Introducing: The trio to know

Who? 20-year-old r'n'b artist from Illinois being mentored by Timbaland
Sounds like? Velvety vocalist as comfortable rapping over modern beats as singing soul-baring ballads

Tink, real name Trinity Home, was 19 years old and watching TV in her parents' basement in Calumet City, Illinois, when she got the call from Timbaland. "I thought my manager was playing with me," she remembers. "But then she put him through. He said: 'I like your song, you're talented. I want to meet you.' How crazy is that?"

The song in question was 'Don't Tell Nobody', which Timbaland was being played by its producers Da Internz. Two days later, Tink was on a plane to meet him. "I was nervous as fuck," she says. "But he was humble to me! That blew my mind. He told me he started in his basement. I was like: 'Damn! I record in my basement too right now!'"

In fact, Tink had already recorded and released five mixtapes from her parents' basement, starting with 'Winter's Diary' when she was 17. She had sung in a church choir since she was a child, but got the confidence to perform when she posted a clip of herself freestyling over Clipse' 'Grindin' to her brother's Facebook page. Her mixtapes showcased the two sides of her: the soulful balladeer and the rapper with Minaj-like flow.

What she didn't have yet was one coherent sound. That's where Timbaland, who's producing her debut LP in Miami, comes in. "For a long time I was searching," she says. "The music I'm doing with Tim now is still my voice and message, but his production has given it a sound nobody can duplicate." Kevin EG Perry

Who? Hamburg-bred/Berlin-trained/ London-based producer with a unique, chunky, chugging take on house
Sounds like? House music, written by tough guys at shady afterparties

It seems fitting that Sidney Charles has the rather unlikely middle name of Hurricane, because (to excuse a slightly laboured pun) he's taking 2015 by storm. His debut album 'House Lessons' has delivered on the early promise shown on releases via Moda Black and Sneak's I'm A House Gangster, and his currency on the White Isle keeps on building.

Starting out in his native Hamburg as a funk and hip hop DJ, the 26-year- old was introduced to house and techno by Sante four years ago. "I love house because it's the root of so much electronic music – and when I play it I can dive into harder stuff in my sets too." It's the latter that's winning him a name on the European circuit, not least through releases on Avotre, the label he co-runs with Santé.

Featuring tough, jacking basslines, dusty snares and simple vocal stabs, Sidney Charles' sets are as welcome in sweaty basements in Italy and the UK as they are on main floors in Ibiza. That's where Sidney's ongoing informal DJ combo with Santé and Darius Syrossian has gained the trio a rep as the new Ibiza Rat Pack. It's a rep they'll be building on this summer with a residency at Privilege's Vista Club. "The glass roof at sunrise gives it the Ibiza feel, but the decks are low enough that you can high five the crowd," he says – many of whom will have been warmed up by Sidney's debut LP, featuring Patrick Topping and Pan-Pot. But if you're not Ibiza-bound, never fear: The Hurricane's heading to Eastern Electrics and High Definition soon. Ally Byers

Who? One third of Stockholm's Studio Barnhus collective, alongside Axel Boman and Petter Nordkvist
Sounds like? Big, bouncy, melodic house

If you're not yet familiar with Swedish producer Kornél Kovács, you soon will be. Last year's 'Szikra', with its gently bouncing keys and cheeky refrain of "Let's get fucked up" was an anthem for those of a certain disposition and his 'Radio Koko' EP, recently dropped on Numbers, is one of the most captivating and quietly innovative house releases we've heard all year. But while the 29-year-old is on a roll, he's far from an overnight sensation. Born in Sweden to Hungarian parents, it was a series of bootleg tapes of Kraftwerk, coupled with weekly piano lessons and a role as a boy soprano that first put music firmly at the centre of his life.

"My dad would give me mixtapes and really influenced my taste", he says, "but it was my mum who really pushed me towards taking music seriously."

At 11 he fell for d'n'b – then in its mid-90s creative flush – and made the move from soprano to budding DJ.

"I was a chubby 11-year-old kid who'd go into the record store, listen to every release and buy one each week," he says. "I think the clerks found it quite funny. I became a mascot for them, and they showed me the ropes."

Kornél built a career in Stockholm as a DJ, radio presenter and sometime music journalist, but it was when he moved into a studio with Axel Boman and Petter Nordkvist and the three set up the Studio Barnhus label that things really took off. "We began crashing each other's DJ gigs and realised how easy putting records out was," he says. We're glad he worked it out. Sean Griffiths