Close Up: Producer Miklos Malek

MiklosMalekWHAT'S NEW: After three successful seasons as a judge and artist mentor on The X-Factor, the wildly popular U.K. based show’s Hungarian version, veteran songwriter, producer and mixing engineer Miklos Malek is looking for the next music superstar. “Auditioning thousands of people, and helping my contestants win the show and the audience’s heart gave me a new perspective on what today’s artists need to become successful.”

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: Since launching his career in N.Y.C. in the early 2000s, Malek—who has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 2006—has worked with a wide variety of artists from a multitude of genres, from R&B/pop to country, world music and global pop. Signing with Notation Music Publishing led to his breakthrough as a co-writer and arranger of Anastacia’s “I Thought I Told You That” (featuring Faith Evans) and opportunities to work with Jennifer Lopez (“Love Don’t Cost A Thing”), Pixie Lott, Dream, M2M and country singer Jessica Andrews.

Launching his first L.A. studio in Hollywood, he began working with a wide variety of independent artists, in addition to Kat Graham, Janice Dickinson and Tata Vega. In recent years, he has also written for and produced artists from Japan, his native Hungary and Poland, in addition to instrumental superstar Yanni. Currently, he is developing new artist Anika Wilmore.

FROM THE BEGINNING: Malek grew up in a family of renowned musicians in Budapest. After receiving a master’s degree in classical piano at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, he moved to the U.S. to study at Berklee.

HIS INSPIRATION: “I started playing the music my parents listened to when I was very young, and I still listen to music with the ears of a kid, experiencing the same emotions that inspired me to get into the business. I want to work with artists who can move people, because at the end of the day it’s about energy and emotion. Nothing gives me greater joy than to help artists realize their potential.”

Contact Miklos Malek c/o Katarina Klisowska, 213-925-5576

By Jonathan Widran