How It Was Made: Boogie Lights – RISE UP

Image C/O Jessica Dnea

Alright, let’s dig into the story behind DISCO DANCE THERAPY‘s lead single, “RISE UP,” and get into the mix of collaboration, experimentation, and a whole lot of personality that went into bringing this track to life. Denver-based Boogie Lights, known for his blend of funk, house, and bass-driven grooves, tapped into his network of musical friends to create an anthem meant to uplift and bring people together. This track wasn’t just born in the studio; it’s rooted in a collaborative spirit that came together in the VYBE community and really shines in his dynamic live performances.

“RISE UP” started with a bit of spontaneous inspiration—a horn sample from Splice that set the stage for a session with Mocha Music. From there, Boogie Lights and Mocha layered in a punchy house beat and some groovy bass that naturally led to that standout bass drop. The sound evolved even more when Deezy Le Phunk brought his lyrical fire to the verses, and DZIRAE GOLD delivered vocals that add this raw, soulful touch to the chorus. Boogie Lights’ signature production style pulls all these elements together, giving the track that full, live feel even in a studio recording.

Tickets for ‘Boogie Lights & The Boogie Bunch’ @ Cervantes are on sale now

This article will walk you through the creative steps that shaped “RISE UP,” from its first studio sessions to the final recording, including the tools and techniques that Boogie Lights used to get the right sound for each part. It’s a unique look into the process behind a track that’s not just about making people move—it’s about connecting with them on a different level, capturing that “disco dance therapy” vibe Boogie Lights brings to every show.

From here on out, it’s all in the words of Boogie Lights! So listen to the track a couple times to acclimate your ears to what he’ll be sharing before diving into the latest iteration of How It Was Made – Boogie Lights – RISE UP

Hello my funky friends! Stoked to bring you a behind-the-scenes look through the journey of creating this 4-way (technically 5-way) collab track!

The song originally started off as a collaboration between myself and Funky Bass producer Mocha Music back in April, 2024. We talked about working together for a few months while being connected through the local Vibrate Your Best Energy (VYBE) community in Denver. The morning before the session I went scrolling through Splice in search of some funky horns that might be a nice launchpad for the session.

Splice:

It’s funny starting off a feature about studio tools with something that most every producer at least dabbles in, the cloud based sample library platform ‘Splice’. I believe when used correctly, this universally accessible program can be an extremely useful tool when brainstorming or adding some final touches to a track, especially when you don’t have a full horn ensemble at your disposal. My theory with samples/loops is they have to be utilized with your own personal touch. In this case, I found a few horn samples in B minor that I really enjoyed but knew they would need some tweaking. 

With horns and strings, I really love to “splice” together a variety of loops/shots to create whole new parts that feel like they belong as one while having a little more flavor than the generic melodies they often provide. I’m also a big fan of using a mix of ensembles, trumpets, and sax parts to bring a bigger live feel to the sometimes lifeless solo samples that are available. During the initial session we ended up building a super simple bass/synth part for the drop, which led to later on chopping up even more horn parts utilizing samples based around the F# minor and E minor chords. And shoutout to Native Instruments’ Supercharger compressor plugin that can really help bring the most out of some of these clean samples. But more on the bass…

Serum:

For the synth & bass, Mocha Music was experimenting with making some house/bass sounds in Serum inspired by Father Funk. We both really liked how some of the sounds were really simple and familiar but still felt modern. They are mostly just simple wavetables! Artists like Father Funk, The Sponges, and WBBL utilize simple sounds that feel clean but still have that weird punch from the detuned effect that just hits different.

