The Calamatix is the self-titled debut album from reggae-rooted, punk-flavored quartet, The Calamatix. Pulling influences from Jamaican rocksteady, and old-school ska, the heart of The Calamatix’s sound is lead singer-songwriter, Raylin Joy. Born in Ventura, California, Joy grew up in Scotland and moved back to the US when she was 23. Joy’s writing and the life experiences that inform it, propels The Calamatix’s triumphant songs about love and life. The contrast between the optimistic spirit of these songs and the struggle that produced them gives each song a real power and weight.
Late December 2020 found Soul Glo holed away in an unfinished warehouse, beginning to find drum tones for their upcoming full length, Diaspora Problems. They had just begun to accept that they would be in talks with Epitaph Records, and that it was likely they were going to go with the label as they hadn’t even begun to reach a place where they could consider shopping it to other record labels. Working with Epitaph was far and away the best case scenario that the band could’ve hoped for, but they simultaneously wondered if the label had any understanding of what they were getting into.