LISTEN / SHARE “NIATA” HERE
BUY / STREAM “NIATA” HERE
FROM DELUXE EDITION OF 2022 POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE-WINNING ALBUM,
JOSÉ LOUIS AND THE PARADOX OF LOVE, OUT JUNE 30, 2023 ON ARTS & CRAFTS
PRE-ORDER JOSÉ LOUIS AND THE PARADOX OF LOVE DELUXE LP HERE
PLAYING SELECT NORTH AMERICAN & EUROPEAN FESTIVALS THIS SUMMER
“His every song summons an international midnight.” — The New Yorker
“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
“Written across multiple cities and countries, the songs on this emotional opus range from festive to spiritual, carefully reflecting the artist's present outlook on the world.” — Exclaim
“Kwenders draws on and reassembles Black musical diasporic forms to exhilarating effect.” — Complex, “The Best Canadian Albums of 2022
Photo Credit : Camille Sauvayre // DOWNLOAD HIGH RES
José Louis And The Paradox of Love, the acclaimed 2022 record released by Congolese/Canadian artist and icon Pierre Kwenders, “is an endlessly listenable album that combines pop, R&B and electronic music with melodic vocals delivered in a mixture of Lingala, French, English, Tshiluba and Kikongo.” (The New York Times). Today, Kwenders presents “Niata,” a new single from the forthcoming deluxe edition of José Louis And The Paradox Of Love, out June 30 on Arts & Crafts. Following the infectious single “SMT” (aka Social Media Therapy), “Niata” reminds of the boundless sonic spectrum that colors Kwenders’ 2022 Polaris Music Prize winning album.
Produced by Portuguese musician / DJ Branko, “Niata” captures the newfangled dancefloor rhythmics and multilingual storytelling of Kwenders’ heartfelt, celebratory music. Singing in a signature blend of Lingala, French, and English, over a minimal melodic beat, the charismatic Kwenders delves further into his journey of love and personal discovery. “‘Niata’ is a song that calls to be cautious and careful,” says Kwenders. “Reminding us that curiosity killed the cat, everything requires moderation, and that, in love, no one wants to walk on eggshells.”
LISTEN / SHARE “NIATA” HERE
BUY / STREAM “NIATA” HERE
MORE ABOUT PIERRE KWENDERS
Born in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kwenders borrows his stage name from his late grandfather, a widely respected businessman and community figure. Following his mother’s footsteps, in 2001 Kwenders immigrated from Congo to Montreal. José Louis and the Paradox of Love is a culmination of personal growth and the musical dexterity Kwenders has honed over the years, converging his strong songwriting capabilities with the bravado he possesses as a DJ. The album explores an ongoing search to grasp the universal complexities of romance, sometimes through the lens of Kwenders’ own intimate experiences. The songs were written and recorded over the span of four years, and the album is symbolically titled after his birth name, José Louis Modabi. Through different moments of tension and release, romantic narratives of beauty and disaster are packed into powerful poetic musical vignettes.
LISTEN / SHARE / BUY / STREAM “SMT” HERE
PRE-ORDER JOSÉ LOUIS AND THE PARADOX OF LOVE DELUXE LP HERE
PIERRE KWENDERS TOUR DATES
Sun. May 20 - New York, NY @ Slow Factory x NY Live Arts Planet Justice
Fri. June 9 - Saint-Georges de Beauce, QC @ Festival Solstice *
Sat. June 10 - Montreal, QC @ Mural Festival *
Sat. June 17 - Toronto, ON @ Luminato Festival
Sat. July 2 - Trois-Rivières, QC @ FestiVoix (Scène du Jardin Bell)
Wed. July 5 - Montréal, QC @ Club Montréal TD (Festival International de Jazz de Montréal)
Sat. July 8 - Winnipeg, MB @ Winnipeg Folk Festival (Birds Hill Provincial Park)
Sat. July 15 - Cartagena, ES @ La Mar de Músicas
Sun. July 16 - Dour, BE @ Dour Festival *
Thu. July 20 - Ostrava, CZ @ Colours of Ostrava *
Fri. July 21 - Ostrava, CZ @ Colours of Ostrava
Sat. Aug. 12 - Gaspé, QC @ Festival de Musique du Bout du Monde *
* DJ set with Moonshine
BUY / STREAM JOSÉ LOUIS AND THE PARADOX OF LOVE
“HEARTBEAT” (FEAT. ANAIIS) VIDEO
“PAPA WEMBA” VIDEO
“KILIMANJARO” VIDEO
"YOUR DREAM" (FEAT. NGABO) STREAM
“KILIMANJARO (LIVE)” VIDEO
PRAISE FOR JOSÉ LOUIS AND THE PARADOX OF LOVE
“[José Louis And The Paradox Of Love is] an endlessly listenable album that combines pop, R&B and electronic music with melodic vocals delivered in a mixture of Lingala, French, English, Tshiluba and Kikongo.” — The New York Times’ T Magazine
“[José Louis and the Paradox of Love is] a fluid, immersive work, vast but cohesive, elusive of genre, border, or trend.” — Rolling Stone
“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
“A beguiling mix of multilingual Afropop, rhumba and R&B.” — The Guardian
"Kwenders exudes a poetic warmth that's hard to resist." — MOJO
“Kwenders’s music is transportive, beguiling, and emotionally relatable” — Bandcamp
"Inventive and heartfelt, a brilliant use of many genre conventions that respects them all but bows to none. Kwenders isn’t simply blazing a narrow trail here but opening up a cosmos." — PopMatters
“Rooted in a free-floating Congolese rumba-inflected electronic sound, José Louis and Paradox of Love is full of loose grooves and feather-light hooks.” — Loud And Quiet
“This Congolese-born, Montreal-based artist’s third album is a well-crafted, groove-driven blend of Congolese rumba, R&B and various electronic styles, combining bright synths, propulsive rhythms, occasional ringing guitars and soaring horns with buoyant melodies and multilingual lyrics.” — KEXP
“...the songs showcase him singing and rapping in Lingala, French, English, Tshiluba, and Kikongo over skittering programmed beats complemented at times by jazzy sax, rumba guitar, plucked mbira, and guest vocalists and producers from around the world.” — Washington City Paper
JOSÉ LOUIS AND THE PARADOX OF LOVE DELUXE TRACKLIST:
1. L.E.S (Liberté Égalité Sagacité) (Feat. King Britt)
2. Your Dream (Feat. Ngabo)
3. No No No
4. Imparfait (Feat. Sônge)
5. Papa Wemba
6. Religion Désir
7. SMT
8. Makambo Ya Gaga (Skit)
9. Heartbeat (Feat. Anaiis)
10. Kilimanjaro
11. Niata
12. Coupé
13. Sahara
14. Radio trottoir - Interlude
15. Good
16. Church (Likambo)
17. Vibraçao (Feat. Sarah Kalume)