Xexa is a young Afro-Portuguese woman who recently signed to the mighty Príncipe Discos with her first album. She divides her time between Lisbon and London, where she has finished a degree in Music at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama after graduating in jewelry from Lisbon’s iconic António Arroio. For years now she’s been releasing music on her Soundcloud account, attempting a hybrid of traditional African rhythms with synthesizers, sound design, and vocals, and all of that hard work culminated in Vibrac​̧​o​̃​es de Pr, an exploration of her different sensibilities as a musician: moving through her earliest explorations with voice to her more polished tracks. More recently, Xexa has been producing original music for fashion designer Ivan Hunga Garcia for Lisbon Fashion Week, as well as collaborating with Canal180, Culturgest, Sound and Music, and CMMAS. For this week’s XLR8R podcast, Xexa has celebrated her debut album’s release by sharing a mix featuring some of the key works that have inspired its rhythms: expect one hour of scintillating, intimate ambience—and, as the mix plays out, some heavy bass from Citizen Boy, DJ N*gga Fox, and more.

01. What have you been up to recently? 
Recently I’ve been travelling, performing my live set. I’ve just finished my October roster of shows. I’m back at the studio doing music.

02. What have you been listening to?
Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Brazilian funk rhythms.

03. Where and when did you record this mix? 
I recorded this mix just a few days ago at my home studio in London

04. What setup did you use? 
I use my DJ deck, to play around with the tracks. Then I went to Logic to add some sound design into the mix.

05. How did you go about choosing the tracks you’ve included? 
For this particular mix, I wanted to mix acoustics with some heavier basslines. I started with mostly acoustic tracks and then slowly delved into rhythmical tracks with heavier bass lines. It’s a portrait of the types of rhythms that inspired my album, Vibrações de Prata.

06. What can the listener expect? 
Well, the listener can expect a variety of sonic textures and ambient. This mix is a collection of sound made in Africa and its diaspora.

07. What’s next on the horizon? 
On the horizon are a lot of projects to be finished and/or started. I am in tune with my creativity and being a multidisciplinary artist often doesn’t facilitate my decision on what should I do next. I just released my first album with Príncipe Discos, so I have shows aligned. I also have some mixes and remixes to do as well as a masterclass to give and an installation ahead. I want to explore my live set more in depth as well as further explore with visuals and surround sound.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. SPAZA “The Black Consciousness Movement” feat. Ariel Zamonsky, Gontse Makhene, Malcolm Jiyane, Nonku Phiri (Mushroom Hour Half Hour)
02. Jaubi “Lahore State of Mind” (Astigmatic Records)
03. Rival Consoles “Memory Arc” (Erased Tapes)
04. Gidge “Elegy, Part I” (LNLNN)
05. Gary Stroutsos “Rivers” (ARC)
06. Voice Actor & Yarrow.co “U Projected 2” (Stroom)
07. Xexa “Sisters Dancing” (Príncipe Discos)
08. Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe & Ariel Kalma “Mille Voix” (RVNG Intl.)
09. Earthen Sea “Existing Closer Or Deeper In Space” (Grass And Trees)
10. Dub Sutra “Savasana Dreams” (All is Love is All)
11. Xexa “Nha Dêdê” (Príncipe Discos)
12. Nazar “Unruly” (Hyperdub)
13. Damumalik “Perfection” (Self-Released)
14. Astrid Sonne “Moderato” (Escho)
15. Space Afrika “Lose you Beau” (Dais Records)
16. TWEAKS “Puerto Kickstart” (Self-Released)
17. Rabit “No Ceiling” feat Embaci (Halcyon Veil)
18. Odete “Lamento” (Self-Released)
19. Xexa “Toque”(Self-Released)
20. Pauline Oliveros, Panaiotis, and Stuart Dempster “Lear” (New Albion Records)
21. Deepak Ram “Glimpsed Middle Reality” (Golden Horn Records)
22. Deya Dova “Women & Children” (So Bravely Human)
23. V No Zoo by Mambokinho (Príncipe Discos)
24. Francis Bebey “Lamido” (PeeWee!)
25. Citizen Boy “Tribute to DSB” (Gqom Oh! Records)
26. P. Adrix “Abertura da Roda” (Príncipe Discos)
27. DJ N*gga Fox “Hwwambo” (Príncipe Discos)