Boogie
Disco · 1979 · 105 to 120 BPM
Boogie is what American disco became after the backlash of 1979: slower, funkier, more electronic. The bass line moved from live players to keyboard synthesizers, drum machines took over from real drummers, and the lush orchestral arrangements of disco disappeared. The groove tightened around 110 beats per minute. Record diggers coined the name boogie long after these records were made, and the style became one of the foundations of the West Coast sound and of the warmest strains of house music.
11 reference tracks
- Vaughan Mason & Crew: Bounce Rock Skate Roll (1979)
- Rick James: Give It To Me Baby (1981)
- Evelyn King: Love Come Down (1982)
- One Way: Cutie Pie (1982)
- Kashif: Help Yourself To My Love (1983)
- Parcels: Comingback (2021)
- Silk Sonic: Skate (2021)
- D Train: You re The One For Me (1981)
- Mousse T. Feat. Cleah: Melodie (2024)
- Tuxedo: I Like It (Money Crazy) (2025)
- Ernie & The Family McKone Feat. Laura Jackson: That Girl (2025)
At a glance
- Tempo: 105 to 120 BPM
- First appeared: around 1979
- Machines: Minimoog, Fender Rhodes, Hohner Clavinet, LinnDrum, Roland TR-808, Talkbox
- The sound: Basse synthé Minimoog, Clavinet et Rhodes
- Labels: Solar, Sam Records, Star Creature, Prelude, PPU
- Key artists: D-Train, Kashif, Leroy Burgess, Zapp, Aurra
Producing Boogie
Boogie runs 100 to 118 BPM, centered on 108 to 112, with a funky 56 to 60 percent swing on the sixteenths, everything lagging behind the beat except the kick. A LinnDrum or TR-808 plays it funky: kick on one, the upbeat of two and sometimes beat three, snare doubled with a clap on two and four, sixteenth hats accented on the eighths with an open hat late in the bar, plus rimshots and cowbell. The bass moves to a keyboard, a Minimoog or Prophet-5, sawtooth through a resonant filter opening on the attack, short release, some glide, playing a syncopated, almost slapped sixteenth note line that trades with the kick. Rhodes chords, wah clavinet, a talkbox line, synth horns and strings, and warm stacked R&B vocals complete the sound.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Boogie?
Boogie is what American disco became after the backlash of 1979: slower, funkier, more electronic. The bass line moved from live players to keyboard synthesizers, drum machines took over from real drummers, and the lush orchestral arrangements of disco disappeared. The groove tightened around 110…
What tempo is Boogie played at?
Between 105 and 120 BPM.
Who are the key Boogie artists?
D-Train, Kashif, Leroy Burgess, Zapp, Aurra.
