Paul McCartney hires Mark Ronson to produce new album?

Paul McCartney has reportedly recruited Mark Ronson to produce his new album.

The pair, who apparently met when Ronson was DJ at McCartney's 2011 wedding to Nancy Shevell, are said to have spent this week working together in New York. A source told the Sunday Mirror: "This week they went to the studio and started knocking about together to see what they can do together. Everybody's really excited about the prospect of Mark working with Paul."

In February, McCartney released his 15th solo LP, an album of traditional pop and jazz covers called 'Kisses On The Bottom'. However, the Beatles legend reportedly wants to return to a more contemporary sound for his next project. The source added: "Paul respects Mark's knowledge and is wanting to produce a classic album with a young hip edge. And obviously Mark is over the moon to be working with a Beatle."

Ronson took home the Producer of the Year trophy at the 2008 Grammy Awards for his work on Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black' album. He has since helmed records for Kaiser Chiefs, Duran Duran and Rufus Wainwright.

Paul McCartney working with Ethan Johns and Mark Ronson

Paul McCartney has begun work on a new release that includes collaborations with Mark Ronson, producer Ethan Johns has revealed.

The former Beatle released his latest album, 'Kisses on the Bottom', only eight months ago but has already completed a series of recording sessions with Ronson and Johns towards a follow-up that sounds like "classic Paul", according to the Kings of Leon producer.

"This is very different to the last album," Johns says. "We’ve done two sessions already and the third is in a few weeks. It's sounding great. He's still one of the most extraordinary recording talents. There’s a song on the record called 'Hosanna' which is absolutely heartbreaking – just Paul and an acoustic guitar. It’s gorgeous."

He added: "I know he’s also been in the studio with Mark Ronson, which I imagine is going to be quite current-sounding."

The producer told NME it’s as yet uncertain whether the songs will feature on a new album "or something else entirely". "I’m not sure what it is," he says. "I'm simply a guy in his phone book he calls up every now and again and asks if I want to do something. And you don’t say no to McCartney. I mean, who would?"

I am in for a Mark Ronson-produced McCartney album. Anything to wash the taste of Kisses on the Bottom out of my mouth.

Paul may have another great album in him, but he's gonna have to be willing to work with somebody that'll tell him "no".

Ha! Ha! Don't hold your breath for that one. When employed by Paul, the king always has clothes.

It worked out great for Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, but it's also why Nigel Godrich wasn't asked back...

Ha! Ha! Don't hold your breath for that one. When employed by Paul, the king always has clothes.

Agreed. Chaos was great.

Mark Ronson & Paul McCartney Collaborate On 3 Songs

Mark Ronson went from being the DJ at Paul McCartney's wedding to producing for the icon in the studio.

Ronson said in an interview Thursday that he worked on three songs with the former Beatles singer. He called the process "insane."

"It's really good. He writes really good songs," Ronson said.

The British act has written and produced for a number of top musicians, including Amy Winehouse, Adele, Bruno Mars, Lily Allen and Christina Aguilera. He's won three Grammy Awards, including non-classical producer of the year in 2008 for his work on Winehouse's breakthrough album, "Back to Black."

But the 37-year-old said working with McCartney was intimidation "on another level."

"He understands that you're so nervous to be working with Paul McCartney `cause everyone is," he said. "He gives you a lot of leeway, but then at the end of the day you need to deliver the goods."

McCartney married Nancy Shevell in 2011 at a London ceremony. He announced on his Website this week that he's planning to release a new album and that that he'll launch his "Out There!" world tour June 22 in Warsaw, Poland.

"He's done every kind of music. He invented the rule book in several different ways," Ronson said of McCartney's extensive and diverse catalogue. "I don't know if (our stuff) is revolutionary, but they're brilliant songs. I just tried to give him a sound he was looking for."

Ronson said he learned so much from collaborating with McCartney. "You take a master class in production, like harmonies and layering sounds and arrangement. His ideas are just incredible."

It must be me. I know that everyone, even Rolling Stone, loves "Chaos And Creation" and thinks that it's a great album. It's not nearly one of my favorite Paul albums. Most of the songs would have worked just fine as middle to minor album tracks on many of his other albums. Taken all together though, they just do a lot less for me than do most of his other albums.

