Zayn Malik is working with Frank Ocean's producer, Malay.

The former One Direction star has been spending time in the studio with the Grammy-winning producer in Los Angeles for the past week as he works on tracks for his debut solo album.

A music insider told The Sun newspaper: ''Malay is a hugely successful producer and is well respected within the industry too.

''After the way his relationship with Naughty Boy ended, Zayn could not be in better hands.''

The 36-year-old producer - who has previously worked with John Legend and Alicia Keys, as well as producing Frank Ocean's critically-acclaimed record 'Channel Orange' - has been helping the hunk out after he spectacularly blasted his former producer Naughty Boy on Twitter.

The pair had been working together ever since Zayn quit One Direction back in March, but he reportedly grew tired of the producer using him for his fame and insulted him on Twitter.

In the harsh message, which has been retweeted over 500,000 times, he wrote: ''you fat joke stop pretending we're friends no one knows you . (sic)''

However, Malay - who is known for his R&B and hip hop records - seems like the perfect choice for Zayn, who Naughty Boy previously said was working on ''soulful'' music.

He said: ''He's making a very soulful record.

''He's writing, himself, on it as well.

''I think it's worth the wait, I think the less I say about it the better. I think it'll all make sense soon. Zayn's his own man, no one can tell Zayn what to do, especially me.''