Over the past 26 years, TransMusicales has grown from a small showcase of bands from in and around Rennes, a small Brittanique city in northwestern France, to a meeting point for the musical vanguard.
What makes Trans different from other festivals is that the featured bands have yet to break internationally. It's proved to be a springboard for artists such as Bjork and trip-hoppers Portishead.
This weekend, the festival heads for Beijing in the form of Les Trans en Chine as part of the Year of China in France celebrations - although the term 'festival' may not be the best way to describe the event. 'It's called Rencontres TransMusicales,' says organiser Jean-Louis Brossard. 'It's a meeting, not a festival.'
During the past three decades, this meeting has drawn some of the biggest names in music from around the world, and Brossard and the Association des TransMusicales are proud that it's helped many win wider fame. 'Portishead played their first gig at my festival,' Brossard says. 'St Germain and Gotan Project, too.'
The last two, who achieved global success with their electro-jazz and tango-meets-dub-and-beats since playing Trans, are headlining this weekend's event. It will also play host to some of the best acts from France: traditional singing, genre-bending DJs, two days of live music in Chaoyang Park and a late-night DJ lineup at the Tango nightclub.
China has only recently appeared on Brossard's radar. 'The first time I came to Beijing [in the summer of 2003], I discovered Long Kuan,' he says. Four months later, the singer was performing in Rennes, along with Beijing-based electronic act Super-market. Long's debut album came out on the mainland early last year.
