Looking For Advice On This Kind of Techno...

[subsektuser9000]

I've heard a lot of good things about subsekt for techno production, so I am hoping some of you guys will be able to spare some time to help me out.

I've been producing for over 2+ years now with a main focus on trance but with an strong interest in techno as well. I use Logic.

I am particularly interested in the kind of style of techno that Alex Di Stefano makes.

Here are some example tracks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmnYuPyyw8A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1IQpMspSt4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi45KwBXYxY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNt1DoQEVM0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXYLt1Jkk5I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXYLt1Jkk5I

The first 4 have trancey breakdowns and the last 1 is more of just techno.

A few things that I am struggling with this style:

-That low rumbling kick reverb sidechain. It gives a nice atmosphere and pump throughout the track, and gives the intro of the track some life. I know the basic way to create it, reverb, sidechain, compress, EQ, play with the reverb predelay, etc. But I am struggling to make it sound as good as a professional mixdown. My kick reverb sidechain just doesn't sound as good or powerful.

-His overall drive and arrangement of the tracks. My main genre is trance, so for example, the overall drive/sequencing would be bass, then acids come in, then plucks come in, then you fade in some pads before the breakdown. But for this style, I am struggling to pinpoint what is giving the track more and more energy from bar 33 to bar 49, then to bar 65. For example, in the first youtube track I posted, at 1:27 bar 49 comes in, and from what I hear, I believe some stabs come in and more percussion?

-This leads to the stab design. I'm having a hard to creating those low rumbly, distorted type stabs that Di Stefano likes to use. I can easily make higher pitched square type stabs, but am having trouble getting the lower grungy sounding stabs. The sound itself seems simple, but I find it very hard to make it sit right in the mix. I think an issue may be because there is too much going on in the mids perhaps with the kick reverb, mid percussion, and lower stabs mixed together?

-He does this thing where he puts an offbeat stab on the 4th hit of every bar, which is kind of what I like to do. I'm interested in knowing how he makes those offbeat sounds, I can't tell if it is a synth or some sort of pitched down percussion?

-How does he get that low end groove? Is it a matter of putting together the right rhythm of low end Porc/tom hits?

I'm just having a hard time trying to learn to create this kind of style. I think my 2 biggest issues are the kick reverb and stab sound design/mixing. I will appreciate any kind of advice.

[Lost to the Void]

Just hung a few kicks together, wack some bass under it, stick in a 909 hi hat and some random chord stab with a bit of delay and string it out for 6 mins.
The secret is to use sausage fattener on your master.
You could be the 984th release on Gynoid this year if you play your cards right.

[subsektuser9000]

Just hung a few kicks together, wack some bass under it, stick in a 909 hi hat and some random chord stab with a bit of delay and string it out for 6 mins.
The secret is to use sausage fattener on your master.
You could be the 984th release on Gynoid this year if you play your cards right.

What are you trying to say? Is this a troll attempt? Or are you implying that this style is too boring and basic in your opinion?

I came here to ask for some genuine help as I heard subsekt is very knowledgable when it comes to techno production.

[Pelecaras]

Just hung a few kicks together, wack some bass under it, stick in a 909 hi hat and some random chord stab with a bit of delay and string it out for 6 mins.
The secret is to use sausage fattener on your master.
You could be the 984th release on Gynoid this year if you play your cards right.

What are you trying to say? Is this a troll attempt? Or are you implying that this style is too boring and basic in your opinion?

I came here to ask for some genuine help as I heard subsekt is very knowledgable when it comes to techno production.

just a word of advice to the OP, have a good peruse of the MANY technique topics on this brilliant forum and you'll come across what you're looking for, also try intruducing yourself before you ask for advice, you'll be welcomed warmly into the subsekt cult.
And lastly don't get butt hurt at sarcasm because if you do then you ain't gonna stick around long.

Welcome

[rktic]

What are you trying to say? Is this a troll attempt? Or are you implying that this style is too boring and basic in your opinion?

I came here to ask for some genuine help as I heard subsekt is very knowledgable when it comes to techno production.

Framed in a different way: I think most of the folks who have been around here for long have a different idea of what Techno is about. Or, to illustrate my subsektive understanding:

[over9000]

just try out imo.
theres noone who can tell you what you have to do at bar 49 lol.
just create something and make it fit there..
i have some tracks of this techno/trance fusion style to play out as well, its not that bad imo. Alessandro Spaiani comes to my mind. anyway just listen to their tracks and try to find out what they did. it wont be super complex i guess.

[The_G]

I just looked up Gynoid, since I wasn't aware of the label before.

https://www.residentadvisor.net/record- ... px?id=4068

Some names I haven't heard in ages (probably because I dropped out of the scene for years). Audio Injection, Fanon Flowers, DJ Shiva, etc. Audio Injection used to throw decent hard techno nights in LA. Fanon I was friends with way back in the '90s in Michigan. No idea what their music sounds like now. Gonna check them out.

[dubdub]

The secret is to use sausage fattener on your master.
You could be the 984th release on Gynoid this year if you play your cards right.

You forgot the secret weapon that is Vengeance sample packs!

[WOLF!]

Audio Injection used to throw decent hard techno nights in LA. No idea what their music sounds like now. Gonna check them out.

