Producing Songs I’ve Never Heard: Leave Me Alone by Reneé Rapp [EPISODE 08]
What if Leave Me Alone was electronic instead of punk?
Happy Pride Month! 🌈
Reneé Rapp finally released a new song and I couldn’t resist using it in this series ASAP. Everyone’s been talking about Leave Me Alone and I was so excited to finally get to listen. As usual, I didn’t know too much going in — but I did catch a clip of an interview where she compared the song to APT. by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars, so I had a hunch it would be fun and upbeat.
The last couple of songs I’ve tackled for this series leaned more chill, so I was ready to work on something with some energy behind it. The acapella did not disappoint, this vocal had attitude and oomph. I wasn’t sure what the original production would sound like, but I knew I wanted my version to bring in a little K-pop fun with an electronic soundscape.
🎤 Here’s the acapella if you want to play along and hear what I heard first:
As always, I stuck to using just one Splice pack — this week: Ocean of Dreams MEGAMIX, a hollow moment - by Moment. This one also came with Serum 2 presets, which I hadn’t used before, so I got to experiment with the plugin for the first time too.
My first instinct (no surprise) was to start with drums and bass. There are two main melodic sections in the vocal, and honestly? Either could’ve been the hook. It felt natural to follow that arrangement in the production: I wanted a juxtaposition between the punchy “leave me alone” sections and the more fluid “can I tell you a secret?” moments.
I think I pulled it off by letting just the bass and drums drive the verses, then transitioning into a floaty pad to build the main chord progression in the in-between. Honestly? With a little polish, this might be a version I’d actually want to release. (Someone start a petition for Reneé to put it out as a remix lol.)
🎧 Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:
When I finally listened to Reneé’s version, it was cool to hear where they took it. The production leans more alt rock - electric guitars, live drums, a little more edge. But I was surprised to find that the arrangement structure was actually pretty similar to mine. Even though we’re working in totally different genres, both versions let the vocal sections breathe and contrast in a way that works really well.
What did you think?
Did you vibe with the punk edge of the original, or did you prefer the electronic spin I put on it? Let me know in the comments!
⏩️ New Single: lay low is finally here!
Last week I released my latest single lay low — now streaming on all platforms!
It’s a dark alt-pop track about stepping into your independence and embracing your own lane.
Take a listen, share it, and add it to your favorite playlists <3 https://bit.ly/3SrD5hE
If you’d like to check out the other episodes in this series, you can find them all here :)
another great version from you!! lay low has been on repeat 💅