Kicking off 2025, K-pop producers LDN Noise posted to Instagram telling their story of their journey from small-time UK DJs and grime producers to one of K-pop’s most successful producers.
Starting in 2014, LDN Noise became the voice of K-pop at the beginning of its third generation. Signed to SM Entertainment in 2015, they quickly ushered in a new era, straying from the classic sound of S.E.S, H.O.T., and Shinhwa. They embraced a new style of experimental UK Garage and modern hip-hop from working in the US and UK.
Beginning with a rookie GOT7, the duo quickly moved to an exclusive deal with SM Entertainment. In an interview with The Korea Times back in 2016, talking about their beginnings with the company, Greg Bonnick stated, “We wrote some records for Shinhwa together, which was our first K-pop placements.” Hayden Chapman followed up, saying, “We then met with SM Entertainment A&R’s on a songwriting trip to Sweden mid-2014. Shortly after that, we began working closely with the label.”
Now, a decade later, the pair have worked with some of the industry’s biggest stars, most notably EXO, who the pair recall being “blown away” when speaking to Billboard in an exclusive interview back in 2017. The pair have gone on to feature on some of SM’s biggest songs. In the same interview with Billboard, Bonnick noted when talking about their work as part of SHINee‘s “View“, “Once we got the confidence after how successful “View” was, we trusted our own instincts to try not to overthink it to just be natural and let the workflow.”
After numerous songs in the Billboard Top 10, LDN Noise has seen success outside of SM. Their producer tag has become a staple of success in K-pop.
Established in 2017, K-pop Bangsong has had the pleasure of pleasure of witnessing many of LDN Noise’s discography here are 5 of our top picks from the years that got us to where we are today.
EXO – Monster
Sitting at over 450 million views on YouTube, “Monster” may be the first song you think of when you think of LDN Noise. With an addictive beat and clever use of SFX, the song is a prime example of the pair’s mastery brilliance in creating a DnB-style festival track.
Paired with the beautiful lighting and incredible cinematography, it makes for a perfect music video while EXO‘s great vocals and rapping create an all-round perfect experience and spectacle.
For more on the pair’s decision-making regarding the song, check out the video linked here.
F(X) – 4 Walls
One of F(X)‘s biggest hits, “4 Walls“, saw a big change in F(X)’s experimental style, implementing a strong house sound that perfectly fits the LDN Noise M.O.
Originally planned for SHINee before they were given the incredible “View”, “4 Walls” is one of F(X) ‘s best albums and even features superstar producer Kenzie on many of the album’s B-sides. An incredibly influential group in the industry, “4 Walls”, stands as the girls move to four members. Their style and reinvention have seen them inspire a whole new generation of K-pop.
Red Velvet – Dumb Dumb
After their success working with SM Entertainment’s F(X) and Amber Liu, it was only natural that when the highly touted new girl group Red Velvet entered the industry, Ldn Noise would work alongside the girls in an effort to help push them to superstardom.
Collaborating in 2015 as part of Red Velvet’s first album, ‘The Red‘, the pair would help produce the album’s title song, “Dumb Dumb“. An extremely catchy, simplistic song, “Dumb Dumb”, does an incredible job of experimenting with a new style and building the starting blocks and sound we know today. “Dumb Dumb” stands as an important part of Red Velvet’s and Ldn Noise’s legacy.
SHINee – View
One of LDN Noise’s most notable credits and arguably one of SHINee’s most popular songs, it is surprising to think that the song came after a 2-year break and the solo debuts of the group’s most promising members, Jonghyun and Taemin.
Similar to “Ring Ding Dong“, LDN Noise perfectly creates a catchy and addictive simple beat filled with fantastic build-ups and instrumentals. The song perfectly lets SHINee do what they are best at and provides a fun and energetic twist to the song’s beat, creating one of the 2010’s most iconic dances.
For more information behind the creation of SHINee’s “View”, check out the video live on the official LDN Noise YouTube channel here.
Taeyeon – Why
After originally being introduced to K-pop by Girls Generation, it came as a big surprise when the producers announced that they would be producing with the group’s biggest star, Taeyeon.
Released as part of her second mini album, “Why” represented once again a change to Taeyeon’s musical style and another added level to the SM Entertainment sound. With base tones of DnB, the song’s simple melody perfectly complements Taeyeon’s vocals, breaking out from her ballad style and embracing a more traditional K-pop sound.
NCT DREAM – We Young
With a focus on EDM and Hip-hop, the NCT has been hugely impacted by the work of LDN Noise. The group has credits on some of NCT’s biggest releases. With multiple releases for this list, it’s hard to look past the producer’s work on the NCT DREAM song “We Young“.
While on the surface a bubblepop song, the additional reggae sounds that the producers implement complement the group’s calming vocals and provide the great NCT Dream style we know and love today.
What is your favourite LDN Noise song? What artist would you like to see LDN Noise collaborate with? Let us know
K-pop Bangsong 