In short. A bouyon is built in five steps: set the tempo (152 BPM classic, 160 for hardcore), lay down a drum machine that holds the loop without drifting, build the gaps that make people dance, dress it with the island's percussion (lapo kabwit first), then put the voices on the riddim. For this exercise, focus on the loop’s steadiness and the space between sounds.
Work through five areas: tempo, the rhythmic loop, space, percussion and vocals. Each section offers something to listen for or try in your own track.
Set the tempo
Everything starts with a number: 152 BPM for classic bouyon, up to 160 BPM for Guadeloupe's hardcore bouyon. These settings offer a starting point for a loop; tempo alone does not define the genre.
Keep the same loop and try a few tempo settings. Listen for changes in the vocal placement and the space between hits.
Lay down the machine
The TR-505 is a documented example of a drum machine. Roland’s specifications list 16 drum voices and a production period of 1986–1990.
Start a loop in your drum machine or sequencer with a kick and snare. Listen to that pattern with the vocal. Change one element at a time so you can compare the result.
Build the gaps
Try removing some percussion hits to create space in the loop. Replay the passage with the vocal and compare the movement before and after the change.
Concretely: you don't fill the space. You remove elements, you prepare breaks, you shape the moment where the beat breathes. The genre's artists often build an instrumental break that serves as the dance moment, it's the one everyone waits for at a party, the one that goes viral on video.
Dress it with the island's percussion
For percussion, listen to Dominica's textures: the lapo kabwit drum first, and the jing ping heritage, laid over the electronic layer. That's the blend WCK founded in 1988: the carnival's percussion inside the machine, not next to it.
If you have the separate tracks in your project, mute the vocal and listen to each percussion part. Bring the vocal back to hear how they interact.
Put the voices on the riddim
Last step: the voices. Bouyon works in riddims: a fixed instrumental chassis that several voices can share, each recording their own single on the same base. It's a production economy and a stage culture at once.
Today's scene turned it into a format: the one riddim. In June 2023, the Keneth Riddim had the New Bouyon Wave's voices rotating on one instrumental, four singles, one common base. A well-built instrumental can carry a whole team of voices, in Creole or in English.
Three listens to LIKE YOU
Open the LIKE YOU player and video, by TIITII NBA featuring DJ LUCHSHIY. Follow the pulse on your first listen. On the next, focus on the voice. Then listen for changes in the accompaniment. Replay the same passage to compare what you notice.
The official animated video on TIITII NBA’s YouTube channel accompanies this listening exercise with the released track.
FAQ : frequently asked questions about bouyon production
How do you produce a bouyon? Five steps: set the tempo (152 BPM classic, 160 for hardcore), lay down a drum machine that holds the loop without drifting, build the gaps that make people dance, dress it with the island's percussion (lapo kabwit first), then put the voices on the riddim.
What BPM is bouyon? 152 BPM for classic bouyon, up to 160 BPM for Guadeloupe's hardcore bouyon. Use these as tempo references rather than a complete definition of the genre.
What gear do you need to produce bouyon? Program a loop with a drum machine or a sequencer. The TR-505 is a documented example: Roland lists 16 drum voices and a production period of 1986–1990. Try your loop with the vocal, then adjust the rhythm.
What is a riddim in bouyon? A fixed instrumental chassis that several voices share: each records their own single on the same base. In June 2023, the Keneth Riddim had the New Bouyon Wave's voices rotating on one instrumental.
What makes a release sound like bouyon? Four markers: a fast tempo (152-160 BPM), a steady drum machine as the engine, gaps built for the dance, and the percussion textures inherited from Dominica (lapo kabwit, jing ping).
Going further
Before bouyon. Chapter I. The birth of bouyon in Roseau: what WCK assembled in 1988.
Warm Up: bouyon slows down. Chapter VIII. Bouyon's tempo and how it gets modulated at parties.
How to dance bouyon. The other side of the same guide: what the body does with those 152 BPM.
The best bouyon artists 2026. The complete bouyon listening guide.
How to read this guide
This guide stays alive: production habits evolve with each generation of the scene. If you produce bouyon and want to refine a step, a machine or a format, leave a message in the comments, every sourced addition enriches the guide.
→ Back to the Bouyon hub · How to dance bouyon · All chapters
