I Hope You Change

There’s something intensely hypnotic about the insistent, interlocking rhythms of batuku, the centuries-old musical tradition of Cape Verde’s Santiago island. Played by groups of women, its cyclical percussion and call-and-response singing can be tender and playful one moment, raw and forceful the next. On I Hope You Change, Taresa Fernandes and her ensemble move effortlessly between these different moods, their voices full of warmth, urgency and emotion, while the percussion maintains a steady, driving pulse, gathering strength through repetition rather than variation. On the magnificent “Nu xinta pa N konta-bu tudu,” the music shifts into a higher gear as Fernandes begins repeating the same phrase, her voice becoming part of the rhythmic pattern itself, before the percussion eases and the voices return to their melodies. 

Recorded in the capital Praia in 2023 by Antonin Gerbal and released on Curved Pitch, the label he runs with fellow [Ahmed] musician Joel Grip, the album captures the wonderfully spontaneous nature of batuku. Traditionally a space for women to share stories, experiences and everyday observations, its songs can emerge from the simplest encounters, with new names and stories woven into improvised verses. Even without understanding the Kriolu lyrics, there’s an unmistakable emotional immediacy to these performances, carried in the voices, rhythms and palpable sense of togetherness.

Like so many musical traditions of the Black Atlantic, batuku has survived centuries of displacement, oppression and change. But I Hope You Change is a reminder that its strength lies not simply in having endured, but in the way it continues to grow, taking on new stories and experiences while carrying the voices of past generations.