10 Producers You Should Know Before They Blow Up

When you write for an EDM/electronic music website, it's hard to escape the press emails that herald every producer as the next big thing; truth be to

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Complex Original

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When you write for an EDM/electronic music website, it's hard to escape the press emails that herald every producer as the next big thing; truth be told, we all go through that, right? If it's not being told that xyz producer has created some entirely new genre, it's over-the-top comparisons to legendary artists that they're minutely related to. It can be cool to go down some of these rabbitholes, but we like going based on a few factors when charting how the scene on a whole will grow. What's being played, who's being talked about, and what moves are being made behind the scenes are some of the best ways to spot trends, and as we're moving into the final stretch of 2014, we're taking notice to a few producers who, depending on how the chips fall, could end up having an interesting 2015. Walk with us through this collection of producers who are definitely on the rise.

Lido

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Location: Oslo, Norway

While we wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know who Lido was, you've probably heard something he's made. If you like the emerging R&B-influenced sound in the electronic scene, you couldn't escape tracks like "Money," taken from his I Love You EP on Pelican Fly. If you're not into dance music at all, but love, say, Ariana Grande, Lido helped create the Cashmere Cat-featured "Be My Baby" from her 2014 sophomore album My Everything, as well as helping work on Ludacris' "Party Girls." He's officially remixed everyone from Flight Facilities to ZHU, and caused a stir when his bootleg of Disclosure's "Latch" was taken down from the 'Net. Lido has the talents to work on his own instrumental material, but will no doubt excel with the official collaborations start pouring in. He's a true talent that can't be denied.

ZHU

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Location: #shrug

While the wave over the last few years has been producers operating under an air of mystery. Most of those producers might be flashes in the pan without that shadow, ZHU's music is primed and ready for pop radio. He crept into our conscious via an Outkast bootleg that sounded like a proper Disclosure remix, and tracks from his NightDay EP like "Faded" and "Cocaine Model" feature memorable vocals and a mainstream sensibility that make this producer not only what dance music needs for radio play, but just makes him an overall production talent. He's been slowly emerging with a live show that's not to be missed, with huge gigs for HARD's Day of the Dead festival and upcoming dates in NY helping solidify the problem he's about to be.

Yung Gud

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Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Sadboys, unite. Yung Gud has been primarily known for providing intoxicating instrumentals for Yung Lean, including the Travi$ Scott-featured "Ghosttown" frim Lean's Unknown Memory, but he's also gotten a LuckyMe look in the form of his remix of Jacques Greene's "No Excuse" earlier this year. For a kid to be so young yet producing at such a high quality, there's a feeling that he's truly "next up" when it comes to either crafting beats for the next wave of forward-thinking rappers or as enriching soundscapes for heads who want to get lost in their headphones. Whichever way he chooses, his forthcoming Beautiful, Wonderful EP feels like the beginning of the next phase of his career.

Ellie Herring

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Location: Lexington, Kentucky

When the bright lights and repetitive sounds of popular EDM begins to wane, many of us find ourselves delving into more experimental electronic delights, which is how we happened upon Kentucky-based Ellie Herring. While she's not new–she's been releasing EPs and albums worth of material for the last few years–her 2014 EP Chipped received a much-needed dose of love from the scene overall, and felt like the beginning of something new for Ellie. She's not defined by one real sound, and is prone to vocaling her own material when she's feeling the urge. Oh, she also got a huge look via Ryan Hemsworth's Secret Songs imprint, which featured her track "Mickie" on their first compilation. With the "underground" electronic scene really churning out quality material, who would've thought that the state of Kentucky would've produced such an engaging producer like Ellie?

Sango

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Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan

While it's hard to pinpoint when Soulection became such a revered imprint by the masses, they've consistently put us on to producers that are helping change the way we look at that super grey area between hip-hop and electronic music. While we won't define it solely as "music Drake should be rapping to right now," you can hear that vibe in a number of Sango's productions. While he's not received any major looks as of yet, he doesn't need to: his Bandcamp page is full of self-released gems that are just waiting for you to put your ears to them. He's another that is just a few big production credits from being on the tips of everyone's tongues.

Mr. Mitch

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Location: London, England

The UK's grime scene has been going through some interesting changes, and part of it has been the way Mr. Mitch and his "peace edits" have helped many reexamine the scene as a whole, as has London's Boxed night, which he's helped create. Outside of his numerous bootlegs and original works, Mr. Mitch has released an EP on the legendary experimental imprint Planet Mu, which will make way for the forthcoming album that he has on deck. Maybe Planet Mu will do for this new phase of grime what they did for footwork by truly exposing the sound to the masses? Who knows; Mr. Mitch might be too busy finding emerging talent for his Gobstopper imprint to be concerned with how he's set to further change the scene laid ahead of him.

Kygo

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Location: Bergen, Norway

As long as Norway continues to birth these electronic music gems, the world will continue to consume the music they create. The latest Norwegan dance music export is Kygo, who recently signed a deal with Sony/Ultra and is bringing a "tropical house" vibe that has many house heads swooning. He's hitting at the right time, considering everyone is rediscovering deep house or creating sounds like "future house." Kygo's material sounds like it will soundtrack sexy cruise shops in the Carribbean, and with major label backing, we have no question that he's onto some truly exciting things in the new year.

Flava D

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Location: London, England

One of the other benefits of Disclosure's mainstream dominance over the last few years is not only the push for more "deep house" but for a new appreciation for the UK garage sound. While most Americans aren't clamboring for a UKG revival, there was a time when Craig David was bringing similar sounds to the masses. Flava D, who signed with Butterz in 2013, has been a constant force in the UKG, grime, and even hip-hop circles in the UK, although as of late, our promo bins recently got hit with remixes Flava D did for Hybrid Theory and Nativ, and with heads on both sides of the Atlantic getting more in tune to the bassline house movement, it'll be only a matter of time where the recognition of Flava's talents from the public will match the number of DJs dropping her bits in the mix.

TrollPhace

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Location: Los Angeles, California

Truth be told, Skrillex's co-sign on a producer can be as good as money in the bank. You could see TrollPhace's stock rise after being mentioned as a producer Skrillex was digging during his Reddit AMA earlier this year; this LA-based producer is churning out the kind of dubstep that Skrillex digs. While TrollPhace doesn't have a lot of big tunes out yet, he's already dropped a single on SMOG, and remixed David Heartbreak for OWSLA. He's also remixed YOGI's "Burial" with Skrillex, which will definitely be the release he needs to edge into the public's conscious. With rumblings of the dubstep scene riding a new wave, TrollPhace is in a great position to capitalize.

Tourist

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Location: London, England

Tourist is another example of a co-sign going a long way. Many of us got put on to the producer via his work for Disclosure's Method imprint, although a string of remixes (for the likes of CHVRCHES, HAIM, and others) have worked well for getting him to where he is, which is a deal with Polydor that'll net him an album release in 2015. With his knack for nailing great vocal work over his tracks, we wouldn't be surprised if one of his forthcoming singles end up doing more than just captivating heads in the know.

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