Algerian-born French composer/producer Hector Zazou had a surprise waiting with each new record: twisted rock, neo-classical compositions, world music (from Africa to Central Asia), string quartets, pieces for wind instruments, voices or synthesizers, he's been using a wide variety of genres to create the most unexpected blends, as witnessed by a discography containing many original and ofter groundbreaking albums, such as Barricades 3 (his 1976 debut), Noir et Blanc (the album which, way back in '83,  laid the foundations for Afro-electronic fusion), Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses (which earned him a "Victoire de la Musique" –the French Grammy- in 1992), Sahara Blue (1992, with John Cale, Bill Laswell, Khaled), Songs From The Cold Seas (1994, with Björk, Suzanne Vega, Siouxsie...), Lights In The Dark (1998, with Brendan Perry, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Peter Gabriel...) and about fifteen others, which all earned him a reputation of excellence worldwide.

Admired and respected by his peers, Hector Zazou has collaborated with an amazing collection of singers and musicians, including Jon Hassell, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Manu Dibango, John Cale, Harold Budd, David Sylvian, Khaled, Lisa Gerrard, Suzanne Vega, Björk, Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Peter Buck, Jane Birkin, Lisa Germano, Laurie Anderson, Asia Argento and Gerard Depardieu. He was also an in-demand producer, and worked a.o. with Tibetan vocalist Yung Chen Lhamo and Uzbek singer Sevara Nazarkhan (both for Real World)

Hector Zazou has released 11 albums with Crammed the label since the early '80s.

He passed away in September 2008. His last, posthumous album is "In The House Of Mirrors", which he recorded with classical musicians from India and Uzbekistan.