DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ - Hex

Moving sideways for a minute from beat tapes, because I haven’t stopped listening to Hex for the last two weeks. I’ve covered DJ Sabrina’s magical music a few times now, especially off the back of last year’s 4hr triumph, Destiny. Sabrina returned with half the length on Hex, but this feels comparatively final, like a celebratory lap around the oval as she revels in her 10th full-length. Hex is no less buzzing, electric and shimmering than any of her previous few releases, but feels full of intent, somehow tighter and somewhat punchier than past plunderphonics epics like Charmed and Makin’ Magick II. Most of what you’ll find here are slow-building house slammers, interweaving sticky vocal melodies and big block chords together with pounding kicks and rolling bits of percussion. While they’re normally some of my favourite moments on any Sabrina release, it’s actually in some of the quietest moments that I think Hex really shines, like the sweet and serene Couldn’t Say That or the heartwrenching In Silence, letting some of Salem’s best vocals shine. There’s a fluency and flow to the way Hex plays out where you’re just riding through the most thrilling karnival koaster, with enough dips and drops to leave you feeling uplifted and ready for the world. Yet again there’s not much music that will make me feel happier than this; an artist bursting with so much joy and optimism that her resulting projects can pull you all the way to the moon and back. I know it’s not for everyone, but to me, an album like Hex lets the rays fall through even the heaviest clouds.

KEY TRACK: Anything Lost (Can Be Found Again) - this has slowly crept up to be one of my favourite Sabrina tracks ever, with its constantly building and falling pace leading to one of the craziest finishes I think she’s ever done. Everything lines up perfectly in the end with that euphoric chant - absolute bliss.