U OUGHT TO KNOW CLAUDIA BRANT.

Byline: - Sandra Barrera

Age: 38

Profession: Writes Spanish-language songs for pop and regional Mexican artists and recently produced her first album, the solo debut by the Kumbia Kings' DJ Kane.

Why U ought to know her: ``I'm nominated for a (Latin) Grammy with actually the first project I'm doing as a producer,'' says Brant, speaking from the Sherman Oaks home she shares with her husband and 6-week-old daughter-and-son twins.

Brant originally came to the United States from her native Argentina in the late '90s to pursue a career as a professional songwriter. She had already given her own recording career a shot in Buenos Aires with mild success. But the only child of ``frustrated musicians'' hungered for international exposure.

With the Latin explosion still on the horizon, Brant gave writing songs for others a try. Her songs were good enough for Cristian Castro, one of the first big Latin pop stars to record her work.

She's since written for some of the biggest names in music, including Josh Groban.

Listening to Josh Groban record ``Si volvieras a mi,'' a song she co-wrote: ``It was one of the most moving moments of my life because there was an 80-piece orchestra conducted by Jorge Calandrelli and Josh was singing, and he loved the song. It was just incredible.''

On working with DJ Kane: ``A friend of mine at EMI told me, 'We have this artist we just signed and we want to start working on his album. Could you do something?' So they brought him here,'' she says, referring to her home, ``and I met him. And I thought he was very talented. In a week we almost had the entire album written.''

Writing for hip-hop: ``It's easier for me to write a pop ballad or up-tempo song than to work on r&b, or a ranchera, or salsa. But I listened to a bunch of hip-hop and r&b in English and in Spanish and tried to see where DJ Kane's roots were. Where was he born? What type of language does he use? Basically, what was his story? From that, I took what I learned about him and used it for the album.''

The job of producer: ``It's about creating a sound, something you hear and say, 'This is DJ (Kane).' The thing about him is that he could rap ... and he could sing, which is great because we didn't have limitations. He was a pleasure to work with.''

Next up: ``Hopefully, you know, produce more records and write more songs. I'm already working with one of the guys from Sin Bandera and we have a cut on the new Kumbia Kings album - it's going to be the second single. I'm writing some material for Cheyenne and I'm also going to start working with Luis Fonsi on his new album before the end of the year. I'm also working with Debbie Nova, an artist on Atlantic. Her album comes out next year.

She's not all work: ``I take some time off. Especially now. I won't touch my weekends just because I want to spend as much time as I can with the babies.''

The twins: ``They grow so fast, which is sad. They're so cute.''

Where U might see her: Look for her at the Latin Grammy Awards, which airs 8 p.m. Wednesday on CBS.

Where U can find out more: www.claudiabrant.com.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

no capiton (CLAUDIA BRANT)