July 2, 2016, Les Ardentes (Liège) on July 7, Au Pont Du Rock (56) on July 29, Les Nuits Secrètes (59) on July 30, 2016, Festival du bout du monde (29) on August 7, Foreztival (42) on August 13. In September, he will perform on September 29 at the Laiterie de Strasbourg and on October 8 in Rennes.
