A cure for your anxieties, straight from the King

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: PETITE NOIR
The first EP released by Petite Noir might leave listeners questioning originality.

Petite Noir is the brainchild of Yannick Iluga – a master of blending different musical styles and a prime example of a man who continues to reinvent himself day after day.

Iluga doesn’t just blend a niche of neighbouring genres. He can jump gaps that not many people can bridge together. Starting as part of a church band, he joined a metalcore group called Fallen Within before delving into the electronic side of music and fronting a chillwave band by the name of Popskarr.

Now, at the age of 24, Iluga is several years into his latest venture under the name Petite Noir, paving the path of a new genre he’s been calling noir wave. With several singles already under his belt, Iluga dropped his first Petite Noir EP The King of Anxiety on January 19.

It’s hard to pinpoint the influences that brought about The King of Anxiety, considering Iluga hasn’t listened to any of the acts he’s been likened to. Perhaps distancing himself from the music that’s in his own ballpark is what gives Petite Noir its air of originality. The King of Anxiety combines pulsing synth lines with electronic African drum rhythms, chillwave ambient guitar riffs and an echo of steel drums that complete this medley of uncharted territory.

This is combination – dubbed noir wave – is flushed out by adding Iluga’s incredible vocal range on top of it all, which sees us going from a low, booming rumble in “Chess” to an incredible airy falsetto in “Shadows.” The only thing more impressive than this vocal array is the ease in which Iluga slips between these two extremes.

The best thing about The King of Anxiety is that it will appeal to a wide variety of people. Pop this into your car stereo and your friends will be applauding your eloquent taste in new music. Or perhaps, simply be stunned into trancelike silence, which should also be taken as a compliment.

Even though The King of Anxiety has such a broad array of influence, the mainstream record companies haven’t managed to water it down and clog up the radio stations with it. Petite Noir is exactly what it’s meant to be, hypnotic, dark, uplifting and – above all –unique.

The King of Anxiety may just be the most innovative record put out in the last few months.

All praise aside, buried within this rosebush of unique music, lays a prickly thorn – and a poorly hidden one. The first song on this album, “Come Inside” bears a haunting resemblance to the hit single “Dirty Harry” by U.K. band Gorillaz.

At first it appears to be nothing more than an honest coincidence, faintly echoing each other in their respective introductions, but unfortunately, when the vocal melodies begin, all benefit of the doubt is surrendered.

Iluga sings along to the exact melody and phrasing that “Dirty Harry” opens with, and although the original song has a markedly different genre, the driving vocal instrumentation is nearly identical.

To add insult to injury, not only is this song placed first on The King of Anxiety, Iluga echoes each line of his introduction with a choir, following the exact vocal structure of “Dirty Harry.”

Perhaps Petite Noir’s anxiety is in reference to this bit of shady songwriting, or perhaps he intends to use this potential controversy to get people talking about his music and bring it to a wider audience. Either way, “Come Inside” leaves listeners with a bitter taste, which prevents from fully appreciating Petite Noir as a truly original artist.

Innovative? Definitely. But original? It’s hard to say.

Rating: 4 out of 5