Pierre Ouali-Carel

PREMIERE / "REDRIFT"

"REDRIFT" is the latest indie skate homebrew and REDRE crew audiovisual production directly extracted from the unstoppable dynamics of the Nantes, France scene (remember: "L'ELDORADO" & "CHRONICLES OF THE PAST""NANT'ES SERIEUX?"...), the timeline of which was finally orchestrated by Mattéo Gaudin, of local magazine Ob'Session fame and already interviewed here. On the menu: seventeen minutes of documentation of the city being exploited in a manner as spontaneous as modern, natural diversity in all the individual styles and approaches with some creativity and originality to boot, and aesthetics equally influenced by the local aquatic fauna and by the "ATLANTIC DRIFT" series. So, really, one fine window into a slice of life of a youthful, D.I.Y. spirit-fueled crew which only testifies - again - of Nantes' intrinsic skate potential throughout the decades ("CHRONICLES OF THE PAST"), all the while inputting one more wake-up call to the authorities when it comes to the current needs of the average citizen for better tolerance, if not recognition of their freedom to naturally enjoy "public" space.

Mattéo in person says:

"Nantes, June 21st, 2021: World Music Day, 'go skateboarding day' and the summer solstice: really, all the stars seemed aligned enough to at least hope for a wonderful day.

But no, that would be without considering the then confirmed tendency of rainy weather commonly coming crashing onto the city of the Dukes of Brittany, also complicating perspectives for skateboarding. Also, the powers that be - perhaps already a little too oblivious of some other recent mistakes of theirs - chose to gas the whole of a downtown only packed with crowds of people who had come to enjoy the music. That is the kind of somber mood about a dozen of upset versions of us were sharing that one night, when we went to gather and chill along the Erdre.

The shenanigans that ensued: beer can duct-taping, sardine in-box cooking (paired up with the smell of gas too, still filling up the air), and the initiative of finding a crew name.

Hanging right overhead was this piece of city-commissioned 'contemporary' art consisting in giant metal letters, except several of them had gone missing and now, instead of "REVER ERDRE" ("DREAMING ERDRE"), all that was apparent was "RE DRE". It just clicked all at once and from that point onwards, 'REDREEE' became the rallying cry for that night and then many more.

REDRE was born.

One year later now: the crew is even bigger and still loving to skate and film, party and even make miniatures, cocktails and postcards.

Bon visionnage!" - Mattéo Gaudin

PREMIERE / "L'ELDORADO" / "Chronicles of the Past" Nantes / INTERVIEW

Today, on LIVE, we're not introducing you to just one exclusive local video production, but rather two - as an attempt to a general representation of the skate scene in Nantes, France, as nurtured throughout several decades by successive generations of activists working hard at putting not just their practice but also their localization on great display. This strongly historic landmark of French skateboarding has fed the prowess of - amongst others - Thibaud Fradin back when his sponsor at the time, Cliché Skateboards, Jérémie Daclin's iconic company, was literally and figuratively taking off overseas, or also David Couliau's adventures on either side of both the lens and industry. Nowadays, in comparison, some might argue that it's blending into the general landscape a little more - maybe due to the lack of encouraging local policies for skateboarding, but maybe also due to a lack of attention on their own end because indeed, the scene really seems just as vibrant in the year twenty twenty-one looking at the hyperactivity of several shops (NDJBanc PublicMilk) but first and foremost of the ever-so-passionate locals, some of them even running their own skate mag: Ob'Session. "L'ELDORADO" is the name of the new full-length video the latter crew just issued; and we're talking a conceptual enterprise here, supported by the notorious Sony VX-2000 and the local poetry of then - via a constant parallel with Jacques Demy's cinematography - and now - by the means of home-made animations by Rose Moreau, some timeless theatrics and of course excellent skateboarding by the crew. So, just as we were getting excited to share said piece already is also exactly when Franck Pierron contacted us (remember "TRACKED MOVEMENTS" and LIVE's original interview with Franck, here), too, to show us his new vintage gem; an anachronism only more complete upon viewing, "CHRONICLES OF THE PAST: NANTES EDITION" is a true time capsule of the authentic nineties, and quite the four-minute journey into the past of Nantes and some historic kickflips. Obviously, the temptation of federating all these different energies into one major article ended up overcoming; so, here's your occasion to discover or rediscover Nantes through quite the transgenerational prism, including questions to all parties involved - a virtual cultural trip we're inviting you on here and now!

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