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
Robust,
Grayskul, and
the Chicharones. He co-founded the Fieldwerk label, which released Canciones Modernas, his split LP with
PNS. In 2009,
Zavala teamed up with
Grayskul MC
Onry Ozzborn to form
Dark Time Sunshine. The duo signed to Fake Four 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
Aesop Rock,
Busdriver, and
Sister Crayon, 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 Fake Four in 2017. ~ Paul Simpson