10 French Producers Who Killed it in 2014

Brodinski is in an amazing place right now. Already highly regarded by dance music fans for his pummeling sets of house and techno, and respected for his masterful curation of the label he co-founded, Bromance Records (Gesaffelstein, Danny Brown, Suicideyear, Illangelo etc.), he is now becoming known in the hip-hop world. There was, of course, his production credits on Yeezus, but in 2014 he's worked with Gangsta Boo and Beatking, Theophilus London, SD, and even decamped to Atlanta to work with local artists there.

If his own album, scheduled for release in early 2015, follows in the path of twisted, excellent first single "Can't Help Myself," we're in for an awesome genre-mashing experience.

There's no doubt that Evil Needle had an absolute monster 2014. He produced Doja Cat's well received "So High," appeared on Soulection's collaborative compilation with Stussy, and dropped the solid Constructive Interference EP with UK producer Sivey (download here). One of the most impressive things about Evil Needle's music is its rich, full, multi-layered sound, meaning most tracks grow better the more you listen to them and little intricacies become clear.

Maximus MMC is part of the Flow-Fi collective, a forward-thinking electronic music label with members based all over the world that we profiled. "I want [my music] to be a sort of therapy that somehow helps people in the world," Maximus told us, and his more restrained moments, like the twinkling "White Lies" could definitely help people reach a peaceful, meditative state. It's not all chilled out though with Maximus flipping rap tracks like "OG Bobby Johnson" and even "Thuggish Ruggish."

Make sure you follow Maximus MMC on Soundcloud here.

Ateph Elidja's music is the menacing soundtrack to 22nd Century revolution where machines are battling humans for control, and fields and trees have been entirely replaced by factories and tundra. Carrying on from where fellow Bromance member Gesaffelstein left off with his excellent 2013 album Aleph, Elidja makes hard-edged techno with a hip-hop swagger. Although he only dropped a few new tracks and a couple of remixes this year, Ateph Elidja still killed it with mixes and his excellent new tape "Versus." We can't wait to hear more.

We recently premiered 20syl's remix of Yelle's "Complètement Fou," which was yet another on point remix from a producer who has flipped everyone from King Krule to Rihanna to Kendrick Lamar in 2014, and kept the level high every time. Alongside the remixes are his own original production, which mix a clear hip-hop influence (he's also an MC and part of turntablist group C2C) with vivid synth rushes. 20syl is already a big name in France, now it's time he gained that sort of recognition in the U.S. too.

As the general interest in electronic music beyond just festival headlining DJs has grown and crews like Soulection and HW&W have made a name for themselves, it has actually become harder and harder for producers to stand out. Almost any aspiring artist has easy access to production software and a Soundcloud account, so separating the what from the chaff becomes difficult.

stwo, however, has had no problem standing out. With his incredibly popular remixes and excellent original tracks, he has carved out his lane of productions that are lush, refined, but full of life—the results of brilliant sampling and equal doses of influence from hip-hop and dance music.

Another French crew you should be keeping and eye on, alongside Bromance and Club Cheval, is Marble Music. Run by Para One, Surkin, and Bobmo himself, they release dance music that is rooted in classic house and techno but still looks to the future and seeks to create something fresh and new. Bobmo released his debut album, New Dawn, earlier this year, and it's a classic sounding stormer packed full of tracks built to get your feet moving. When I look, with that big hook is the immediate standout, but you should check out the whole album here.

Although many of the tracks on Andrea's Soundcloud are available for free download, don't let that fool you into thinking they're throwaways. Everything the 23-year-old producer uploads is worth your attention, especially his #SADBOYS remixes of The Weeknd and Drake and the stunning "Still Down." What Andrea manages to do so well on "Still Down," and across a lot of his tracks, is mix dancefloor crushing bass with delicate, gorgeous melodies, creating music that is as good for curled up in bed headphone listening as it is for partying.

Canblaster, Sam Tiba, Myd, and Panteros666 make up Club Cheval, a real force in electronic music, and a formidable lineup at any club or festival. They toured America earlier this year with Brodinski, and ended the year on a strong note with production credits on two of the best track from Theophilus London's Vibes album—"Can't Stop" featuring Kanye West and "Tribe" featuring Jesse Boykins III.

Make sure you check out Sam Tiba's excellent "Deguisement" plus tracks from all the artists on the recent Bromance records compilation Homieland, Vol. 1 (buy here).

We fell in love with Phazz's bright, synth-filled sound in July, when he dropped "Lionheart," but pretty much everything he released this year has been great. When he's not remixing MØ or Cassie, Phazz keeps up a steady stream of releases, which see those jagged, Rustie-esque synths and clever little vocal snippets layered over pummeling basslines. Phazz can get your party started, so make sure you get some of his songs on your holiday turn up playlist.