It isn’t often that you hear people raving about how great the Apple Music algorithmic recommendations are. As a long-time subscriber, this has been my experience. The personalised weekly playlists tend to skew very heavily towards artists that you already have in regular rotation. This is… fine but not so good for discovering new artists. However, now and again you get surprised with a total gem and when it hits, it really hits.

Last week one of my playlists had the DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ (aka DJSTTDJ) track Under Your Spell. After a few minutes of getting lost in the music I had to check who it was to make a note to follow up.

DJSTTDJ’s music is dense with samples and references, leaning heavily on the aesthetics of the 90s and early 2000s. The tracks are often long enough to inhabit as an atmosphere, a vibe to hangout with. The music is bright and sunny often with an undercurrent of longing or vague sadness.

The overall effect is like being tugged towards the dancefloor by an insistent friend seeking to lift your spirits.

Great news for me and any other new fans, DJSTTDJ is very prolific. There are so many albums and they are loooong.

In another throwback to an earlier era, the DJ Sabrina website is a late-90s-styled treasure trove of links, merch and aesthetics. I wish more bands had this kind of web presence.

Same energy: Jai Paul and Saint Pepsi

The two artists that feel most akin to DJSTTDJ (to me) are Jai Paul and Saint Pepsi, for reasons that become immediately apparent when you listen to them.

Saint Pepsi also makes extensive use of samples of dialogue from movies and TV but drawers more heavily from the 80s.