Photo Credit: Marjolein Nooijen
Sometimes reinvention doesn’t require becoming somebody different. It requires becoming more comfortable with who you already are.
That philosophy sits naturally at the centre of Amana Melome’s ‘Con C.Alma (Dub Reggae Remix)’, a warm, hypnotic reworking that turns introspection into movement without losing the self-reflection underneath it.
Arriving ahead of RECALIBRATED: THE REMIXES on 25th of September, the track revisits material from Amana’s recently released album Recalibration, a project shaped by her return to music following time away from touring to focus on motherhood, visual art and personal reflection.
If Recalibration was about finding her centre again, this remix sounds like learning how to move freely from it.
Argentinian production duo Somos Animales transform ‘Con C.Alma’ through warm dub reggae rhythms, giving the song a meditative pulse that complements its themes of intuition, presence and self-trust. Amana’s jazz-inflected vocals float comfortably through the arrangement, retaining their soulful character while adapting naturally to the looser rhythmic surroundings.
The shift feels particularly appropriate because the song was never musically static to begin with. Amana originally developed it through a vocal sketch before working with producer Saverio Principini and musicians including pianist Deron Johnson in a Latin-jazz direction. For the remix, she already heard another possibility.
“I sent them a vocal sketch of the reggae feel I could already hear in my head,” she explains of working with Somos Animales, “and they delivered with their staple Dub reggae style!”
That process reveals something important about Amana’s approach. Genre isn’t treated as a fixed identity but as another way of interpreting emotion. Latin jazz and dub reggae might offer different rhythmic languages, yet both can carry the same underlying message.
It’s an approach that makes particular sense for an artist whose life and musical history have always crossed borders. Born in Germany, raised between Italy and the United States and now based in Spain, Amana draws upon jazz, soul and global musical traditions without allowing any single influence to define her completely.
Her family connection to jazz, including grandfather Jimmy Woode’s celebrated career with Duke Ellington, provides considerable heritage, but ‘Con C.Alma’ isn’t interested in simply preserving tradition. Instead, Amana allows those foundations to travel somewhere new.
The remix also changes the emotional function of the song. Self-trust can easily become an abstract concept, but the dub rhythm makes it physical. The invitation to reconnect with yourself becomes something you can actually move to. Reflection and dancing no longer feel like opposite activities.
That idea neatly captures the purpose of RECALIBRATED: THE REMIXES. Reimagining these songs isn’t about correcting the originals; it’s about demonstrating that perspective can change while the emotional truth underneath remains intact.
‘Con C.Alma (Dub Reggae Remix)’ therefore feels less like an alternative version than another stage in Amana Melome’s ongoing recalibration. Relaxed, soulful and quietly assured, it finds an artist discovering that self-trust isn’t always about standing still long enough to hear yourself.
Sometimes it’s about finding your own rhythm and trusting yourself enough to follow it.
