On her fourth album – fully self-produced, for the first time – Calamine asserts her raw, free, and radically personal vision. After honing her craft across nearly 200 beats, and shaping her narratives over two years, the queer feminist rapper, beatmaker, and DJ dives headfirst into RÉTROGRADE, a project where she embraces and shapes every musical decision.
Surrounded by her close collaborators – Kèthe Magané on mixing and mastering, and saxophonist Valérie Lachance-Guillemette – Calamine creates a new chapter, in which queer rappers KelzK and Soraï lend their voices and lyrics.
In the video, Calamine reveals how RÉTROGRADE became a space to re-think the social climate, challenge the hetero-patriarchy, and revisit her own artistic and emotional trajectory. Hers is an album that celebrates the freedom to create outside established systems, as it ranges from a fascination with astrology to earthly socio-political injustices, where queer narratives ignite political issues.
At the crossroads of sun-soaked G-funk, laid-back jazz rap, organic boom-bap, and club-driven pulses, the album showcases the talent of Québec’s engaged female rap scene.
Click here to find out about her upcoming shows all over Québec.
Select the image to access the SOCAN interview video with Calamine (in French only, for now)