Top producer raves about Zayn Malik

Former One Direction star Zayn Malik has received high praise from the Grammy Award-winning producer he has been secretly working with on new music.

Malay, who has collaborated with R&B star Frank Ocean, John Legend, Alicia Keys and newcomer Tori Kelly among others, has revealed he has been creating fresh material with Malik, who quit the boy band in March (15), - and he's a big fan of the Brit.

Announcing the collaboration via Twitter on Tuesday (15Sep15), Malay writes, "Zayn is pure genius. An artists' artist. A shining star with a genuine heart."

Malik has also reportedly been working on new material with fellow Anglo-Asian Shahid Khan, aka Naughty Boy.

It is not yet clear when new music from Malik will be released, but reports suggest he's planning collaborations with rapper Tyler, The Creator and Selena Gomez, who recently showed some interest in working with the former boy band star, and offered her services.

She told Britain's Key 3 radio station, "I know Zayn so it's almost like if he would ever want to reach out, he knows that he could. So I don't know what he's doing creatively. I think that's so exciting for him to, like, go and figure out what he wants to do but I don't know what that is."