20 hottest producers in music right now

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First up, it’s MNEK – a Nigerian-born, electro-soul prodigy from south London, who’s just fifteen years old. He started remixing tracks when he was nine, and now has a publishing deal with EMI. He’s also been working with pop production gods Xenomania. Essential track: ‘If Truth Be Told’.

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Semothy Jones (real name Andrew Hughes) is a carefully-coiffed songwriter/producer from London. He first made it big by working with his close friend Plan B on the mixtape ‘Paint It Blacker’, but has since worked with the likes of Professor Green, Lily Allen and Little Boots. Essential track: Professor Green, ‘Just Be Good To Green’.

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Along with Dr. Luke, it’s RedOne who has help define the slick, auto-tuned sound of modern pop. The Moroccan-born producer has polished hits for Lady Gaga, Alexandra Burke, Sugababes and Little Boots. Essential track: Lady Gaga, ‘Bad Romance’.

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Geoff Barrow’s glory days were in the 90s, when he assisted on Massive Attack’s ‘Blue Lines’ before producing Portishead’s hugely influential debut album. But he’s hot property once more, having wowed people with his inventive and atmospheric production work on The Horrors’ ‘Primary Colours’. Essential track: The Horrors, ‘Sea Within A Sea’.

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London-based Amir Amor, sometimes known as Major Tom, has helped define the tenor of modern, lairy urban pop thanks to his work with artists such as Plan B, N-Dubz and Example. Essential track: Plan B, ‘Missin Links’.

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Dave Sitek

No run-down of top producers would be complete without Dave Sitek. Having done brilliantly inventive things with TV On The Radio, and for Foals The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, his latest project is Maximum Balloon, which boasts guest vocal spots from Karen O and David Byrne. Essential track: TV On The Radio, ‘Crying’.

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Swedish electro producer Andreas Kleerup has been in demand ever since ‘With Every Heartbeat’, which he co-wrote with Robyn, became a huge hit in 2007. His highest-profile gig to date: remixing ‘Alejandro’ for Lady Gaga. Essential track: ‘With Every Heartbeat’.

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It was inevitable than an artist as prolific as Beck would end up turning his hand to production. In 2009 he co-wrote and produced Charlotte Gainsbourg’s ‘IRM’ album, and the following year he contributed songs to Jamie Lidell’s album, ‘Compass’. Essential track: Charlotte Gainsbourg, ‘Heaven Can Wait’.

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Andrew Weatherall – a rave-era survivor? Far from it. The house DJ might have had his greatest success working on Primal Scream’s ‘Screamadelica’ in 1991, but he also produced one of 2009’s most critically acclaimed and sonically distinctive albums, ‘Tarot Sport’ by Fuck Buttons. Essential track: Fuck Buttons, ‘Olympians’.

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James Ford has been comparatively quiet since his annus mirabilis in 2007 when he produced albums by Klaxons and Arctic Monkeys. But he’s still highly in-demand, and was called on last year to work on Florence’s lavishly produced ‘Lungs’ album. Essential track: Klaxons, ‘Golden Skans’.

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