Inspiration
The original song 808 Melo sampled for "Dior" is "The Coven" by Australian composer Peter Gundry, who we have featured recently in Who is the Real Peter Gundry?. His music was previously sampled by the likes of 21 Savage, Russ, and Coi Leray, among others.
808 Melo reversed the eerie violin strings and keys from the dark Celtic folk by the Australian composer to turn it into a hard-hitting drill anthem. The track appeared on Pop Smoke's posthumous debut album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon. Other songs 808Melo produced for Pop Smoke include "War," "Meet The Woo," and "Shake The Room."
"I space my hi-hats out because I feel like it gives them space and adds their little ad-libs or whatever to it."
—808 Melo
"When I first started the 'Dior' beat, I literally found a dark violin sample online, and I put it into Slicex and then reversed it and chopped it up," 808 Melo explains in a Deconstructed At Home video by Genius. "I space my hi-hats out because I feel like it gives them space and adds their little ad-libs or whatever to it."
He then continues to share some insights about adding a snare sound he's secretive about, a piano with a "Beethoven kind of feel," UK drill-minded 808 drums, and subtle notes like chirp sounds, money machine sounds, and texture by Ceasar Beats of the Trap House Mob.