WATCH / SHARE “KILIMANJARO” HERE
BUY / STREAM “KILIMANJARO” HERE
NEW ALBUM, JOSÉ LOUIS AND THE PARADOX OF LOVE, OUT APRIL 29, 2022 ON ARTS & CRAFTS
PRE-ORDER JOSÉ LOUIS AND THE PARADOX OF LOVE HERE
“On José Louis and the Paradox of Love, the sounds go beyond electronic to include Congolese rumba, pop, R&B and spectacular moments of jazz that completely overwhelm the senses. … a wonderland of rich textures.” - CBC Music
“ 'Papa Wemba' adds electronic clout to the soukous beat — it sounds like it’s being punched out on a Teletype — and stirs up a rhythmic vortex with echoing guitars, gruffly sung and chanted vocals and a twin-saxophone riff that approximates the horns saying 'Papa Wemba.’” - The New York Times
"Since his 2014 debut LP Le Dernier Empereur Bantou, Pierre Kwenders has been an invaluable force in Canadian music with his experimental and playful approach to Congolese rumba.” - The FADER
Photo Credit: Kim Yang // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Pierre Kwenders, the Congolese-born, Montreal-based musician, songwriter, and DJ, shares new single / video, “Kilimanjaro”, from his forthcoming album José Louis and the Paradox of Love, out April 29 via Arts & Crafts. Following recent singles, “Heartbeat” (feat. anaiis) and “Papa Wemba”, the latter praised by The New York Times as “a rhythmic vortex with echoing guitars, gruffly sung and chanted vocals,” “Kilimanjaro” finds Kwenders pairing up with ESQO (Chile), Carlomarco (Chile) and PEDRO (Portugal), three producers and composers who complement each other perfectly.
While Kilimanjaro represents a journey to the roof of Africa for many, it could also be compared to a journey of self-discovery and exploration for others. For Kwenders’ “Kilimanjaro” it depicts a pursuit of sexual fantasies, an exploration of bodies intertwined and bonded by sexual intensity. The higher the desire, the closer the Kilimanjaro. The song feels like a throwback to another era with its unique mix of smooth jazz, Congolese rumba, contemporary electronic pop, 1980s retro, and '70s funk, emanating from Pierre's reverence of African greats like Fela Kuti, Tshala Muana, and more.
“Whilst it is the highest peak of Africa, paying homage to some of the greatest that have come out of the continent is always dear to me,” says Kwenders. “Sometimes I dream of being from the glorious time of Fela or dancing like Tshala Muana, or being the handsome Orfeu Negro, the one that every girl dreams of. In this video, I believe dreams have no limit even if that means to climb the Kilimanjaro over and over again.”
The video for "Kilimanjaro" is an auspicious deep fake daydream in which we see Kwenders' face superimposed onto the bodies and actions of numerous famous Black and African figures and films of history, from James Brown live at Teatro 10 in 1971 to Prince in Purple Rain and several starlit points in between. Produced and directed by Epher Heilland, the video casts the ever-striking image of Pierre Kwenders himself onto the towering face of Mount Kilimanjaro.
WATCH / SHARE “KILIMANJARO” HERE
BUY / STREAM “KILIMANJARO” HERE
WATCH / SHARE “HEARTBEAT” (FEAT. ANAIIS) HERE
BUY / STREAM “HEARTBEAT” (FEAT. ANAIIS) HERE
Following MAKANDA at The End of Space, the Beginning of Time, Kwenders’s 2017 sophomore album, and Le Dernier Empereur Bantou, his 2014 debut – both of which earned Kwenders nominations for Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize – José Louis and the Paradox of Love finds the artist arriving at a new juncture: a moment of resonance, carefully wrapped in freewheeling tapestry, hinged in reverence to its diverse heritage, yet reveling in the inventive combination of its elements. Seamlessly working across Congolese rumba, contemporary electronic music, pop-R&B, and jazz-infused progressions with a range of global collaborators including Tendai Maraire (Shabazz Palaces), Branko (M.I.A., Buraka som Sistema), Win Butler (Arcade Fire), Michael Brun (J Balvin), and Uproot Andy (Poirier), José Louis and the Paradox of Love is both an embrace of African musical tradition and an evolution of it. Singing and rapping in Lingala, French, English, Tshiluba, and Kikongo, Kwenders similarly weaves his stories across the boundaries of language and geography. Written and recorded while traversing the globe with his Moonshine Collective — holding nearly 100 lunar-based events including a Boiler Room party in his native Kinshasa or performing for COLORS in Berlin — Kwenders has taken his Afro-electronic soirées from Los Angeles to Santiago to Paris and beyond, building a truly international grassroots community of fans and peers.
WATCH / SHARE “PAPA WEMBA” HERE
BUY / STREAM “PAPA WEMBA” HERE
PRE-ORDER JOSÉ LOUIS AND THE PARADOX OF LOVE HERE
JOSÉ LOUIS AND THE PARADOX OF LOVE TRACKLIST
1. L.E.S (Liberté Égalité Sagacité) (Feat. Win Butler, King Britt)
2. Your Dream (Feat. Ngabo)
3. No No No
4. Imparfait (Feat. Sônge)
5. Papa Wemba
6. Religion désir
7. Makambo Ya Gaga (skit)
8. Heartbeat (feat. anaiis)
9. Kilimanjaro
10. Coupé
11. Sahara
12. Radio trottoir (interlude) (Feat. Babel Bukasa)
13. Church (Likambo) (Feat. Africa Intshiyetu Choir)
PIERRE KWENDERS LIVE
Mar 26 - Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival (DJ set)
May 4 - Toronto, ON - The Music Gallery | Tickets
May 6 - Montreal, QC - Phi Centre | Tickets
July 30 - Montreal, QC - Osheaga Festival
