Photo Credit: Travys Owen

Yannick Ilunga– the Cape Town-raised, Congolese-Angolan Noirwave founder known as Petite Noir– is gearing up to release his 11-track debut album, La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful, next Friday, September 11, on Domino Records. So far he's shared the singles "Down," "Best," and most recently the love song "MDR." As of tonight, the album is streaming in full via the now-embeddableNPR First Listen.

La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful is the follow-up to The King of Anxiety, a 5-track EP out in January that included "Come Inside," "Chess," "Shadows," "The Fall" and the early Noirwave staple "Till We Ghosts." The record, which takes its name from a Congolese film of the same name, looks to expand on Petite Noir’s concept of ‘Noirwave’ — a forward-thinking African aesthetic influenced by the likes of Fela Kuti, Tabu Ley Rochereau and Yasiin Bey (who he has previously collaborated with). “It’s just the story their music tells and the sense of freedom,” Ilunga says in a press release. “It’s about seeing the positive in dark times.”

The album is available for pre-order through Domino Records and iTunes. Listen below.

La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful Tracklisting

01. Intro Noirwave

02. Best

03. Freedom

04. Seventeen (Stay)

05. Just Breathe

06. La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful

07. MDR

08. Colour

09. Down

10. Inside

11. Chess

PETITE NOIR TOUR DATES

Tues September 15 || London, UK || Lexington

Wed September 16 || Glasgow, UK || Stereo

Thu September 17 || Manchester, UK || Deaf Institute

Sat September 19 || Nurnburg, Festival, Germany || Melt!

Mon September 21 || Paris, France || Badaboum

Tues September 22 || Brussels, Belgium || Botanique/Witloofbar

Thu September 24 || Amsterdam, Netherlands || Melkweg

Fri September 25 || Hamburg, Festival, Germany || Reeperbahn Festival