Los Angeles - Petite Noir has successfully created one of the best albums of 2015 with La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful. 24 year-old South African artist Yannick Ilunga takes his electronic post-punk to a new genre, noir wave. If not the best album, than it is certainly the most imaginative. Petite Noir’s aesthetic is clean but unreserved, he uses hints of traditional African influences and guitar that is as stringent as post-punk, but adds an almost calming presence to the rest of the jumpy electronics. Vocals range from melancholy to hopeful, all while adding an extensive vocal range to the already open sound. There is a completeness about La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful, Ilunga never adds anything that doesn’t belong, or anything you’d expect. He is an artist using each element of sound to surprising, even intoxicating new heights.

Ilunga started producing for what would be Petite Noir in 2011. Taking cues from Kanye West’s 808s And Heartbreaks, he utilized his experience in punk and metalcore bands to create a broader electronic sound. He caught the attention of Yasiin Bey, who appeared on a remix of “Till We Ghosts” and also toured with Solange in 2013. He dropped his first EP, The King Of Anxiety, via London-based Double Six in March of this year. Petite Noir’s praises began virtually at the very beginning of his career, and his debut only proves why.

Petite Noir bends genres effortlessly, with familiar sounds comparable to TV On The Radio, Thundercat and even early U2, but remains more of his own self-proclaimed genre than anything else. He meshes elements gracefully, with subtle hints of his chillwave past and a knowing ode to his African heritage. There is something profound in the way Ilunga approaches his music. He is unguarded, with a depth that is immediately apparent and sucks the listener in with every note. The album’s single, “MDR” is uninhibited, with Ilunga’s voice singing over 80’s inspired electronics,  assuredly singing, “Because you’re the one that I want / You’re the one that I need.” Throughout, a distant guitar plays and fades out with Ilunga whispering and sighing, “La vie est belle.” Another accomplishment of La Vie Est Belle’s production is “Colour” which changes from upbeat and vibey to airy and ambient in seconds, and reverts right back again.

“Chess” was originally included on The King Of Anxiety but finishes La Vie Est Belle in a gorgeous, self-assured way. Ilunga’s falsetto lingers, singing: “I can smile again / It’s possible / With or without you.” The production is ever changing and explodes into a type of noirwave oblivion. Bouncy synth surrounds Ilunga’s change in vocal tone, and graceful chords delay just enough to create a kind of controlled chaos. As an outro, it leads to what we can only hope to be Ilunga’s beautiful beyond. La Vie Est Belle is revolutionary in what it is able to accomplish in 11-tracks, each more astounding than the next.

La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful was released on September 11^th. Petite Noir’s European tour began September 14^th. Track dates near you here. Follow Petite Noir on Twitter for updates.

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Dakota Smith

Raised in Los Angeles by two former Deadheads, Dakota was bound to love music. The soundtrack of her childhood would include both Elvis’ (Presley and Costello), Frank Sinatra, Oasis, Nirvana and Van Morrison. Dakota left the comfort of sunny Los Angeles for the snow-covered Flatirons of Boulder, Colorado to pursue her English degree at the University of Colorado. While studying abroad in London during her last year of college, she changed her mind about a career in academia and began to write. She moved to Portland shortly thereafter. When she’s not working on her collection of poetry and essays, or dancing, she can be found listening to anything from Acid Rap to Folk to Indie Rock.

Follow her on twitter in case she says something funny: @LikeTheStates

Latest posts by Dakota Smith (see all)

• Willis Earl Beal At LA’s Bootleg Theater - September 24, 2015
• Petite Noir – “La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful” - September 16, 2015
• Widowspeak: – “All Yours” - September 7, 2015

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