Amana Melome’ – “RECALIBRATED: THE REMIXES”: A Dance Album About Freedom and Self-Discovery
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Life can move crazily and take you anywhere, but knowing what you want when you want it makes a bit of difference. Sometimes you need a fresh start, sometimes you need a good holiday and sometimes all you need is a good beat, a bit of confidence and the realization that you no longer have to tolerate nonsense again. It’s ain’t easy, unpacking your entire life story, raising a child, packing up and moving across multiple continents, and then decide to throw a massive global dance party about it. It’s quite stressful and most people might just buy a new plant or take a nap. Amana Melome’ instead dropped a remix album that turns personal growth into ten tracks of pure, unfiltered rhythm with “RECALIBRATED: THEREMIXES”
When we hear remixes, sometimes all we think of is a little twist and turn to the beats or lyrics, but this album ain’t just a collection of old songs with a new paint coat. She took the soulful foundations of her earlier work and handed the master files over to international crew of producers and together they have created an album that bounces between deep house, dub reggae, sleek disco, and jazz-club grooves without losing its human pulse.
I like how the tracks still holds onto the warmth and emotional honesty of Amana’s songwriting. When you listen to the album closely, you’d realize how it bridges two different worlds together. You have that side of organic instrumentation, smooth piano chords, live brass, and Amana’s commanding, jazz-trained vocals, whereas on the other side, you get driving electronic basslines, crisp house percussion, and heavy dub delays crafted by guest producers like OPOLOPO, Cee Elassaad, and Joel Holmes.
Nothing feels rigid and I love the lively mix feel and how every track has the space it needs to float, creating an atmosphere that feels free to move to it and not be intimidated by anything. Amana says it’s a celebration of coming home to her authentic self. The songs deal with strength, freedom, identity and leaving behind the beliefs that once held her back. Rather than looking back with regret, she chooses to celebrate how far she has come. Lets take a stroll through the tracks and enjoy the experience.
“LET’S GLOW” sets the tone for what’s to come with a whisper and a sigh of laughs in just 16 seconds, inviting you in to glow and set off. It’s a good introduction to a party, especially when you gonna dance a lot. Then comes “SO DONE (Cee Elassaad & Joel Holmes Remix)” hitting in hard right from the start. I love the energy and the drums, it’s soo infectious and catchy. You get these chunky house beats meeting dazzling piano work, then Amana drops her sweet bold vocals talking about leaving self-doubt and bad habits in the rear-view mirror. Sometimes we gotta be done with a lot of things and let them go, feel comfortable again and celebrate the change instead of tolerating stuffs that stifled you! It’s a lovely track, and really gets your attention without asking for it, and by the time it ends, you will find yourself singing, “I’m so, so doneee, playing, I’m so done playing small to make you comfortable”, and this is it for me, why should we limit ourselves to accommodate people? Why should we harbour a lot in ourselves just so someone can feel comfortable? Be yourself and feel better. It’s a great track, that bold, direct and full of attitude.
“CON C.ALMA (Somos Animales Dub Remix)” walks in and slows things down and takes us to a reggae infused world. You’re met with this heavy, rolling bassline and spacious echo effects, wrapping the vocals in a hazy, relaxed reggae fog. This great tune is a bit of a confidence booster, and I like it relaxed approach, hinting that sometimes move life at your own pace. Dance to your own rhythm and tempo, because you know you gonna make it no matter what, so why the rush? Have some calma, and move the way you want to move.
Are you ready for some retro disco energy and vibe? Well this track “RECALIBRATION (Opolopo Remix)” has tons of it and it’s lovely, woo, and I love the relaxed vocal delivery, it allows you to enjoy the beats and everything going on around. It’s lovely how these infectious funky basslines and shimmering synth stabs lift the mood instantly, turning a song about inner reflection into a Saturday night anthem. It’s got that feel good vibe, and you know it’s not all the time that you need a quiet reflection, sometimes you need a celebration and some energy. The kind of things we been through and where we’ve come, we can’t pretend to be something we ain’t and be quiet about it, we gotta feel alive and pop the champagne and recalibrate.
If you enjoyed that reggae dub earlier on, then you might as well enjoy this version of “CON C.ALMA (Eli Anai Remix)“. I like the one too, as it takes a much more deeper, more hypnotic route. There’s some sort of stripping here in the begining, you realize how it’s more of hypnotic rhythms and atmospheric textures, before the heavy electronic elements comes in, then everything goes off and the vocals just does what it does best. Before lifting off with this light electronic textures and the heavy ones comes in. They make you feel the emotional weight of the lyrics, and makes you take a deep breath and calm yourself.
Then again we have “RECALIBRATION (Godblesscomputers Remix)“. This one leans into textured, earthy beats. I think there’s a bit of afrobeat in there with the way the beats bounce, it feels slightly underground and dusty, trading shiny pop gloss for organic electronic grooves and creative sample work. It’s also more about how life can take different shapes and forms and still achieve whatever it wanna achieve. So there’s no one formula to life, sometimes free yourself from all the toxicity, heal and stop carrying old luggage with you!
Things get a bit more emotional on “RECALIBRATION (Saverio ‘Sage’ Principini Remix)“, though it’s got a more sharper, more focused edge. The horns bite a bit, but the whole arrangement allows Amana’s vocal delivery to shine a lot more than in the other versions, backed by crisp modern production that keeps your head nodding. I love the backing vocals too, they are more melodic and gets you in your feels, this one let’s the lyrics punch you more and gets you to sing along, recalibration, are you feeling it? Recalibration, cos I’m feeling it x2. It’s beautiful and feels a bit spiritual. Love the trumpets though, nice touch Amana. I think we all need some break right? And that’s what this track “RECALIBRATED (Interlude)” is for. It serves as a quick, cinematic palate cleanser. It gives you a minute of quiet moments with yourself, catch your breath and be ready for the final stretch of the album.
We enter a more emotional space with “SPACE AGE MAMA JAMA RECALIBRATED (Deron Johnson & Saverio ‘Sage’ Principini Remake)”. This track is a reimagining of the very first song she ever recorded over a decade ago, this version features legendary keyboardist Deron Johnson. It feels triumphant, playful, and fiercely alive. It also lay emphasis on life, telling listeners that there’s more to life that what we see, therefore sometimes we should connect with nature more. The horns and trumpets are beautiful, and piano feels delicate and have that emotional edge to it. This is like a live jazz music and I love it.
You should know this ain’t the final track on the album, but this is where we kiss goodbye to this beautiful journey, and there’s no better way than doing with with a reggae dub of the track “SPACE AGE MAMA JAMA RECALIBRATED (Saverio ‘Sage’ Principini Fire Remix)“. It brings in a bit of heat, pumps the tempo slightly and leave you feeling elated, and ready to live life on your own terms and this time you gonna pay attention to everything around you! The final track is 11:11.
That’s been some ride, so tell you what, once you finally figure out who you are, you are allowed to celebrate it. Don’t let how people see you affect how you see yourself, believe in whatever you do and be calm about it. Define terms on your own and let the old versions of yourself go away. It’s an album that asks you to step out of the shadows of past expectations, and step into your full power without apology. If you’re down bad, and need an outright mood lifter, go ahead and stream “RECALIBRATED: THE REMIXES“, enjoy yourself, and believe in who you are!
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