Biography

Cairo's Ahmed El Ghazoly (aka ZULI) produces broken, distorted experimental electronic music that contorts techno, jungle, grime, and hip-hop. The Egyptian multi-instrumentalist and DJ is the co-founder of Kairo Is Koming (KIK) and AHOMA, two collectives of underground electronic musicians and visual artists. While ZULI's early EPs, such as 2016's Bionic Ahmed, overtly explored club rhythms, 2018 full-length Terminal was more fractured and abstract while incorporating vocals by several rappers and singers from throughout Cairo's underground music scene. Ahmed El Ghazoly and Asem Tag ran a Cairo-based club called VENT from 2013 to 2015, later using the name for a club night and festival. VENT and KIK began presenting events in Europe, and in early 2016, ZULI's debut EP, Bionic Ahmed, was released by Lee Gamble's UIQ imprint. Later in the year, ZULI started hosting a monthly program on NTS Radio. Second EP Numbers appeared in 2017 and was followed by the blown-out jungle and murky techno of 2018's Trigger Finger (Haunter Records). Later that year, ZULI released Terminal, an ambitious double-LP inspired by El Ghazoly's experiences in his home city. The album was well-received by the experimental music press, particularly The Wire, which named it the second-best album of the year. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi