NKATA: Dots of Thoughts Nkata Podcast Station

This episode takes you on an auditory pilgrimage with the Berlin-based, musician, Batila,  weaving the essence of his Congolese and Angolan heritage into a rich narrative that dances between the notes of his latest album, "Tatamana." As Batila unpacks his life's journey from Germany to the cultural depths of his upbringing, we discover how a childhood migration shaped not only his reality but also the very music that he breathes into existence.

Batila's convictions resonate as he insists on music as a vessel for storytelling, a self-acclaimed Griot channelling his energy of crossroads between time and space that underscores his outlook in life. We explore his philosophy that songs must be born from significance, enveloped in the authenticity and depth of his artistry. His first album, a celebration of Black love and unity, stands as a testament to his craft, every carefully composed piece reflecting his dedication to delivering not just sound, but an experience. The high-resolution audio of "Tatamana" invites listeners to not just hear but feel the music, as we discuss how Batila's meticulous attention to detail crafts not only songs but a movement.

Join us for an inspiring session that transcends melody and tinkers with the realms of spirituality and healing. Batila shares his vision for his upcoming album "Mpeve," aiming to connect listeners in a collective trance of togetherness. We close with "Resurrection," a track symbolizing hope and peace, capturing the essence of our discussion. It's a fitting end to our journey with Batila, where each note is a step towards understanding the unbreakable bond between sound, identity, ideology and the eternal quest for inner peace.

Host: Emeka Okereke 
Guest: Batila
Production: Atelier E.K Okereke
Cover Photo: Natasha Morokhova


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During a three-week residency in Tangier, Morocco, my friend and colleague, anthropologist Mathangi Krishnamurthy, and I, Emeka Okereke, had the privilege of meeting Abdelmajid Hannoum, whose book "Living Tangier" served as a springboard for our research and thought processes during our residency in the city, organized and supported by The Minority Globe.
In this episode of Dots of Thoughts, Professor Hannoum shares his intellectual and creative process of translating fieldwork experiences into academic work. We dive deeper into the realities of migration and its impact on the city of Tangier. Hannoum, drawing from his personal experiences growing up around some of the Moroccan children he researched, enriches our understanding of Tangier's intricate history and changing demographics.

Furthermore, Hannoum elaborates on the phenomenon of death concerning the migrant body. This subject stems from his personal experience during his years of research for the book. But our narrative doesn't end there. We also delve into the realm of global cities, exploring how their manicured images often mask the disparities within them. Our observations led us to question the place of Tangier in this global context, discussing its complex identity and evolving narrative.


Join us as we peer through the curtains of this multifaceted city, exploring its various aspects and discussing its complex identity and evolving narrative. 



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This episode was inspired by my participation in the exhibition "Prussian Palaces. Colonial Histories", taking place at the Schloss Charlottenburg Berlin. 

 My guest, Carolin Alff, one of the exhibition's curators, guides us through the thoughts that inform the exhibition's making. We discuss the mystery of two statues, their damaged state, a testament to the inaccessible vignette shrouding Germany's deplorable colonial past.  The statue in question was the subject of my audiovisual intervention called "Tracing Presence(s)... of Place, Body, Time."

It is important to note that the relevance of this exhibition is not only in its attempt to reminisce about the past but also in how it asks pertinent questions about how the country and its people come to terms with the extent to which their past continues to inform their present where it has to do with white privilege and Western hegemony. 

We delve into the curatorial process and the complex decisions made behind the scenes of this exhibition. According to the organisers,  the aim was not only to showcase artefacts but to create a safe space for dialogue where history can be reimagined and considered from new perspectives.  Yet I ask: to what extent does the need to create a "safe space" come in the way of creating a space of new knowledge that offers an occasion for genuine self-reflection rather than a "glossing over" or latent gloating? 

With Carolin, we traverse the tricky territory of sensitive terminologies and challenging historical contexts, recognising the need for a transparent conversation that respects the histories of injustices and violence attached to these relics.

Join us as we grapple with the past, confront uncomfortable truths, and underscore the importance of understanding history to shape a better present and future. This episode should inspire you to visit the exhibition from the 4th of July to the 31st of October, 2023. 
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If you've ever found yourself lost in the labyrinth of existence or pondering the multiverse and the many layers of our identity, my recent chat with the talented filmmaker and fashion model You Kim is sure to resonate with you. We venture into a reflective analysis of the film, Everything Everywhere All At Once - a cinematic marvel that masterfully addresses the complexities of subjectivity, truth, and the human tendency to deconstruct our world. It's a film that bears a striking relevance to the contemporary times we live in, and You Kim's insights into the narrative's artful playfulness and cliches are eye-opening.

We don't just stop at analyzing the film's narrative structure. Our conversation delves, in earnest, into the symbolic aspects of the film. From its portrayal of double consciousness and paradoxes and how it paints human connection to its depiction of a younger generation grappling with the absence of collective values and religion. It's a lens through which to view the existential crises that this younger generation, born into a neoliberal world, faces. And the evolution of the mother's character in the film sparks a rich discussion on sublime love and the power of individual agency in a world full of existential uncertainties. 

