Greatest Hits — the new concept LP from Wilton Manors based artist — is not a frivolous pop record. It is a dark comedy covering heavy life issues, forged over the last few years during a great societal shift around the globe and in the USA.
“Another Place, Another Time” is really about tough love, but sounds uplifting and fun. If you look a little deeper into the lyrics you will find it is pretty bleak. “They say the grass is never greener, on the other side of the street. When you’re hanging from the ceiling. It’s time to admit defeat. The cook has left the kitchen. The dog’s not on the porch. Running from yourself was never gonna work.” But there is hope in it as well which is how most of the music on Greatest Hits plays out with the theme of destruction to rebirth to destruction again, mirroring his own life (“The Lost Generation”).
Bata literally nearly died halfway into the making of this album and has since mostly recovered.
Incoming is about the madness of his thought process and how one’s own thinking can lead to their self-destruction. Bata hopes that there are some who can relate and maybe see that they are not alone. There is help out there.
Bata declares his love for art, music and film "Cinema" particularly from the 80s and 90s where this album is firmly sonically set. “Detente/We Can Work It Out” is a cold war drama about a relationship that is on the rocks. Lyrically most of this album is set in the present with the exception of “Generation X” and “Keith Haring.”
Refracted Reality was written mostly during the Trump Presidency, but it is still relevant considering he is still a huge presence in our lives and could once again ascend to power. It is also about the rise of fascism in the USA. Bata chants 2 + 2 = 5 in "Refracted Reality", referencing Orwell’s book/film 1984.
Before this project Bata would never have imagined his voice being used as a vocalist, but once he began writing the lyrics he realized he couldn’t image them coming out of anyone else’s mouth. He found is much more difficult technically to sing than he had planned. The fine details of producing was also a challenge. The Lost Generation Greatest hits is a precursor to his next project which is a film that happens to be a musical.