I love Chaos and Creation, but would never presume to "argue you" into thinking it's some of his best work. We're all individuals with individual likes and dislikes in music. What do you consider to be great McCartney?

Among my favorite Paul albums are Ram, Band On The Run, Tug Of War, Press To Play, The Russian Album, Flowers In The Dirt, Off The Ground, Flaming Pie.

I like 99% of what he's done. And I don't hate "Chaos And Creation". I just see it lauded so much of the time and think he's done albums that are so much better. As you say though, it's all just our individual opinions.

Mark Ronson: 'Baile-funk and Usher inspires Paul McCartney's new album'

Mark Ronson has said that Paul McCartney has been inspired by Usher and funk music on his forthcoming album, which Ronson is producing.

The producer revealed in a new interview with Rolling Stone that the Beatles legend is as inspired by new and breaking sounds as he is by the music he has made all his life. Saying that he does not challenge McCartney on his decisions, Ronson said: "With Paul, you learn to not ask too many questions and just do your best work. He came in one day playing some post-Bonde do Role baile funk-moombahton thing, asking, 'How do we get this kind of energy?' And then he played me 'Climax' by Usher, and he was like, 'I love where all the sonics sit in this.'"

Meanwhile, Ronson also spoke about his next solo album which us taking a "more hip-hop" direction than his recent work. "I'm focusing on getting my album done," he says. "It's going to be closer to my first record than any I've made since. At the base, it's more hip-hop – just me in a room making beats on an MPC. I just really feel a little more like staking an identity again, making clear what I'm about. I'm 37 – I've got eight more years to make angry-youth music, so I just feel like doing that now."

Paul McCartney Producer Previews 'Revelatory' New Album

Early last year, Ethan Johns got a special request from Paul McCartney. "I got a call saying, 'Would you like to go into the studio with Paul?'" recalls the English producer. "And of course I said, 'I would love to!'"

McCartney was in the process of auditioning producers for his 16th solo studio LP, due out this fall. He called Johns because he liked his work with Kings of Leon. "It was very low-key," says Johns (whose father is Beatles, Stones and Who producer Glyn Johns). "[The idea was,] 'Let's just go and hang out for a few days, play some music, have a bit of fun and see what we come up with.'"

McCartney and Johns hit it off immediately after meeting up at London's AIR Studios, where they cut a ballad called "Hosannah" to analog tape using vintage instruments. "The first day we had was remarkable," says Johns. "He walked in with this incredible song, we threw up a couple of microphones and within four hours, we had this great track. I think we did an edit between the first two takes. It had an incredible feel – a really evocative piece of music, a very interesting lyric, and the performance was great. Then we started to experiment with it, and I put a bunch of psychedelic strangeness on it. You have fun. 'Oh, try this! Do that!' It's just very inspiring to be around."

Johns was impressed by how open McCartney was to collaborating. "The first thing he said was, 'What do you feel like doing?'" Johns says. "I could have said, 'Let's spend the day making percussion loops with drum machines,' and he would have been, 'Great! Let's do that!' I don't think he ever said 'No,' which is kind of the mark of who he is as an artist, really. He's always up for trying something new."

They continued working together one-on-one at Abbey Road Studios, where McCartney laid down guitar, bass, drums and keyboard parts (again recording to tape); Johns contributed guitar, keys and drums. "It was revelatory for me, recording Paul in that space having listened to the sound of those Beatles records," says the producer. "He plugged in his bass, I put a microphone in front of it, walked upstairs into the control room, pushed the fader up, and [that sound] came out of the speakers immediately. I didn't have to do anything! It was a pretty major light bulb for me. People get so fixated on the equipment and the gear, and those things are important – but ultimately, the bass sound on Revolver is Paul. Paul could be playing anything and he will get that sound."

Johns and McCartney recorded a total of four new songs over the three to four weeks they spent in the studio. It remains to be seen how many of those songs will end up on the final album, which has no confirmed title or release date; over the past year-plus, McCartney has also cut potential tracks with producers including Mark Ronson, Adele hitmaker Paul Epworth and Giles Martin (son of Beatles producer George Martin).