Last updated: 15 hours ago
Chicago-based Alexander Zavala is best known for producing moody, intricate hip-hop instrumentals drawing from jazz, psychedelic rock, and other genres, using analog synthesizers and samplers. He also makes urgent, energetic dance tracks that are equally reminiscent of his city's house scene as well as U.K. garage. Zavala (usually billed by just his last name) rose to prominence during the late 2000s, handling beats for underground hip-hop acts like <a href="spotify:artist:0Fv4BotcmvqkQa3ZIgL3F2">Robust</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1EJ8eUJxtJpSEfN84Eo2Bl">Grayskul</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7mymzY5YnLV2oMFxgnN3x2">the Chicharones</a>. He co-founded the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fieldwerk%22">Fieldwerk</a> label, which released Canciones Modernas, his split LP with PNS. In 2009, Zavala teamed up with <a href="spotify:artist:1EJ8eUJxtJpSEfN84Eo2Bl">Grayskul</a> MC Onry Ozzborn to form <a href="spotify:artist:5cfC9eCiLaXJJFqJRnj0gW">Dark Time Sunshine</a>. The duo signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fake+Four%22">Fake Four</a> and released two limited-edition CDs (Believeyoume and Cornucopia) as well as the more widely available Vessel and ANX. Both of these albums received critical acclaim, and Zavala's instrumentals from both albums were also released as stand-alone albums. He remixed songs by <a href="spotify:artist:2fSaE6BXtQy0x7R7v9IOmZ">Aesop Rock</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:43SXnO2N4X024u3l9MfvXD">Busdriver</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5Epbm4z0XUwp08se9Yu5x0">Sister Crayon</a>, and worked on solo material. His 2015 EP Memory Traps was a venture into lush, slightly melancholy dance music. He expanded on this sound with the full-length Fantasmas, released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fake+Four%22">Fake Four</a> in 2017. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi
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