Listen to Batila’s debut album Tatamana

The 15-track album’s Kikongo title translates to ‘hold onto what you love’. It fuses Congolese scents, a sparkle of reggae and soft jazzy vibes. Thematically, Tatamana offers commentary on personal freedom, parental love, black love, fighting for one’s rights, freedom from self-imposed limitations such as self-hate and doubting one’s abilities.

The songs are sung in English and Lingala, with catchy rhythms overlaid by vocal hooks and harmonies. Based in Berlin, Germany, Batila plays the acoustic guitar on all tracks apart from ‘Jazzybelle’ and ‘Ba Nzambe Ya Se’.

“I am proud, and in love with Congolese music, so you can always find a little bit of my childhood sounds in it,” Batila told Music In Africa. “That’s why I also name my sound Bantu soul; It’s music for my people. Everything and nothing inspires me. I am a very melancholic but not a sad person.”

He added: “I dedicate my music to lovers who like to dive a bit deeper without sounding too intellectual. I dedicate my music to the youth and my generation in the diaspora, who are not fighting to be accepted by the white man. I am, I don’t need permission, I don’t need to be cool or trendy.”

Tatamana was recorded at Trixx Studios and Neon Nursery Studios and the DRC’s Sabab Studios in Kinshasa, where many great Congolese musicians such as Iyenga, Jean Goubald Kalala and Bana OK also record. The compilation was mixed by Germany’s Mighty KK and Damian Press and mastered by Mighty KK.

The album cover is a traditional Congolese mask that symbolises great beauty and strength and comes from a deep-rooted tradition but also has modern meaning. “I chose this mask carefully as a reminder of my ancestry, as a homage to the culture and art of my birthplace. It’s new, present and mysterious at the same time,” Batila said.

Stream Tatamana here.