As we close, our discussion turns reflective - the necessity of fostering a society that acknowledges the intricacies of love and relationships while nurturing the future of humanity. You Kim shares her experiences as an Asian filmmaker and how she connects with the film's depiction of the Asian diaspora. This is not just a film review but a journey of recognizing the power of stories to broaden our worldview. If you're seeking a thought-provoking conversation that challenges your perspective, join us for this riveting discussion.
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In this episode of Dots of Thoughts, I am in conversation with Diana Mora. She is a ballet dancer. Her inclination to dance started from as early as the age of six, when she first watched Swan Lake. Supported by her mother, she studied and completed ballet dancing at the National Academy in her home country Bolivia. Dance became the incentive for her movement and consequent self-unravelling from then on. Finally, she moved to France to pursue her dreams as a ballet dancer. In the podcast, she takes us through the nature of the conflict she fought through in relation to her body.
"In France, I realised that Dance was not just ballet for me."
Diana Mora's is not an archetypal ballet-dance body. In France, she was shocked to realise that ballet has less to do with Dance and more with the objectification and stratification of bodies. The technicalities required to conform one's body into a form fit for ballet dancing is stretched to the point where the body is a tool with no soul. And as with every tool, value is ensured by separating the efficient from inefficient, with little room for acknowledging and valorising difference.
Since then, it has been a hard-fought journey towards reconciling the pulsating resolve to dance with the disparity of her atypical body type. This journey is also one of many border-crossings whereby, for every delimitation, self-unravelling paradoxes ensue.
Diana lives and works in Berlin today. In her first Instagram post of the year, she put forward a succinct recapitulation of her relationship with her body. It read like a manifesto for taking back one's body from the clutches of colonialism and refocusing it on the necessary work of making a home we carry with us.

- Emeka Okereke


Host: Emeka Okereke 
Guest: Diana Mora 
Cover Photo: Haze Kware (HKVisuals)
Production: Nkata Podcast Station/Atelier E.K Okereke
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In 2006, I remember photographing, in Paris, the protest against killings that then took place in Isreal and Palestine. In the photo, a father is clutching his little daughter on one hand, while with the other hand, waves a placard that reads “Le meme age que ma fille” (same age as my daughter). I remember feeling deeply struck by this double emphasis aimed at reiterating what should be so obvious: the trail and ensuing threads of human violence – like mitochondria – run and connect to us all. 
In this podcast conversation, I caught up with a longtime friend and fellow artist Bahaa Abudaya to discuss the most recent eruption of violence which took place in May 2021. 
Bahaa left Gaza when he was two years old. Since then, he has roamed the earth. Yet he claims: no matter where I go, I always consider myself a Palestinian even though I do not know, from lived experience, what Palestine is as a place. He goes on to explain that this deeply inward, yet unforced identification with Palestine is constitutive of his disposition as one who is in a state of permanent temporality. 
“I am never clear where I should be. I have developed a kind of personality through this kind of exile”. 
Here, we are presented with the paradox often a fixture of border-bodies: on one hand, a solace accompanies the feeling of never being beholden to a place. On the other hand, there is something about transience that denies one a sense of continuity. Rightfully so, Bahaa concludes that his life is floating somewhere in between these unresolvable polarities. 
His Palestine is one he anchors to a memory of displacement. He recalls an anecdotal event that took place when he was ten years old. His grandmother took him to the site where her home once stood before the occupation. The most indelible moment of the visit was witnessing his grandmother shed tears profusely. As a child, he could not understand why absence meant so much for her. Her tears became symbolic of an incomprehensible, ungraspable loss that he would carry with him as a placeholder for what it means to be Palestinian. “Every Palestinian makes his or her own Palestine for themselves”, he said in the podcast. They make their Palestine out of ruins and loss. That is why the picture of young Palestinian kids throwing pebbles at Israeli armoured tanks should be read beyond its photogenic attributes. 
The Israeli army, complete with its intelligence apparatus, is one of the most powerful in the world. For that reason alone, this conflict, on the part of the Palestinians, will always be one of bringing a fist to a gunfight. But that fist is clenched tight – always ready to provoke violence as intrinsic to its resistance. 
As Bahaa concludes, both sides are complicit in the incitement of violence, albeit at disparate scales. Is there ever going to be an end to this regurgitation of violence? I asked. No, not when violence is the first resort. Violence will sell more guns and take more lives – that’s about it. 
What becomes obvious is that the method and approach to the formation of the Israeli nation-state is one forged in the crucibles of 19th-century colonialism. It is necropolitics, that is, the entitlement of a nation-state to legal power – shored up by capital and powerful alliances – to inflict death with impunity. This colonial disposition is carried over to our time, thereby sabotaging hopes of the 21st century being one of healing and reparation. 
No one is genuinely committed to a decolonial future w
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Thank you for listening. Follow Nkata Podcast Station on Instagram @nkatapodcast and Twitter.

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