Montparnasse Musique announce debut album Archeology; share ‘Bonjour’

Out on 7th October, Archeology is a vibrant collection of tracks based in electronic music and inspired by a variety of influences from across the African continent.

The first single, ‘Bonjour’, is out today. The track was created from Montparnasse Musique’s recording sessions with vocalist Muambuyi and guitarist Mopero Mupemba (of Kasai Allstars). It’s an uplifting song which celebrates friendships. The video was filmed on the streets of Kinshasa by award-winning filmmaker Renaud Barret (Systeme K!, KOKOKO!) and features Muambuyi and Mopero alongside other creatives from the Congolese capital’s vibrant street art scene.

Nadjib Ben Bella is a DJ and producer who draws influences from the gnawa music of his North African roots and a diverse range of Sub-Saharan sounds from musicians he has worked with over the years. Most recently he has been touring Europe with West African band Les Amazones d’Afrique.

Aero Manyelo, a name now synonymous with the burgeoning South African house scene, has honed a distinctive electronic sound that translates across the international club circuit and has attracted a broad range of collaborators — including Idris Elba and The Mahotella Queens on the opening track of an album inspired by the Nelson Mandela biopic Long Walk to Freedom.

About the album

Underground to overground. Forest to metropolis. North Africa and South Africa, meeting up, digging down, finding gold in the seams. Here, at the intersection of club floor and ritual, of electronics and ceremony, are worlds both ancient and modern. Otherworlds, where inhibitions fall away, dancers shakedown and trance takes you out there, and far away.

This is Archeology – the astounding debut album from Montparnasse Musique. Wrapped in striking visuals and released on Real World Records,  Archeology finds the live rhythms of traditional and urban Africa meeting the programmed beats of modern Johannesburg. It’s a distinctive sound: wild, nuanced, pan-African.

Read music writer Jane Cornwell’s full introduction to the album

Archeology by Montparnasse Musique is out on 07 October 2022 and is available to pre-order on CD and LP from 17 August 2022. The first single, ‘Bonjour’, is available now on all digital platforms.

Pre-order the album