From the freshly updated xapi.pdf:

send_message

Send new message. Parameters:

user_id – web user id (required)

lists – array of list id(s) (required). You can retrieve this array with mailing_lists XAPI function

extrafile – full path to file (optional, instead of lists, noquery should be set to 1)

noquery – 1/0 (optional) value 1 is required if sending to recipients in extrafile

…

 

As you can see from the excerpt above, you can send a drop to a bunch of records contained in a file, without having anything to do with the database. So:

1. Simply upload the file to your volo (FTP or scp).
2. Reference that file in the xapi call extrafile parameter (e.g. /home/yeah1/import/target.txt)
3. Set noquery to 1

All the reporting (click/open logs, bounces, unsubs) will be there for you to collect, as expected.

PS – this is a super old feature, literally available for years and years. Happy xAPIng!