Audio injection is a very busy man, also under his truncate alias.

[Críoch]

Great username.

[over9000]

Great username.

yeah i felt offended too

[Críoch]

Aye.. Its definitely got a lil' bit from column A and column B

[Lost to the Void]

I just looked up Gynoid, since I wasn't aware of the label before.

https://www.residentadvisor.net/record- ... px?id=4068

Some names I haven't heard in ages (probably because I dropped out of the scene for years). Audio Injection, Fanon Flowers, DJ Shiva, etc. Audio Injection used to throw decent hard techno nights in LA. Fanon I was friends with way back in the '90s in Michigan. No idea what their music sounds like now. Gonna check them out.

I just referenced them because they have 2398 (forgettable) releases per year, not because they make Trancey stuff like OP linked.
They are the ultimate spam label.

[SixOfOne]

Spam is right, when I was buying records regularly a few years ago, one order came with a free Gynoid record. I thought it was because I was buying so much or something but once I played the record I realized the store was probably just trying to get rid of it, absolute muck.

[intrusav]

Haha @ that pic. I would've put techno on the first page and edm on the back cover!!

[Root]

That pic! Summed up precisely . When I started buying vinyls I always thought gynoid is the isht, and then more and more went far away from there. The only one i'm still playing is reprise 2 / mattias - durandal. So damn good in a small room with a huge PA and sweat on the ceiling.

[Mattias]

Let's be fair, under the Gynoid label there are several series that all gets released under the same label name digitally due to distribution; the plain digi series / the main vinyl series (as digital) / the LTD series (as digital) / the Reprise series (as digital). Obviously it's gonna look like tons are released when it's done like that and it comes out digitally (while the vinyls been out months earlier and so on). That label been going for some time and it's a busy one that's been constantly pushing both less established as well as well-known names regularly. I may not agree to all releases on it but Simon, the owner, releases what he likes and I still consider it one of the better labels out there if you're into it style wise. I consider it one of my "home labels" where everyone who have been involved with it are all great people to be around.

[Lost to the Void]

where everyone who have been involved with it are all great people to be around.

All 853,000 of them, how do you even keep track?
Impossible to maintain quality control when you release a gazillion releases across 10 labels or whatever.
157 releases on just one of the many labels under that umbrella alone!!
Insane.
I can`t think of any other label that spams out stuff so rapidly.
One of the worst legacies of the beatport model of record labels is that kind of thing.....
I wasn't even aware they pressed vinyl as well.

Stack em high, sell em cheap, get your techno here!!!

[Mattias]

where everyone who have been involved with it are all great people to be around.

All 853,000 of them, how do you even keep track?
Impossible to maintain quality control when you release a gazillion releases across 10 labels or whatever.
157 releases on just one of the many labels under that umbrella alone!!
Insane.
I can`t think of any other label that spams out stuff so rapidly.
One of the worst legacies of the beatport model of record labels is that kind of thing.....
I wasn't even aware they pressed vinyl as well.

Stack em high, sell em cheap, get your techno here!!!

Your sarcasm aside, it's actually a very well planned structure within the label and it doesn't accept demos, it's not one of those labels that release all demos they get and focus on any random artist so I wouldn't call it spam. It's been around for 7+ years and releases roughly 20 records per year with all of it's different series.
The artist roster is pretty damn solid. The music isn't to your liking, it's understandable but it doesn't mean that putting out a new one each third week is bad in any way unless the quality goes down, no? Many labels does that successfully today without compromising quality so it doesn't have to mean it's cheap at all (unless it's one of those mentioned above labels that release every demo they get). Believe it or not but many people appreciates when a label have a presence these days. Check SOMA, Ovum, Labrynth, MordM AFFIN and others.
Honestly I know few other labels that puts investment into having a busy vinyl release schedule also.

Sure it's not as cred worthy as labels that releases one record every few years, often an obscure one at that, many people are into that kind of thing too.

[dubdub]

I don't know, IMO with the amount of music released today, every label ought to think extra hard about what they release instead of just putting out stuff because they can. Most of the stuff on labels like Mord, Affin, Gynoid, Planet Rhythm etc. is fine, even if most of it isn't my thing personally. Of course, DJs need tools but most of the output on these kind of labels all sounds the same and I just don't see why anyone would need twenty releases a year that you can barely differentiate. Mord is a good example, when they started out it felt fresh and bold but now it's just a new record every month with a distorted 909 kick and sequenced monosynth regis style riffs. Of course, no one is forced to buy anything but that kind of release policy has created an ecosystem where DJs download 200 promos at the airport, they play that for three weeks and then they switch to the next 200 promos, which sound exactly the same. Most modern techno that I hear DJs play now is totally anonymous and disposable and that really kind of depresses me. Of course, it's the DJs fault above all but the labels are driving that kind of ecosystem with their release schedules. If you release a record every three weeks, you obviously don't expect anyone to play your record for more than three weeks. I wasn't around back then but I guess the same thing happened during the height of the whole Prime distribution tribal thing where labels were pumping out records weekly and DJs were playing 40 records and hour that all had bongos and random african samples. There's a reason why that scene collapsed. I don't see modern techno collapsing right now but I kinda wish it did.