Amalia and Ditter, the beautiful discoveries of the Chantier des Francos

Every year, the famous La Rochelle festival selects young artists for its programme. The opportunity to build their early careers, before propelling them to the forefront of the stage.

The Francofolies festival in La Rochelle is in full swing until July 14. In addition to the prestigious program, spectators can discover young emerging artists thanks to the Chantier des Francofolies program.

This year, the program featured around twenty groups of all styles. Among them, the rapper Amalia and the group Ditter who played this Friday, July 12 at the Verdière theater and on the stage of the Sirène.

For the young singer Amalia from Marseille, playing at the Francofolies de la Rochelle is a big first. At just 24 years old, the musician has already released two EPs, the second of which is entitled Like you, was released in February 2024. On the stage of the Verdière theatre, she seems perfectly in her element.

Scheduled as the opening act for Aliocha Shneider’s concert, Amalia won the hearts of the audience. “It’s not always easy, people are a bit chilly and as soon as she asked the audience to stand up everyone played along, it was spontaneous and really cool”, says a spectator.That is not quite the style of music I listen to, but I liked it, I’m looking to see if it’s on music platforms to put it in my library”, confides another spectator.

An artist committed to the LGBT cause, Amalia distils rap sprinkled with bright pop in French where the lyrics are as important as the music. Her lyrics advocate difference and tolerance. “Today’s youth must keep hope, division will serve no purpose. Let’s stay united between generations. Hate makes a lot of noise and love little and I think we must reverse the trends”she assures.

Another atmosphere, another style, the Parisians of Ditter made the walls of the Sirène tremble. This trio of ““happy post-punk”,as he defines himself, has the gift of mixing organic sounds, a touch of cynicism and always a lot of humor. Little hymns that make the audience sing and dance. The musicians do not hesitate to come down into the room to make the spectators sing. “We try to do something very simple, very direct and with very addictive little elements that we want to sing all together,” explains bassist Sam.

The trio released their first EP, Me Money & Politics last April. To be part of the Francos construction site adventure, the artists have refined their music, their technique and their stage performance. “We worked on our vision and our synergy between the three of us which will allow us to bring people on board,” explains singer Rosa. And to be even closer to the public, the artists offered festival-goers an acoustic concert for a ballad sung under the trees.

After La Rochelle, Ditter continues his journey to the Avignon festival on July 17 and to the Mirabilis festival in Mirabel-les-Baronies (Drôme) on August 31.

For 25 years, the Chantier des Francofolies has had the mission of discovering and encouraging new voices on the French scene, by supporting them at the start of their careers. Hip hop, French song, pop or rock, eighteen groups from very varied universes performed on the festival stages this year. An essential springboard for these young talents, previous editions have revealed Zaho de Sagazan, Feu! Chatterton, November Ultra, Pomme and Christine & The Queens.