I’m trying to make autonomic/minimal style drum and bass using my digitakt and digitone. For those not familiar, its kind of a minimal half-step drum and bass sound, atmospheric and moody, often melodic. I really want to make my tunes sound futuristic, digital, dystopian. A few example tunes are below. Any suggestions or advice? So far everything always sounds empty or boring or just not right 
“Autonomic” what a very cool word!
listening to the first example … immediate response: i love it!
just played a gig at a pub and one of the ‘improvements’ on my style of playing a pub venue needs to be: much less of the bass drum. (was playing minimal techno funk meets 80’s synth pop).
this style sounds perfect to explore.
what takes this first track next level is the guitar that comes in at 1:55.
i would suggest mapping out the arrangement of this song on paper, specifications of bars per ‘section’ and also length of time in minutes/seconds per ‘section’.
the ‘drop’ is kind of important. at 2:55.
write a short thesis of 100 words or more detailing what exactly goes on there.
emulate the drum part exactly on your drum machine, it’s okay if the sounds are approximations, but do try and get that pattern sequence sorted almost perfect.
there are variations of the drum section rhythm, and it’s difficult to define what they are. it’s like a drum fill but it isn’t. the change/s in the drum start to appear 80 percent in to a ‘section’.
after the drums start changing a bit, then something happens, and the new ‘section’ is its own character and yet has at least 70 percent of the previous elements, possibly altered slightly.
the next track up by Synkro, i’m immediately noticing the bird-like sound’s tasteful velvety reverb and the seemingly integrated delay. and the sound has an industrial sound, could be made by a Nord Lead IV, or perhaps a sample from the seminal sample cd “Fields of Motion”.
the drum track is sequenced except for the snare-fill/improv, that’s a sample snippet from an audio loop most likely sampled from vinyl.
Some great advice in here, thanks! This especially:
i would suggest mapping out the arrangement of this song on paper, specifications of bars per ‘section’ and also length of time in minutes/seconds per ‘section’.
also the volume level is always changing, or getting ready to change.
i guess this element is more to do with arrangement, bringing sections in, while getting ready to fade sections out.
but the overall effect is a gentle waviness in the landscape of the song.
the dynamic is not so much rippling as pulsing up and down in presence.
although sometimes the drums do take slightly more precedence and bring the overall volume texture up to a more steady and less oscillating vibe.