Deutsche Grammophon has partnered with LA-based producer and musician L.Dre for an album that turns classical samples into LoFi hip-hop.
Out on 3 March 2023, LoFi Symphony sees L.Dre blend LoFi beats with re-recorded sounds and sequences from the DG catalogue. His chilled remix of Debussy’s Clair de lune, “Under the Moon”, was released last month, and will be followed by another taster track on 13 January – L.Dre’s LoFi take on Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata, “Moonlight”.
L.Dre began experimenting with different genres a while back, taking samples and bringing them into his own musical world of LoFi beats – soothing instrumental hip-hop tracks whose hisses and crackles make them sound as if they’ve been lifted from well-worn cassette tapes. He fell in love with reworking classical extracts – and his followers fell in love with what they were hearing. When Deutsche Grammophon picked up on L.Dre’s work, the team reached out to him and suggested a collaborative partnership. The result is LoFi Symphony.
For this unique album, L.Dre sampled existing DG recordings which were then re-recorded in LA and Berlin. As well as Debussy, there are tracks inspired by composers from Bach, Pachelbel and Vivaldi to Saint-Saëns, Satie and Ravel. Reflecting the DIY music aesthetic that makes LoFi so distinctive, L.Dre here creates a new but timeless sound by blending his inimitable style with some of the best-loved works in the classical repertoire.
Growing up in Los Angeles, L.Dre learned to play various instruments, including drums and guitar, but his life really revolved around skateboarding and hip-hop. He studied music production in college, having already started uploading instrumental tracks to streaming platforms. Influenced by the classic 90s boom bap style, his chill beats were influenced by and fitted into the emerging LoFi trend.
L.Dre now uses Instagram, YouTube and TikTok to share his expertise with fans and aspiring producers, breaking down the way he creates his tracks and offering music software tips and hacks, as well as guidance on how to build a career in music production. Approachable and generous with his advice, he stands out from the crowd of faceless LoFi producers and as a result has an ever-growing following on all channels: over 800k monthly listeners on Spotify; over 684k followers on TikTok; and over 346k followers and 33.5k daily views on YouTube.
