Photo Credit: Travys Owen
Yannick Ilunga– the Cape Town-raised, Congolese-Angolan Noirwave founder known as Petite Noir– is gearing up to release his 11-track debut album, La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful, next Friday, September 11, on Domino Records. So far he's shared the singles "Down," "Best," and most recently the love song "MDR." As of tonight, the album is streaming in full via the now-embeddableNPR First Listen.
La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful is the follow-up to The King of Anxiety, a 5-track EP out in January that included "Come Inside," "Chess," "Shadows," "The Fall" and the early Noirwave staple "Till We Ghosts." The record, which takes its name from a Congolese film of the same name, looks to expand on Petite Noir’s concept of ‘Noirwave’ — a forward-thinking African aesthetic influenced by the likes of Fela Kuti, Tabu Ley Rochereau and Yasiin Bey (who he has previously collaborated with). “It’s just the story their music tells and the sense of freedom,” Ilunga says in a press release. “It’s about seeing the positive in dark times.”
The album is available for pre-order through Domino Records and iTunes. Listen below.
La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful Tracklisting
01. Intro Noirwave
02. Best
03. Freedom
04. Seventeen (Stay)
05. Just Breathe
06. La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful
07. MDR
08. Colour
09. Down
10. Inside
11. Chess
PETITE NOIR TOUR DATES
Tues September 15 || London, UK || Lexington
Wed September 16 || Glasgow, UK || Stereo
Thu September 17 || Manchester, UK || Deaf Institute
Sat September 19 || Nurnburg, Festival, Germany || Melt!
Mon September 21 || Paris, France || Badaboum
Tues September 22 || Brussels, Belgium || Botanique/Witloofbar
Thu September 24 || Amsterdam, Netherlands || Melkweg
Fri September 25 || Hamburg, Festival, Germany || Reeperbahn Festival
