Petite Noir — La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful (Featruing Baloji)
Petite Noir — La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful (Featruing Baloji) (2015)
Directed by: Alan Del Rio Ortiz
Petite Noir is pleased to share the video for the title track from his 2015 album, ‘La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful’. The video for the song, featuring Congoloese-Belgian rapper Baloji, was made possible by Urban Outfitters, who co-helmed the production with director Alan Del Rio Ortiz, producers Pomp & Clout, CG & VR supervisor Pete Puskas, and Petite Noir’s constant collaborator, creative director Rochelle Nembhard.
Says Rochelle Nembhard, creative director:
“With this video, I wanted to play on the manipulation of space – what it means to us in a world of design, technology and architecture, and how the spirit functions in relation to all these different virtual “realities”. Noirwave is constantly stepping into new spaces and breaking down the conceptions of what those spaces mean and represent.”
The video was co-produced by Urban Outfitters, as the twenty-third
installment of their UO Music Video Series. Check out blog.urbanoutfitters.com for behind-the-scenes stills from the shoot. Over the past four years, the UO music video series has helped produce music videos for Ariel Pink, Blood Orange, Tanlines, Tame Impala, Charli XCX, How To Dress Well, Peaking Lights, Frankie Rose, The Walkmen, Nick Waterhouse, Cloud Nothings, Black Lips, Spank Rock, The War on Drugs, Beach Fossils, and Toro Y Moi.
Full production credits for the video are below.
Director: Alan Del Rio Ortiz
Lead CG Artist & VFX Supervisor: Pete Puskas
Director of Photography: Matt Greiner
Creative Director: Rochelle Nembhard
Production Company: Pomp&Clout
Executive Producer: Ryan Staake
Producer: Ryen Bartlett
Colorist: Aaron Vinton
1st AD: Mike “Wally” Wallach
1st AC: Nick Timmins
Gaffer: Pavel Ezriho
Key Grip: Tim Curtin
Grip: Matt Reilly
La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful represents the first full expression of what Ilunga calls ‘Noirwave’, which is more a concept than a specific sound. Inspired by innovators like Mos Def and legends Fela Kuti and Tabu Ley, Noirwave encompasses a ‘new African aesthetic’. ‘I think for me,’ says Ilunga, ‘it’s just the story their music tells and the sense of freedom. It’s about seeing the positive in dark times’.
La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful is available on CD, digitally, and in LP version. The LP is a double vinyl LP with etched artwork on Side D. Get the album through Dom Mart HERE and iTunes HERE.
