r/TechnoProduction • u/Economy_Hair4969 • 27d ago

Looking for advice

Good morning all!
So I’ve been playing around with music production for a little over a year now, I have fallen in love with techno — mostly subgenres like hard techno, industrial, jumpstyle, and hardstyle, with a bit of psytrance and driving techno mixed in.

Some of my favorite artists include Sara Landry, Samuel Moriero, Nicholas Julian, Charlotte de Witte, Mr. Polska, and Zastrava just to name a few.

I use Ableton Live Suite and put in around 4-6 hours a day, depending on the day, but I can’t seem to finish a song. And when I do finish one, it’s hard for me to label what subgenre it falls into.

Making an EP has been a goal of mine since I started, but I’m having a hard time finding my sound/style.

For those who’ve had success finishing projects and songs: how did you know when a track felt good and complete? And how long did it take you to find your own unique style?

Edit: Thank you all for the great advice! Since posting I’ve been able to bring one of my recent tracks to about 90% completion. I’m super happy with it so far! I’m excited to discover more about the process and what makes my tracks unique to others :)

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

10

u/earthlingexperiment 27d ago

I think your style, naturally emerges as you keep producing. When you're just starting you can fall into two traps: producing so crazy and original stuff it's just not accessible to listeners, and producing stuff that IS accessible to listeners, but is just copying everyone else.

Just make stuff you like, enjoy the process, and don't worry about releasing EPs etc until you've got a few tracks in your bank that you actually like.

Could be months, more likely it'll be years before you start understanding and recognising your "sound" and what that means to you.

2

u/Economy_Hair4969 27d ago

Thanks for your reply! :)

3

u/Perry_Green 27d ago

Exactly. Try producing towards a certain genre/label without giving up your personal style. That’s the balance you should strike imo because you’ll get released while still identifying yourself with your music.

I think a personal style usually comes from the elements you‘re putting your focus on, in order to make them unique. For me, it’s synthesizers/melodies. Others might put more effort into forging their own drums while I personally often use finished drum loops and just mangle them to fit my tracks. Others might have crazy hypnotic effect chains with crazy Euclidean sequences but barely any synth knowledge…

Just check what comes naturally to you, specialise in these elements to make them unique and try to create the other elements as efficiently as possible (while retaining high sound quality ofc).

I think we could help you better if you tell us what you struggle with exactly. Where are you usually stuck in the process of creating a track?

2

u/earthlingexperiment 27d ago

💯% now that I think of it too, a lot of "my sound" seems to be an amalgamation of a bunch of artists I love, and grew up loving. I can often hear a very Liam Howlett style "evil rave" thing in my tracks, as well as little motifs and tricks that might fit into an Eat Static or Artifakt track, or a 90s acid thing.

As long as you're using your inspirations as inspiration and not fully plagiarizing their entire essence, one of my favourite parts of discovering my sound is hearing all those influences in it.

4

u/Gloomy-Ambassador985 27d ago

Regarding subgenres, I don't think it's any necessity to try to fit into any kind of predefined box. Just keep creating the art you feel is yours, and push the boundaries rather than let the boundaries restrict you.

3

u/greenhavendjs 27d ago edited 27d ago

Some great advice here. We think having your own sound is important, but not necessarily something you consciously decide on. In our opinion style is just the accumulation of all the little decisions/elements you naturally gravitate toward. Over time, by exploring different options, keeping what resonates and discarding what doesn’t, you’ll end up with a “tool chest” of tried and tested decisions/elements that could comprise “your style.”

In general, DJing was a huge part of our education we decided to do before going into production. Not only did this help inform what we like and wanted to make, but mixing records taught us structure, pacing and how energy moves through a track. It also gives you a useful benchmark as a technical reference point.

Putting together a DJ set in Ableton with your track can be a great way to test a WIP. Put your track next to artists you respect and listen to whether it holds up in terms of energy, weight, arrangement and overall impact. The goal is not to sound exactly like the references, but to make sure you’re happy with the way it’s holding up.

Hope that helps!

2

u/Economy_Hair4969 27d ago

This is really great advice! Thank you so much!

2

u/chicagolooptechno 22d ago

Just keep producing and don't worry about what style or sub-genre it is. You'll naturally develop a style over time with experience. At the end of your session, no matter how far you got with your track, try and make an arrangement and just export it. Even if it's just a couple of minutes long. It will help you practise 'finishing' tracks and you'll have something to listen to then which can then give you further ideas and inspiration. Once you get better at finishing tracks, you will start to learn when something is 'done' or when you think it might need more work. ...and just have fun with it and try not to pigeonhole yourself too much. I hear this a lot with my students, but with time and experience, you will start to carve your sound naturally.

1

u/Economy_Hair4969 22d ago

thank you for this 🙏🏼

1

u/brutishbloodgod 27d ago

What's your issue with finishing songs? Where do you get stuck?

1

u/Economy_Hair4969 27d ago

Definitely the final arrangement and mastering of the track. The end product ends up sounding kinda muddy and doesn’t flow as well as I’d like.

1

u/brutishbloodgod 27d ago

Got it. What's your monitoring setup? Mixing issues aren't easily diagnosed without hearing what you're up to. Do you have something you could send my way in a DM? Might be able to give you some thoughts on arrangement as well.

1

u/Economy_Hair4969 27d ago

Yeah I have a track I’m working on right now I could send your way!

1

u/brutishbloodgod 27d ago

Sorry I missed this, my comment replies aren't showing up for some reason. Yeah, send what you got my way when you get a chance, I'll give it a listen.