Felix Zeltner
Founder at Soundfriend, New York
#Soul #Funk #Roots
@flixpad
Pierre Kwenders - “Popolipo” ft. Samito
Recently, driving the endless roads of Canada — a country as big as the continent I’m from — made me become a fan of the French-language music radio Ici Musique by Canada’s public broadcaster CBC. Their variety of music was stunning and when this track landed in my ears, it made me sing and dance behind the steering wheel.
The artist, Pierre Kwenders, immigrated to Montreal from Kinshasa as a teenager, speaks four languages and released his debut album last year, transferring Congolese rhythms into electropop. On “Popolipo,” featuring Samito, another new artist from the area, Kwenders talks about a young rebel who never laughs, is never tired, and feels both Congolese and Canadian. It’s hard to get the song out of my ears, not only because of its simplicity and catchiness, but also because it talks about relocating, the no. 1 topic this summer in Europe, Canada and all over the western world.
Going to Budapest this week for WOMEX, Europe’s largest conference for global music, I was excited to see Pierre Kwenders live as he got selected as a showcasing artist. His performance was powerful and fresh. Keep your ears open for this guy.
