Zachary Waleed Saraf seemingly appeared out of nowhere in 2021 with an exceptional pair of tracks that singled the Washington D.C.-born, Berlin-based producer out as a maker of audacious and unpredictable dance music with a talent for leftfield sound design.
Many aspiring producers dream of having their debut release picked up by Four Tet, Floating Points and Ben UFO, but Waleed actually did. It’s no surprise; he evidently shares Kieran Hebden’s uncanny knack for working unexpected samples into expertly crafted beats. Hanging a deftly sliced Camila Moreno vocal on a gorgeously crunchy, not-quite-techno groove, Se Rompen stole the limelight, but it was the B-side that stopped us in our tracks, its fidgety UKG framed by ethereal vocal chops and careening synths that ricocheted across the stereo field.
