New Sydney pop duo Cat & Calmell has shared their glittering debut “dumbshit” after its premiere on triple j on last week.
Darting between darkly-lit pop and shimmering R&B, the duo’s first single reveals a talent for transforming conversations they have together and online, with their already present audience, into swirling, genre-fleeting moments of brilliance.
Cat (20) and Calmell (22) have a rich history of performing together. Cat spent her childhood in China and moved to Sydney as a young teenager. Calmell is Filipino-Australian and was born and raised in Western Sydney. Stars aligned when the two met at an after-school program for developing artists.
Cat & Calmell’s music reflects their multi-faceted upbringings and their wide-ranging influences and sources of inspiration: Kali Uchis and The 1975 to Rihanna and T.S. Eliot, Powerpuff Girls, and Twitter memes.
Meanwhile, “dumbshit” is the first song they wrote together almost two years ago.
“It’s about being in your youth and not taking anything seriously; enduring the repercussions of doing dumb shit and just copping it on the chin,” the duo said of the song.
“dumbshit” treads a path lyrically and musically of wistful R&B reflection and wanton disregard – a good metaphor for Cat & Calmell.