2007 ARTIST TO WATCH: Mark Ronson

   You may know Mark Ronson from his illustrious deejay career, or perhaps from his debut album, Here Comes The Fuzz, which found him producing hip-hop tracks for the likes of Ghostface and Missy Elliot. But Ronson has reinvented himself in the last year, arranging production for LP's from Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, not to mention incredible cover of Radiohead's "Just", from last year's Exit Music compilation.

   Currently, Ronson has the number 1 single in the U.K. with a funky cover of The Smiths "Stop Me", produced by Ronson himself, and performed by Daniel Merriweather, with assistance from The Dap Kings, who also handled much of the live instrumentation on Amy Winehouse's Back To Black LP. With Version, Ronson adapts a whole album of cover songs, in which he decribes as "Motown '76 versions" of contemporary pop songs such as Britney Spears "Toxic" (now featuring Tiggers and O.D.B.) or the Kaiser Chiefs' "Oh My God" (now featuring Lily Allen). Additional guests on the album include The Daptone Horns, Daniel Merriweather, Amy Winehouse, Paul Smith, Phantom Planet, Kenna, Robbie Williams, and Kasabian. Sounds sketchy on paper, but this is something that must be heard to be believed.

   Danger Mouse reigned supreme as cross-genre pop producer of 2005 (Gorillaz, Danger Doom) and 2006 (Gnarls Barkley), but with Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and his own LP dropping this year, 2007 definitely belongs to Mark Ronson. Version drops in the U.S. June 12th on Allido/RCA/BMG. - D.T. Swinga