petite noir and danny brown make magic on “beach”

Petite Noir is an artist who take his time. Though it’s been three years since his last release, the debut album La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful (which itself was years in the making), “Beach” makes it clear that the wait was worth it. The South African artist born Yannick Ilunga calls his sound “noirwave,” a genre of one and utterly unmistakable. It is full of spacious guitars and synths, propulsive percussion (equally rooted in post-punk, hip-hop, and the diversity of his homeland’s traditions), and Illunga’s haunting voice drenched in reverb.

“Beach” features a guest verse from the Detroit MC and AFROPUNK fave Danny Brown, who transforms the vibe without taking it over. (The track also features a haunting vocal by new artist, Nukubi Nukubi.) It’s an unexpected collaboration, but their radically different energies compliment each other and bring out the best in each other. In short: “Beach” is like nothing else and it is everything.

“Beach” appears on the new visual EP La Maison Noir due out October 5th. Pre-order it via Bandcamp.