Alexander Zavala, better known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Zavala, is an American hip hop and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He is a founding member of the hip hop duo

Dark Time Sunshine Dark Time Sunshine (abbreviated as DTS) is an American hip hop duo, consisting of Seattle rapper Onry Ozzborn and Chicago producer Zavala. The group is signed to Fake Four Inc. History Dark Time Sunshine was formed in 2009 when Onry Ozzborn me ...

alongside

Onry Ozzborn Michael Sean Martinez (born March 25, 1979), better known by his stage name Onry Ozzborn, is an American rapper and producer from Seattle, Washington. He is a founding member of alternative hip hop groups such as Grayskul, Dark Time Sunshine, and ...

Musical career

Zavala first came to attention in 2009 when he released the collaborative album ''Canciones Modernas'' with PNS of

Molemen Mole people (also called tunnel people or tunnel dwellers) are homeless people living under large cities in abandoned subway, railroad, flood, sewage tunnels, and heating shafts. The term may also refer to the speculative fiction trope of an e ...

. The same year, he produced numerous tracks on

Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

's album

Hesitation Wounds Hesitation Wounds is an American hardcore punk supergroup formed in 2012. The band was founded by Jeremy Bolm of Touché Amoré; guitarist Neeraj Kane of The Hope Conspiracy and formerly of The Suicide File and Holy Fever; bassist Stephen LaCour ...

, his debut on Strange Famous Records. Through working with Sleep, he met

, who featured on ''Hesitation Wounds'' as

Grayskul Grayskul is an American hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, consisting of rappers Onry Ozzborn and JFK Ninjaface. Since its formation in 2003, the group has released ten solo albums. The duo often collaborate with artists from the Pacifi ...

. The two soon became fans of each other's work and began working with each other, eventually leading to the creation of the duo Dark Time Sunshine. Together they released three albums in three years, one of which being

Anx ''Anx'' (short for "anxiety") is a studio album by American hip hop duo Dark Time Sunshine. It was released by Fake Four Inc. on July 24, 2012. It features guest appearances from the likes of P.O.S, Aesop Rock, and Busdriver. Music videos were ...

. For every album released, Zavala also released an instrumental version as well. In 2017, he released his debut solo album named Fantasmas. The album is an instrumental mix of electronica and hip hop. The album was given generally favorable reviews, with Peter Ellman of

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

saying: "For its exorcism of dark energies deftly balanced with efforts towards lightness, ''Fantasmas ''is a startlingly effective solo debut."

Discography

Studio albums * ''Fantasmas'' (2017) Collaborative albums * ''Canciones Modernas'' (2009) Singles * ''You Had To Be There 12"'' (2012) Productions * Robust - "Place To Be" and "Word Is Bond" from ''No Free Dope'' (2008) * Robust - "Make It Look Easy", "Commercial Break", "Nightmare" and "Turn It Out" from ''The Close Up'' (2008) *

- "Bring It To Life" and "Sticks & Stones" from ''

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

'' (2009) *

- "Mars Voltage" from ''Graymaker'' (2009) * The Chicharones - "Once Upon A Time" from ''Swine Country'' (2009) * Sleep - "Day Dreamer", "Spent", "Hesitation Wounds", "Lothar" and "Roll Call" from ''

'' (2009) * Robust - "G4 Anthem" from ''You Ain't Cold'' (2009) *

- "Blend In" from '' Hold On For Dear Life'' (2011)

References

External links

Zavala
on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

Zavala
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Fake Four Inc. Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zavala Living people Midwest hip hop musicians 21st-century American musicians Alternative hip hop musicians Musicians from Chicago Year of birth missing (living people)