Listen: ZULI & Omar El Sadek present λ at Le Guess Who? 2023

Curated by Heba Kadry Recordings

The work of multi-talented sound artist ZULI has spilled over Cairo's borders onto the rest of the world, garnering support from the likes of Aphex Twin and Autechre. Recently, the artist released his new album Lambda; leading up to the release, the musician and producer, who is determined to uplift other Middle Eastern creative voices, presented a new a/v performance with audiovisual artist Omar El Sadek.

You can now listen to & relive this performance, featuring work from ZULI's new album, curated by Heba Kadry for Le Guess Who?.

"A Cairo native, the artist born Ahmed El Ghazoly spent much of his childhood in London before returning to the Egyptian capital, a double displacement that he says gave him his sense of restlessness. “I think the move between countries instilled an urge to rebel against my surroundings,” he told an interviewer in 2021. He was talking about his preference for “niche” sounds over popular styles, but he’s just as reluctant to relax into a niche of his own making. Now, on Lambda—his first major release in six years—he changes course yet again, jettisoning the rhythmic force and focus of his previous records in favor of a spellbinding fusion of atmosphere and texture that spills over with nebulous emotion" - Pitchfork

Le Guess Who? Recordings

The publication of this recording is part of Le Guess Who?’s ongoing expansion of the festival’s recordings archive, with 100+ recordings from past editions now freely available online.

This archive contains audio and/or video recordings of performances by the likes of a.o. Slauson Malone 1, Stereolab, Alan Sparhawk, Nihiloxica, MIKE, SANAM, Panda Bear & Sonic Boom, Selda Bağcan, Le Cri du Caire, Tom Skinner, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Neneh Cherry, Arooj Aftab and Beverly Glenn-Copeland.

Recorded at TivoliVredenburg's Hertz on Saturday, 11 November 2023.

Audio recording by Casper Lucas; mix by Marc Broer
Photography by Kasia Kim-Zacharko