Top Producers of 2014 (so far)

1. Poter Elvinger

Poter Elvinger has been absolutely churning out awesome track after awesome track this year. A guy who was inspired to produce in juvy, Poter is undoubtedly my favorite producer of the year. Haunting, swirling beats he puts out remind me of Clams Casino. Excited to see where he goes.

2. Emerson Twin

How do more people not know about this guy?! Check out the artist profile I did on him a while back.

3. Evian Christ

Works with Kanye West. Extremely innovative and different. Enough said. Also did a profile on this guy way back when.

4. Greaf

Found this guy soundcloud surfing one day. He has like 3 different accounts for some reason, but all I know is all his stuff is really interesting. Alot of guitar is incorporated into deep, haunting synth making for a really unique interesting style. I also really respect this guys ability to churn out massive amounts of quality tracks.

5. Luka

Do not know much about him. Another soundcloud guy with really chill, calm instrumentals. Check him out.

Vince Staples- Nate feat. James Fauntleroy (Prod. by Scoop DeVille)

Complex-"Long Beach's Vince Staples is one of the most buzzed-about new rappers right now, and anticipation is high for his sophomore project Shyne Coldchain vol.II. He's currently on tour with Earl Sweatshirt, and, starting March 1, he'll head on the Oxymoron tour opening for ScHoolboy Q and Isaiah Rashad.

Tonight, he shared the first release from the LP, as well as the full tracklist for the project, which he's releasing through his own Blacksmith label (not affiliated with Talib Kweli's label of the same name). Produced mostly by No I.D., it also features contributions from Evidence & DJ Babu and Jhené Aiko.

The first single, "Nate," produced by Scoop DeVille and featuring James Fauntleroy, finds the rapper reflecting on his parents and riding around the city with his car's seat back. It's a banger guaranteed to keep building anticipation for the new project."

Vince Staples originally jumped onto my radar when he was featured on Earl Sweatshirt's album "Doris". His newest track "Nate featuring James Fauntleroy" gives us another glimpse of Vince's potential.

Goodbye Chanel- Foreva

Pigeons and Planes-"Winter is always a good time to listen to sunny surf-rock and try to forget about the cold. Luckily, with Real Estate’s Atlas (stream the album here) and now Goodbye Chanel’s “Foreva,” we’ve more than got you covered. The fluttering song is our first taste of the upcoming Hot City Nights EP, which is out 21 April through Bandcamp."

Goodbye Chanel's upbeat track Foreva shows off his awesome voice while complimenting it with a bright guitar that brings the whole work together. His upcoming EP looks very promising.

Glasser - Shape (MP Williams Remix)

Pigeons and Planes-"With both an EP and a full-length release in the works, Bronx producer MP Williams seems poised to define himself as a producer with a unique sound–part Clams Casino mystical murk, part southern snap, with symphonic touches thrown in for good measure–and a catalog worthy of listening with or without rap vocals. His remix of Glasser’s “Shape” serves as a nice, brief glimpse back into MP’s darkly intriguing sonic world, surrounding the True Panther-signed singer’s voice with the sort of heavy, warmly ominous beat that has become his trademark over the past year and a half. It’s a fine fit that, like his Tei Shi remix, shows the boundaries of MP’s production stretching well beyond hip-hop alone."

MP's remix is truly chilling, with awesome vocal sample selection and an interesting dark sound that comes from an awesome beat. This track truly shows how impressive of a producer he is, with a versatile range of work that stretches far from hip-hop.

Lxury - "Never Love" / Kitsuné New Faces

  

                                                                                                                                                          Pitchfork- "Last year, UK producer Lxury burst out of the gates with a cracking single for Disclosure'sMethod imprint, "J.A.W.S."—and nearly six months after it made the rounds, it's still getting plenty of attention: it was featured in legendary house producer Marc Kinchen's Essential Mix just last week. Lxury's latest cut, the humid, rolling "Never Love", is featured on ever-fashionable label Kitsuné's Kitsuné New Faces compilation, which sees release on February 24."

I have not found a single person who has heard Lxury's "New Faces" and not absolutely loved the track. Plus, the Kitsune label has impressed me a great deal, and has an extremely impressive Soundcloud account (link below).

Kitsune Maison Soundcloud

Emerson Twin- Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Album)

(Pigeons and Planes)-"Emerson Twin originally emailed me submitting an entire album that he was giving away on Soundcloud. Often, a little-known artist giving this much of their work away is a representation of its quality, or lack thereof, but as soon as I read in the email that the tracks had been supported by Scratcha DVA and Two Inch Punch, not to mention been played on Hyperdub’s Rinse FM show, I was intrigued. And Emerson Twin’s Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album did not disappoint. After a brief intro track, “2966 Impala” goes straight for the jugular with booming bass and jagged, bright synth-work that fans of Rustie will surely appreciate. A wide variety of different sounds and styles appear across the album, and Emerson Twin’s talents also extend to the remix game, with edits of Kendrick Lamar and James Blake on his Soundcloud, not to mention the fantastic Four Tet remix which we are happy to premiere today."

Personally, Flamingo Bay is my favorite track on the album, but the work as a whole is pretty awesome(here's the link for the full album-(Soundcloud). Also, check out Emerson's latest track, "Four Tet- Angel Echoes Remix"(shown above). Keep an eye on Emerson Twin, big things should be coming for the artist soon.

Evian Christ- Waterfall

(Complex)-"Evian Christ has released new track "Waterfalls" from his forthcoming EP of the same name. The 24-year-old producer/artist has steadily gained buzz since his 2012 mixtape Kings And Them. He recently clocked production credit on Kanye's Yeezus and signed a publishing deal with the rapper's DONDA collective."

Evian Christ is an extremely intriguing and promising young artist who recently released the track "Waterfalls", which has an interesting feel much different than that of past tracks like "Salt Carousel". However, the producer continues to impress with heavy hitting trap-style production. As a new artist, it is exciting to see what he can do with his upcoming EP.