Zain Vally is a multidisciplinary sound engineer, location recorder, and the Sound Engineer for The Centre for the Less Good Idea.

Vally works extensively in the music industry and is an accredited recording engineer on Beyoncé’s album, The Lion King: The Gift. He also holds location recording credits for documentaries and television shows such as Stony Hill to Addis, Yo! MTV Raps Africa, and Gqom Nation.

Having gravitated toward music from a young age, Vally pursued a diploma in Audio Technology and Post-Production from the Academy of Sound Engineering in Auckland Park, Johannesburg. Following his studies, he worked for two years as a sound engineer for The Orbit Jazz Club and Bistro where he crossed paths with SoulFire’s Gavan Eckhart and was subsequently brought on as a recording assistant during an early workshop for William Kentridge’s The Head & the Load. Since then, Vally has worked with The Centre for the Less Good Idea on numerous Seasons and programmes, recording, mixing and sound designing as part of the SoulFire team, as well as independently.

For Vally, managing sound for The Centre sees him documenting the sonic activity of its workshops, rehearsals, and live performances, as well as helping to facilitate and realise the ideas and early expressions of The Centre’s various collaborators. As such, Vally’s work enables him to serve as both a mirror to the creation of new work, and an active collaborator in its process. Capturing ambient sound and activity across The Centre’s different spaces, as well as recording audio and looping live sound for performers and musicians alike are roles that resonate strongly with Vally, and the process of collaboration in sound is something that he continues to explore through the space.

Most recently, Vally has been working on location recording for The Centre’s Considered 3 Minute films, helping to capture and edit sound and performance for films produced both at The Centre and on location.

PHOTOGRAPHER | Zivanai Matangi