Review

“Tatarata” is just beautiful.

In the quiet community of Nigerian Alternative music, there are many factions. There’s the niche “altè” sound of  Odunsi and Sirbastien and the bold dexterity of Tems and Lady Donli. Cill flies the flag of a different house. She belongs to the same house as Johnny Drille, Chike and Ric Hassani —They sing about love and beauty.

“Tatarata” is no exception. The lovelorn ballad details a woman’s frustration with being stuck in the friend zone. Lyrically and conceptually, it is not a story we have never heard before, but Cill brings her own flavour to this theme.

The Johnny Drille production is warm and inviting and is a welcome change from the “bangers” on the radio, as the instruments are mostly organic. Musicality is on calm display here, showing a slow build up of sound in the production and instrumentation. Cill’s vocal performance is impressive as well, soaring just enough to convey but not overwhelm.

Cill’s calm musicality makes it refreshing and we remain lost in the beauty that is “Tatarata”.