Z'EV (born Stefan Joel Weisser, at 7:58 a.m. on February 8, 1951 in Los Angeles, California) is an American text-sound artist and mystic who is perhaps best known for his work as a catacoustic (reflected sound-based) percussionist.
He has worked as a professional musician since 1963, and is regarded as a pioneer of industrial music In 2008, Colombian critic Edgar Mauricio Ramirez Diaz described him as “Without a doubt one of the most influential persons in the whole post-industrial history of contemporary music.”
His work with both text and sound has been influenced by the Middle Eastern mystical system best known as Kabbalah (although not of the Jewish variety), as well as - but not limited to - African, Afro-Caribbean and Indonesian rhythms, musics and cultures. He has studied Ewe (Ghana) music, Balinese gamelan, and Indian tala.
