Moonshine Collective Shares Two New Singles

As we move into a new season, Montreal's Moonshine Collective delivers a soundtrack of deep bass, percussive Afro-funk and moody synth melodies. Today, the Montreal-founded and globally-based collective share two new singles: "Ginseng" from Parisian producer, DJ and Boukan Records founder, Bamao Yendé, followed by "Malembe" from Boddhi Satva, in collaboration with Congolese-Montrealer, Moonshine co-founder, JUNO and Polaris-nominated singer-songwriter-producer, Pierre Kwenders and Kinshasa-based atalaku MC Redbul. "Ginseng" also arrives with an accompanying video. "Ginseng" and "Malembe" are a sample of a new album Moonshine is cultivating to release this spring, through a label partnership with FORESEEN Entertainment.

A champion of marginalized musical styles with African roots, Bamao Yendé weaves a soulful sax melody through a UK garage-meets-batida beat on "Ginseng." Known for his sweet South African house and syncopated breaks, Yendé also curates events where diverse artistic communities converge, as with the YGRK KLUB multimedia collective. He is also one-third of Parisian "boy band of the future" Nyokô Bokbaë, setting the beat for vocals by MC Diouck and singer Boyfall, exhorting universal love, unity and a good time for all.

"Ginseng represents the kind of energy that really uplifts the performers in the music video," says Kwenders. "Bamao Yendé has such an intriguing way of starting the track, and within a minute the energy goes wild - he wants you to get up, enjoy life, have a breath of fresh air and a moment of pleasure."

"We wanted to film the video outdoors in one of the artist's neighbourhoods to see the reality of Kinshasa life and the effect of the costumes on people," says Kwenders about the vision for the Ginseng video. "We get to witness in these images the powerful language of percussive music, the ancestral language of traditional costumes in DRC, the social commentary the artists are making by using plastic and other discarded materials to create new forms of these costumes. We see all these perspectives."

Recorded between Montreal, Lisbon and Kinshasa, "Malembe" is the first collaboration between friends Pierre Kwenders and Boddhi Satva, who craft a lithe melody that rapidly explodes with heavy bass and commanding vocals. A prominent independent artist and protégé of Grammy winning Lil Louie Vega, Boddhi Satva (a pioneer of the Afro-house movement and the father of Ancestral Soul in Central African Republic) has also added his future-driven electronic production to tracks by Nigerian pop star Davido, DJ Maphorisa and many others. Dropping MC RedBul's energetic, booming voice into the mix alongside Kwenders' lyrical resonance turns "Malembe" into a multi-layered musical conversation fit for pulsing dancefloors.

Fans can expect a vast array of sounds and international collaborations that embody the energy of Moonshine parties to underground UK clubs, Parisian Afro-electronic soirées to Kinshasa's inventive electronic scene. The tracks link directly to Moonshine's first pilgrimage to Congo, where Montréal-based collective members and Congolese artists collaborated on multiple projects and events, including a hybrid short film/documentary, Zaire Space Program, exploring the collective's roots and the narratives that shape an African Utopia.

The visual for "Ginseng" was filmed with Congolese artist collective FARATA in a township of Kinshasa, and directed by award-winning Congolese director Nizar Saleh Mohamed, with co-direction by Moonshine's Pierre Kwenders and Hervé "Coltan" Kalongo. It was filmed in one of the artist's neighbourhoods to depict the reality of Kinshasa life, capturing the local response as the crew walk through the city donning vibrant costumes which weave together transformation and tradition.

"We get to witness in these images the powerful language of percussive music, the ancestral language of traditional costumes in DRC, the social commentary the artists are making by using plastic and other discarded materials to create new forms of these costumes," Kwenders says of the visual. "We see all these perspectives. The collective works together embracing the theory of Congolese utopia, which resonates with Moonshine's Afro-utopian vision."

Last month, Boiler Room's Collective TV broadcasted live from Kinshasa, with atmospheric sets by the collective's co-founder Pierre Kwenders, Congolese band, Kingongolo Kiniata, Congolese Montrealer AKAntu, and more artists.

Listen here:

Photo Credit: Moonshine

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