Following the warm single Sentiment, Pierre Kwenders and Clément Bazin are back with Ego, a second track off their EP Classe Tendresse, to be released on October 23rd via Bonsound (Canada and USA) and Nowadays (rest of world). The song evokes an uninhibited club atmosphere, and praises humility while still embracing the double entendre. Pierre Kwenders’ voice slips between the frantic rhythms produced by Clément Bazin, lifting us into the trance of dance.
It’s the first track we made together. It began with this melodic pattern to open the track, on which I layed the rhythm, then everything naturally found its place within the song. I wanted a club track, uptempo, hitting strong with fat subs! says Clément Bazin of his vision.
Concerning the song’s message, Pierre says that We sometimes lose ourselves in the whirlwind of show business. Our ego sometimes takes over. That’s it, you’re K.O. We have to surpass ourselves, but we also have to keep our heads above water. Don’t forget that the Congo river is one of the most dangerous ones ;)
Ego is available now on all streaming services.
Pre-save the EP Classe Tendresse now.
The song is accompanied by a video that was shot and directed in Paris by Daniel Amoakoh. The music video, unveiled today via Nataal, presents all the off-center ways in which music plays a role in our lives, showcasing an authentic story of freedom, liberation and performance. The story is deeply rooted in heritage and homage, an adoring nod to the art of voguing; the highly stylized, modern house dance that evolved out of the ballroom scene of the late 1980’s.
Watch and share the video for Ego on YouTube.
Classe Tendresse is a celebration of life, filled with warm colours, that embraces the melancholy and obstacles found in one’s journey. The African sounds mix with the steelpan riffs and Pierre Kwenders’ mesmerizing vocals to create an EP that takes us on an emotional, multilingual voyage.
The collaboration with Clément Bazin for this EP is a perfect example of the pleasure Pierre takes in defying standards and pushing genre boundaries with his music. Classe Tendresse is a tribute to the romanticism of Congolese rumba, his main source of inspiration. The title is also journey. The African sounds beautiful love songs written by renowned Congolese singer-songwriter and producer Koffi Olomidé.
For Pierre Kwenders, this collection of songs makes us travel, it puts us in front of all of these feelings that define every big chapter of our lives. With Classe Tendresse, Clément and I successfully blended our two universes into a unique galaxy.
Clément Bazin echoes in the same direction, affirming that with Classe Tendresse, we managed to mix everything that I like into music. I was born and raised in Paris but it’s the steel bands and Caribbean music that made me fall in love with music. Pierre was born in Kinshasa and moved to Montreal, our sound had to reach a form of universality and erase sound barriers.