Zavala

Chicago-based producer Alexander Zavala first gained attention in the late 2000s for his moody, detailed hip-hop beats, which blend jazz, psychedelic rock, and additional influences through the use of analog synthesizers and samplers. He simultaneously crafts driving, high-energy dance tracks that echo both the local Chicago house tradition and U.K. garage. Often credited under his surname alone, Zavala supplied production for underground rap artists including Robust, Grayskul, and the Chicharones. He established the Fieldwerk imprint, which issued his split LP with PNS titled Canciones Modernas. In 2009 he joined forces with Grayskul’s Onry Ozzborn to create the duo Dark Time Sunshine. After signing with Fake Four, the pair issued the limited-edition discs Believeyoume and Cornucopia along with the wider releases Vessel and ANX; both full-length projects earned widespread praise, and Zavala later issued his own instrumental versions of the material. He has also supplied remixes for Aesop Rock, Busdriver, and Sister Crayon while developing independent projects. The 2015 EP Memory Traps marked his shift toward rich, gently somber dance music, a direction he further explored on the 2017 Fake Four album Fantasmas.