15 UK Producers to Look Out for in 2015

At this point there aren't many people who don't know who Hudson Mohawke is, but the Scottish mega-producer is due to go through somewhat of a transformation this year with his upcoming album Lantern. He's expressed his desire to show the true breadth of his versatility and talents, moving past the drop centric bangers of TNGHT and giving us something a little harder to chew.

It's an interesting prospect, especially seeing as he claimed that he wanted to make a classic from the offset. We're eagerly awaiting the results of HudMo's further sonic explorations, especially considering the quality of his previous output.

We haven't heard a whole lot from Poter Elvinger as of late, but it's looking like he could be gearing up for a pretty big year. Lining up collaborations both inside and outside of UK-based collective Last Night In Paris, one of of 2014's most promising new artists could very well have his break out moment this year. We already know that he's got what it takes, it's just a question of whether he'll capitalize on the immense promise of his few tracks so far. Here's betting he will.

Jamie xx just confirmed in a Mixmag interview that his debut solo album In Colour will be out in June, and will include previously released "Sleep Sound and "Girl," as well as new songs “Gosh," “Loud Places,"and “Seesaw." Throughout his career in The xx, as a remixer, and dropping his own solo songs, Jamie has constantly demonstrated versatility and made an effort to push things forward and improve as an artist. With the ability to mastermind both delicate pop songs and make music for clubs, it's hard to know what direction Jamie's album will take, and we can't wait to hear some more music from one of the most vital producers working today.

This Scottish producer linked with Soulection for his debut EP Short Stories, and quickly grabbed a lot of people's attention. The first track "Temple" shows what a talent Gellaitry is, starting off slow, breaking out into a sub-workout that TNGHT would be proud of, and then flipping the script again with a funky live-feel middle section. The rest of the EP continues in the same adventurous, surprising vein, bubbling with youthful exuberance. At only 18 years old, the future is extremely bright for Sam Gellaitry.

We still don't really know if SOPHIE is playing games with us, but he's proven to be one of the most interesting producers going time and time again. Working in tandem with a handful of the PC Music crowd, SOPHIE's output is characterized by bright and colorful noises, as well as penchant for catchy melodies. Landing somewhere between the bizarre midi sounds of Oneohtrix Point Never's more recent work and the bubblegum pop of the early '00s, SOPHIE's innovative sound has a lot of legs, and 2015 is the year in which we'll see what it's really capable of.

A lot of the best production coming from the UK right now is incredibly vibrant and colorful. Dark0 isn't always about embracing that sense of pastel pleasure, but when he does the result is always an absolute joy. Making sounds that sit somewhere between pleasant and menacing, his grime-tinged production is sure to pique a lot of interest this year, especially as more and more keep their ears to the UK's thriving underground.

Rappers searching for next-level beats look this way now—Dark0's production is hard-hitting and his melodies are incredibly catchy, dude could be the next HudMo if the right people pay attention.

Mssingno only has a short EP and a handful of remixes to his name, but there's a good chance of that changing significantly this year, since he's linked up with Tri Angle and is presumably working towards a new release. Considering the high quality of music he's put out thus far, we get the impression that a lot more people will be talking about him come the end of 2015. His luscious and intricately laid-out production blends copious sounds into a cohesive and delightfully current whole. If he capitalizes on the promise his output has hinted at thus far, then we'll be in for one hell of a treat later this year.

Bristol-based Kahn is a beast. Grime, dubstep, dub reggae, he does it all and more. While a lot of dubstep producers were getting stale and formulaic, he kept pushing things in the right direction while staying true to the genre's origins, while his all-vinyl DJ sets are things of beauty. No one can test Kahn when it comes to chest-shaking music that hits with a raw, primal energy, and when you're talking about the best grime producers, you'd be crazy not to mention this man's name.

Sometimes it feels like Lapalux doesn't get the respect he deserves as a producer. His talents have expanded greatly since his early Soundcloud days, with his palette adding color and texture release by release. From intense collages of sound to John Carpenter-indebted thuds, he hasn't released a single bad track so far, and it looks like things will continue to go that way with the imminent release of his Lustmore album on April 7. Don't sleep.

Just like his QT partner-in-crime SOPHIE, PC Music figurehead A. G. Cook is at the forefront of a neon-colored musical revolution of sorts. Proving time and time again that there's a reason for the PC Music hype, Cook's compositions sound like what a sugar-rush fueled sprint through Tokyo at night time feels like. In other words: it's strangely alien, brightly lit, and intoxicating. He might not yet be collaborating with pop giants like Madonna á la SOPHIE, but there's little doubt that 2015 holds big things for the founder of one of the most divisive musical movements of recent years.

We haven't been following Vacant for a long time, but it's easy to tell that his sound has the potential gain him a lot of fans over the next year. Channeling Arca and Burial in equal measure, his rainy-mood sound is all about melancholic beauty, coming with a pristine flair whilst misery slowly bubbles beneath. It's dark but without being too oppressive and his knack for creating an engrossing atmosphere is truly impressive.

Murlo's certainly buzzing in the underground and familiar to people paying attention to dance music, but he deserves to truly blow up in 2015. His music is so distinct; inspired by soca and bashment as much as instrumental grime, it's the aural equivalent of liquid mercury, vivid and shiny as polished metal, but somehow as fluid as water.

Murlo's colorful melodies are intoxicating on their own, but he recently proved that they also sound great with the right vocalist. His recent EP for Mixpak with Gemma Dunleavy singing opens up an exciting world of possibilities, and as pop and R&B get more experimental, hopefully we'll see more artists searching for the sounds that only Murlo can provide, as well as even more attention paid to his instrumental work.

Murlo is on tour in North America throughout May 2015. See all the dates and get tickets here.

Preditah is so versatile. He can make a rough grime tune one moment and then give Jessie Ware or Disclosure deft garage remixes the next. He's toured a lot with Skepta as his DJ, including for the MC's first headlining New York show, but he's so much more than that. Taking in different strands of the UK's incredibly varied dance music culture, Preditah's productions never fail to make heads nod, and as a DJ he will definitely make a crowd sweat.

et aliae's music might just be a hobby on the side at the moment, but with the rate it's gaining traction that'll soon change. Emphasizing beauty over everything else, the inventive ways in which she flips vocal samples and floral beds of texture is incredibly inviting. Her ever evolving sound is all about futuristic blends of sound and euphoric uses of melody, standing out in an already crowded scene by making music that just sounds like a sincere work of love. We don't really know where her music will be heading in the future, but judging from the recently released "Only U," probably some place pretty exciting.

Back at the beginning of 2013, we were telling you to look out for Julio Bashmore, and nothing has changed. He's been working on his debut album for a long time now, and when it does come out this year, it should be great. Bristol-based Bashmore has spent some time producing and songwriting with vocalists like Jessie Ware, but he can also make bass-heavy house music for the dance as well as any of his peers, so his album should have the kind of variety that will win over a whole new set of fans.

Don't hold your breath, since the album was originally aiming for a February release, but make sure you do pay close attention to Bashmore this year.