A distinctly modern and vibrant project with its feet firmly rooted in the past, Batida is the brainchild of Portuguese-Angolan Pedro Coquenão. Batida combines samples from old 70s Angolan tracks with electronic dance music. Music is the starting point but through dance, poetry, graphics, photography, radio and video, Batida expands, taking on social commentary but always bringing it back to the party.

“Being half Angolan, half Portuguese gives me that chance to try to translate both countries to each other, on a small scale of course. It’s impossible nowadays to live in Lisbon and not talk about the crisis. Likewise it’s impossible to have friends and family in Luanda and not include the social problems that the city has.”

What originally started out as a radio show designed to promote new African music has slowly evolved into a full on live show with dancers, words and visuals, showcasing other artists and to the eponymous debut album released through Soundway Records in 2012.