Side D is etched - La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful is the debut album from Yannick Ilunga aka Petite Noir. The 11 track LP from the half-Congolese, half-Angolan, Cape Town-residing artist follows the release of his breakout EP, The King Of Anxiety, earlier in 2015. Recorded at Box Ten Studios in London with Oli Bayston (Boxed In) and Leon Brichard (Ibibio), La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful is a highly accomplished album with a unique concoction of influences.
The record seamlessly fuses intricate contemporary electronics and raw post-punk energy with Yannick’s stirring, soulful vocals and African shuffles that echo his homeland. Named after a revered Congolese film of the same name, the album is both a beacon and a vessel of inspiration, offering empowerment to those who need it.
La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful represents the first full expression of what Ilunga calls ‘Noirwave’, which is more of a concept than a specific sound. Inspired by innovators like Mos Def and legends Fela Kuti and Tabu Ley, Noirwave encompasses a ‘new African aesthetic’, plain and simple. "I think for me, it's just the story their music tells and the sense of freedom. It's about seeing the positive in dark times," he says.
A1 Intro Noirwave
A2 Best
A3 Freedom
A4 Seventeen (Stay)
B1 Just Breathe
B2 La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful
B3 Mor
B4 Colour
C1 Down
C2 Inside
C3 Chess
