Petite Noir

About

" Polyrhythms and sensual textures from the creator of noirwave "

They say his music is mostly a feeling, rather than a label. Belgium-born South African singer-songwriter Yannick Ilunga, artistically known as Petite Noir, combines hypnotic pop, post-punk, electronic and African sounds, in a genre-defying mix that can fall under the broader label of alternative R&B, but even so his music is difficult to classify.

Throughout his musical career, from official debut ‘La Vie Est Belle’ (‘Life is Beautiful’) in 2015 to ‘La Maison Noir’ (‘The Black House’) in 2018, Petite Noir sprinkled elements of rap, dance and rock, but none of these could quite describe his style. With his creative director and partner RhaRha Nembhard he created the word ‘noirwave’, to define his unique contemporary African pop with post-punk undertones, complex rhythms and sensual textures. 2023 marks his return to discography with his long-awaited new album, ‘MotherFather’, out in April.

The album is soaked in ‘noirwave’. It’s atmospheric and cohesive and finds his creator evolving. As Petite Noir has explained: “It’s about going through the darkness. But it’s also about rebirth. Because the dark times are needed for us to grow.”

The album is complemented by veins of 90s soul-pop (e.g. ‘Blurry’, which effortlessly easily brings Seal to mind), musical elements of his half-Congolese, half-Angolan ancestry (‘Simple Things’, ‘Numbers’) and genre-evading splendor. There are guest features from rising star Sampa The Great, and Grammy-nominated Florida jazz musician Theo Croker. Petite Noir’s work trends toward the biographical and the philosophical, expressed with deep musical knowledge and genuine aesthetic. And that’s probably the future of pop music – deep roots, no borders.