New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Madonna today unveiled a visually-stunning video for "Batuka" from her new #1 album
Madame X. Directed by Emmanuel Adjei, who most recently collaborated with
Madonna on her "Dark Ballet" video, the video features the all-female Orquestra Batukadeiras and was shot off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal where
Madame X was born.
"Batuka" is inspired by Batuque, a style of music created by the women that originated from Cape Verde. Condemned by the church for what was considered an act of rebellion, the female slaves were then forbidden to drum. But the inspiring and powerful women continued their singing and dancing, and the Batuque lives on today.
In Lisbon, while working on
Madame X,
Madonna formed a bond with Dino d'Santiago, a Portuguese singer of Cape Verdean descent. He began to introduce her to other musicians, including the all-female Orquestra Batukadeiras, who are featured on the song "Batuka."
Madonna says, "We went to a tiny club in the middle of nowhere and a circle of women were sitting in chairs playing leather drums. The music started and they all took turns singing solos in Creole and dancing. It was so inspiring that I asked if possible, to collaborate with them. They agreed and we ended up in the studio recording 'Batuka,' this call-and-response song, live. It was a religious experience, just a total celebration of life."
Madonna recently released her documentary short "World of
Madame X", which gives an intimate, behind-the-scenes look of how her recent #1 album came together. It is available now globally in over 100 counties and territories on Amazon Prime Video.
Madonna is joined in the 23-minute documentary, beautifully set in Lisbon, Portugal, by collaborators that were part of, and inspired,
Madame X.
Madonna is getting ready to bring
Madame X to life by embarking on a series of rare and intimate concert performances to take place exclusively in theaters, giving fans an opportunity to see her perform in an environment like they never have before. The
Madame X Tour will kick off
September 12th at the BAM
Howard Gilman Opera House in New York and will feature multiple nights of shows in each city including performances at the
Chicago Theatre, The Wiltern in Los Angeles, the Colosseum at
Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the Boch Center Wang Theatre in Boston, The Met Philadelphia and at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theatre. The
Madame X Tour will continue in early 2020 with performances at the Coliseum in Lisbon, the Palladium in London and at the Grand Rex in Paris. Tickets and further information is available at https://www.madonna.com/tour.
Madame X comes in a standard and deluxe version of the album and exclusive album bundles with limited edition merchandise are now available direct from Madonna.com.
"Batuka" Video Credits:
Directed by Emmanuel Adjei
Creative Direction by Imogen Snell
Starring the Orquestra Batukadeiras with special thanks to Dino D' Santiago
Production Companies: COMPULSORY & Dreamers
Executive Producers: Chris Toumazou, Mélodie Saba
Producer: Tom Birmingham
Service Producer: Margarida Adónis
Prod. Designer: Paulina Rzeszowska
Ass. Prod. Designer: Ruth Levy
Make-up: Isamaya Ffrench
Ass. Make-up: Porsche Poon
Styling for Madonna: Eyob Yohannes
Hair: Andy LeCompte
Costume designers: Bratsk
Choreographer: Megan Lawson
Ass. Choreographer: Nicolas Huchard
Service Company: Ready To Shoot
Editor, Colorist:
Danny Tull, Tom Watson
Post Production: Mathematic Studio
VFX supervisor: Yann Aldabe
Flame artist: Michael Bianchi
VFX producer: Guillaume Marien
Post producer: Julia Kerguelen
Stills Photography: Riccardo Castano
1st. AD: Dilia Brito
2nd. AD:
Vanessa Patricio
Project Manager: Paulo Guedes
Talent & Prod. Coordinator: Sara Brito
Prod. Secretary: Renata Amaro
Location Managers: Tiago Nogueira, Luis Santos, Joao Barata, Joao Correia
Local Stylist:
Isabel Carmona
Local MUA & HD: Mery Pastore Camino, António Carreteiro
Local Art Director: Sebas Serra
