Christian Löffler Found a Dance-Music Detour Inside the Classical Archive

Bach and Beethoven have entered the chat. Christian Löffler brought the equipment.

On Parallels: Shellac Reworks, released in February 2021, the German musician worked with historic recordings from Deutsche Grammophon’s archive. The result gives us a beautifully specific route between classical music and electronic production: not a genre argument, but actual material being reshaped.

The label’s release page places the album within its Shellac Project. Löffler revisited music by composers including Bach, Beethoven and Chopin, bringing older performances into a contemporary setting rather than treating them as untouchable objects.

There is a visual connection, too. In its German-language account of the project, Deutsche Grammophon explains that Löffler made the cover using photographs taken at Berlin’s Staatsoper, home of the Staatskapelle. The architecture above is part of the story, not a handsome room picked at random.

Following our look at his vocal collaborations, this is a different side of Löffler to explore. Start with “Moldau,” then follow whichever composer’s name makes you curious. Nobody needs to pass a classical-music entrance exam first.

We like a record that sends people toward music they might otherwise walk past. In this case, the detour happens to stretch across a century of recording history.

Parallels: Shellac Reworks artwork, incorporating Christian Löffler’s Staatsoper photographs. Source: Deutsche Grammophon. Image source.