Dru Castro

Andrew Castro
Dru Castro in Atlanta
Background information
Birth name	Andrew Luis Castro
Also known as	"Dru" Castro
Born	(1976-12-14) December 14, 1976 Manhattan, New York
Genres	Pop/R&B/Hip Hop Soul
Occupations	Music Engineer/Producer
Instruments	Piano/Bass/Tuba
Years active	2003-present
Associated acts	India.Arie, Keyshia Cole, Jamie Foxx, Young Buck
Website	www.musichousestudios.com

Dru Castro (born Andrew Luis Castro on December 14, 1976) is a Grammy Award Winning recording engineer, producer and songwriter in Atlanta, Georgia. He has produced or engineered songs for artists such as Ciara, Keyshia Cole, Usher, R. Kelly, T-Pain, Trina, Jamie Foxx and India.Arie. Recently, Dru produced and wrote songs with the Grammy award winning singer/songwriter India.Arie on her recently released album Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics.^[1] Her 2006 album, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, for which Castro recorded and/or produced seven songs, debuted and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including "Best R&B Album". To date Dru has worked on 9 Grammy nominated projects. In 2010 Dru won a Grammy with India.Arie as a Producer/Engineer for Best Urban Alternative Performance on the song "Pearls".

Biography

Early years

Dru Castro was born in Manhattan, New York and was raised in the Lower East Side. His father and mother, who are both of Puerto Rican descent, were also born in Manhattan. From an early age Castro grew up in a musical home, where his father played piano and was the musical director of a local church. This musical influence lead Dru to start playing piano at age 5. In 1990, Dru was sent to study at Suncoast Community High School, a magnet school in Riviera Beach, Florida. While there, he was active in the Jazz, Concert and Marching bands, where he played bass and French horn respectively.

Recording and mixing

Dru moved to Atlanta in 1999, where he worked at Magic Audio (now Atlanta Pro Audio) selling and installing studio equipment for local studios and producers. In 2001, Dru left Magic Audio and began engineering full time in the booming Atlanta R&B and Hip-Hop music scene. Many of his former Atlanta Pro Audio clients, including Bryan Michael Cox, Anthony Dent, and Tricky Stewart offered him his first break. Dru has recorded, amongst others, Usher, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, T-Pain, Jamie Foxx, India.Arie, Trina, Raven-Symoné, Joe, Kelly Rowland, Stacie Orrico, and Keri Hilson. Dru has also worked on nine Grammy nominated albums.

Music House Studios

On May 23, 2006, Dru Castro opened Music House Studios with fellow Atlanta engineer and friend Alec Newell. The opening of "The Music House" was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. In addition to state of the art recording equipment, the two room 6,800 sq ft (630 m²) facility features four fireplaces, two complete kitchens and a swinging coffee table. Many artists including Keyshia Cole, Usher, Ciara, New Kids on the Block and Nelly have worked at the Music House.

Production

Beginning production work in 2003, his first major release as a producer came in June 2006 on the US #1 Debut Album Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship for India.Arie. He produced and co-wrote the upbeat "I Choose" and a more reflective "This Too Shall Pass". This was followed in July 2008 with the production of the single entitled "Radio" on Musiq Soulchild's fifth album release "On my Radio". In February 2009 India.Arie's Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics was released. Castro produced and recorded 12 songs with .Arie, including the singles "Chocolate High" and "Therapy". Dru continues to produce and record in Atlanta.

Discography

Singles Recorded/Mixed by Dru Castro

Singles Produced by Dru Castro

Grammys

References