We recently caught up with shndō, one of the lead producers on Justin Bieber’s mega-hit, “Peaches”. The single broke numerous records and has already gone platinum in the United States. The LA-based producer has worked alongside artists such as Poo Bear, Nitti Gritti and has co-produced tracks from Cardi B and Chris Brown. Additionally, he has produced remixes for the like of Galantis, Ne-Yo and Pitbull, with plans to release more of his own music this year! Check out how shndō got involved in the project and learn about his process below!
BTS: How did you originally get into music production?
shndō: So I originally got into music production when I was living in the Dominican Republic. I was rapping and writing songs at the time, and one of my good friends Gerald told me about this program called Fruity Loops and I eventually started making my own beats. That’s when I got hooked on creating and producing my own instrumentals & songs.
BTS: Do you have a typical workflow in Ableton when you produce? Or is each song built differently?
shndō: It varies at times: I’ll start with drums and then layer on a melody, or vice versa. I’ll start with a melody I come up with or work on a melody my friends send to me. I feel like I personally prefer to knock out the melody first then build from there, melody usually sets the scene or the story up then it’s all about taking it there!
BTS: You’ve worked with some massive talent, do you have a favorite story from any of the projects you’ve been a part of?
shndō: Well I’d say my favorite story so far is how “Peaches” came together since it was so random and just a shot in the dark! So it all started when I screen recorded Justin Bieber’s Instagram video that he posted last year in September. I threw the IG audio file into Ableton and sped the tempo up a bit since it was a little slower, and then I proceeded to add some pseudo live drums to it – I kind of just put myself in a drummer’s seat and pretended as if I was playing an actual drum set (which I wasn’t, I simply programmed the drums on my laptop). I then bounced the file as “Peaches (shndo rough idea)” and texted it to Harv to see if he wanted to add some bass or anything else he heard on it – I also texted it to Poo Bear to see if he had any ideas or feedback on it.
BTS: How did the connection with Justin Bieber come about for “Peaches”?
shndō: The connection with Justin was due to a lot of collaboration with many producers/close friends of mine that ultimately led me to being in the room with Poo Bear which then of course led me to working on songs for Justin.
BTS: What has it been like to see “Peaches” explode like it has?
shndō: It’s so cool!! I really had no idea it was going to be this massive. I absolutely love watching all of the different choreography from all over the world. It’s honestly mind-blowing how far music can reach.
BTS: Any artists or songs that you’ve been digging as of late?
shndō: I’ve been listening to the new Porter Robinson album Nurture – the guy is just a genius. The feeling in his songs are always so comforting and next-level to me, and I’m trying to get my vocal chop game up there with his haha!
BTS: Any big plans for the rest of 2021?
shndō: Honestly going to just keep creating music I love with my friends and for my artist project shndō and letting god do the rest! Hope you have an amazing day/night!! Thank you for having me! 🙂
Stay up to date with shndō by following his Instagram, Soundcloud and Twitter.
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Listen to “Peaches” by Justin Bieber (ft. Daniel Caesar & Giveon), produced by shndō:
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