V.A. Le Grand Ouest 1978-1988

This compilation features tracks released between 1978 and 1988 in Western France.

Through this compilation, we strove to highlight a little-known regional scene, characteristic of the diverse and sometimes opposing music movements of the 80s. Through this musical journey across the Brittany, Normandy, and Pays-de-la-Loire regions, we sought to showcase a resolutely indie aesthetic, sometimes conceived in some of France’s most unusual studios, such as a bunker and a caravan.

We’ve found it difficult to make attribute an established, well-defined genre to some of the tracks featured on this compilation. They draw, each in their own way, from the rock scene that dominated the 80s in France, from countercultures, from American stars who shone on the country’s radio stations and in its record stores, and even from local folk music.

While one could hear an harmony across the tracks featured on Le Grand Ouest, channeling this manifold energy onto a record required extensive research through the Brittany, Normandy, and Pays de la Loire regions’ discographies. Over the three years since the release of Le Grand Sud-Est, we have meticulously researched the references of artists, musicians, studios, labels, and publishers from each region. We sought to trace each artist to identify and listen to all their works from that period, and, when possible, collect unreleased recordings, left as demo cassettes on the artists' dusty shelves.

The synthesis of this research, presented here under the title Le Grand Ouest, hopes to remind us of the timelessness of the indie scene in our country, through the lens of the 80s Western France’s scene. Whereas Le Grand Sud-Est exhibited the funkiest sides of the Provençale and Rhône-Alpes scene, Le Grand Ouest leans towards a more mellow, introverted music, an expression of groups of friends united by the joy of playing together.

The first 500 copies of the record come with an extensive booklet with unpublished photos, press clippings, and texts for each track.