During that first session, we created the house groove that set the tone for the the track. While trying to brainstorm for the second drop, I had the unconventional idea to go from the Funky House groove we set up to completely flip the track on its head with a straight up Bass drop. Mocha had just put out his single ‘Lickity Split’ a week or two before and reminded me of some funky dirty GRiZ style bass and mentioned it would be sweet to inject something similar to the second drop. So the next day he added some halftime drums, a dubstep snare, and some bass presets he recently made and boom! After creating the instrumental blueprint for the track, I knew we needed some powerful vocals to really bring this song home…

Audio-Technica AT2020:

I recently switched over to this Audio-Technica condenser mic for vocal recording. It’s nothing fancy but I really enjoyed the clarity it provided with the medium diaphragm design while recording at my modest apartment studio (pop filter not pictured). That weekend I started writing some lyrics that initially featured my own pitched down vocals for the first verse and chorus but knew we needed a solid vocalist to really let this message shine.

It just so happened that long-time collaborator and Boogie Bunch member Deezy Le Phunk was down in Buena Vista, CO that weekend for a gig (previously featured on ‘We Want Le Phunk’ and the upcoming ‘Universal Language’). So we set up a session that Monday in Denver to have him record the lyrics I wrote that weekend along with the final verse that he wrote on the spot that really tied this whole song together. A month later we were headlining Bluebird Theater in Denver with the full Boogie Lights & The Boogie Bunch which featured the ultra talented vocalist DZIRAE GOLD. Knowing this track needed some extra soul, we had her sing the chorus live that night and it brought a whole new atmosphere and power to the song. ‘RISE UP’ felt like the climax of the whole performance and DZIRAE was a huge reason for that energy. In the green room after the show, I told her we absolutely needed to record her vocals for the final version and it felt like a no-brainer from both parties. Now back to the Deezy session…

Guitar/Pedal Board:

Deezy was with his guitarist CoCo Malone (Collin Thomas) that weekend in Buena Vista and asked if we needed any live guitar for this quickly evolving track. So during that first vocal recording session, we also tracked the guitar parts for the whole song including the nasty solo that really put the whipped cream and cherry on top. 

CoCo brought in his full pedal board that possessed his funky-gritty tones that brought a whole new level to the climax of the song coming directly after Deezy’s razor sharp delivery. Because of the complexity and beefiness that his pedal board provided, the guitar recording really didn’t need much processing on top. Mostly using the previously mentioned Native Instruments’ Supercharger, a custom guitar patch in iZotope’s Neutron 4, and a tiny bit of OTT to help his magical fingers really cut through the mix.

AKAI MPD-32:

Last but certainly not least, THE DRUMS. Originally a drummer before becoming a producer, I really love to put some humanized rhythms in my production. It’s funny thinking back that I first received this piece of gear as a gift from a friend (shout out Joe Park) while on tour with my old college band Soul Junction as a drummer while expressing interest in wanting to produce more. He had recently picked up a new MPD and suggested I bring this back to NY with me. 

10 years later, I’m still using this trusty piece of equipment to record most of my midi drums (even if 2 of the top row pads no longer work, the other 12 still do!). For this track, we had a simple house drop that felt necessary to bring contrast to the rest of the chaos. So I recorded the classic four on the floor house beat with this baby to give it a little humanized swing. Even as a drummer, I’m never perfect or anywhere close to it. So I love the Quantize Settings feature in Ableton to allow you to quantize to a specific percentage.

I feel like this ends up being the perfect happy medium to have the feeling of being on time while still utilizing your actual recording (with a little help from the computer, I don’t know why but 27% feels like my sweet spot for quantization). 

Quick Fire Tips:

Tip #1: Create the music that feels right to you. Don’t be influenced by what everyone else is making. Make it for you and how it makes you feel.

Tip #2: Don’t be afraid to cross genres. This combination of House > Bass shouldn’t make sense but it just does.

Tip #3: While writing lyrics, write what you want to share with the world. Write what speaks to you, not what you think will sell or specifically just what sounds good. 

Tip #4: There’s no rhyme or reason for how long a song takes. Sometimes it comes together over a weekend. Sometimes over a full year. When it’s right, it’s right. 

And that is my very long description of how the track ‘RISE UP’ all came together. It’s the first single off my forthcoming debut album called ‘DISCO DANCE THERAPY’ that will be out on December 6th! Hope you enjoyed this insight to the process and hope you keep rising up together! Cheers, Boogie