XEXA

𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙪 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙤-𝙋𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙓𝙀𝙓𝘼 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙧í𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩, 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙨𝙮𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙮 𝙠𝙞𝙯𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙖 𝙧𝙝𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙢𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙙, 𝙫𝙖𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘, 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙪𝙧 𝙍𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝘾𝙤𝙞𝙡, 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙒𝙏𝘼𝙁 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 = 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝘼 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝘼𝙊𝙏𝙔 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧.​

Alum of London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Xexa left a lasting impression with ‘Vibrações de Prata’ (2023), a quietly outstanding debut LP of lissom ambient forms not previously heard on Príncipe. That album can now be heard as a seed bed for ‘Kissom’, which nurtures her electroacoustic ambient-pop forms into properly unusual, expressive arrangements of oneiric vox and gently rugged yet gooey grooves cultivated and pruned from a palette of bittersweet synth tones that tickle and probe all the right places. However the most remarkable thing about it is surely when she resembles Arthur Russell or some 4AD mutation, like to the extent we’re pulling hair out trying to ID the sample, but it’s actually all Xexa’s original work: her own World of Echo or siren songs calling from the firmament somewhere above and between twin bases, Lisbon & London.

In possession of the sort of synaesthetic tones that get us salivating, and with the tekkerz to shape them into an absorbing storytelling style, Xexa has us rapt from the curdled, pastoral chamber toned air-stepping motion of ‘Project 8’ to a quietly jaw-dropping 12 minute excursion into OOBE-like choral melancholy on closer, ‘Quem és tu’. There are worlds within worlds inside, invoking Arthur’s anguished intonation on the blinder ‘Txê’ and again, but squashed into elegant squirm on ‘Kizomba 003’, and releasing the pressure with exquisite levity in ‘Kissom’ - a personal portmanteau of “kiss” and “som” (meaning “sound” in Portuguese) that riffs on name of the prevailing dance style. ‘Pulse Bounce’ meanwhile pulls closest to the dance, but not quite, as does the ricocheting snares that scud the high registers with her wonderfully free vocals on ‘Será’, whereas ‘Transversive Line’ pulls into deepest blue states of mind, and ‘Xtinti’ reels off into psyched subconscious recursion.