Producer profile. (A&R).

His name has been hot on the underground for so long you could be forgiven for thinking Ed Case has a string of albums to his name. But, the truth is, he has only just completed work on his debut long player for Columbia, Ed's Guest List (due for release in July). Part of the delay has been finding the right climate to release the album in the ever-changing world of garage.

"The garage sound has changed over the last year," says Ed Case. "If I had released the album last year I would have had to have a lot of MC tracks on there," he says. The delay allowed the producer to explore new collaborations. Among the names he called upon were Ms Dynamite, Spooks vocalist Ming Xia and former Skunk Anansie vocalist Skin. "We were originally aiming for an album last year, to work with more people and pick the best tracks. The balance of the album is now the way I wanted it," he says.

Ed Case is not alone this year as a DJ/producer releasing an album of collaborations. "This is a new age for producers," explains Case. "A few years ago producers weren't in the limelight as much, but times have changed and people are more interested in what producers are doing. Certain producers are as big as artists now."

However, he also offers an alternate theory. "I want to collaborate with as many people as possible, because, obviously, I can't sing."