CBC Music Live: Watch Pierre Kwenders perform at Toronto's 918 Bathurst
The Afro–Canadian artist released his 3rd album, José Louis and the Paradox of Love, this year
Pierre Kwenders' music may be performed in a number of different languages — Lingala, French, English, Tshiluba and Kikongo — but the Kinshasa-born, Montreal-based artist argues that it doesn't matter if you don't understand every word he sings. "If you're really feeling it, and you say it, people will understand," he tells CBC Music. "For me, it's really about what you feel. Nothing is ever really lost."
Beyond his music's deep grooves — which draw from Congolese rumba, pop-R&B, electronic, jazz and more — Kwenders' songs are truly rooted in feelings, especially love in all its forms (romantic, familial, of one's country). That's exactly what his third and latest album, José Louis and the Paradox of Love, tries to distill, leading to one of Kwenders' most personal releases yet. (José Louis is Kwenders' birth name; his stage name is in honour of his late grandfather).
To celebrate the release of this album, which recently earned him his third consecutive Polaris Music Prize longlist nomination, Kwenders performed a show at Toronto's 918 Bathurst. Watch the full concert above, recorded as part of CBC Music Live, a digital series featuring exclusive concert experiences from some of Canada's hottest artists. This season, we're going into venues and packed houses to celebrate live music, and the unmistakable energy of being shoulder to should with music fans — something we've been really missing for a while.