Slow your temp.
P-Lock some randomness to the beat.
Midi ARP some loosy juicy bass.
No more techno.
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Plenty of great ideas here. Here’s a very different take…
Give in to it. Go with what is “natural” to you. Make MORE techno, but make that techno do new things for you.
Tell the world your dreams and fears, as techno. Do whatever you were doing before but make it sadder, happier, sexier, more analytical. Talk about the pleasure of a Sunday afternoon cup of tea, in techno. Chat up a paramour at the bar, as techno. Create a story (in words) about something that interests you, and make its soundtrack, in techno.
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Blimey this got busy.
Thanks everyone. I’ve started to create some hip hop and it’s so fun. I’ve been experimenting with poly meters also. I’ll get there 
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Yeah, it’s origins are almost all drums and percussion. Toms or kicks used for bass, I just call that the bass (silly words).
Heavily lowpass filtered sounds at a minimum.
It has evolved some since then though. More synth stuff is heard and even some darker melodies. That underlying (or in your face) drums and percussion style is probably why people call it Techno.
Styles that expand or evolve seem to stick around over the years (house and techno for example) vs ones that don’t.
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and that’s the reason why i always end replacing everything with metallic FM sounds and making another industrial track 
anyway, your advices sound fine to me, i’ll try.
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…whatever kind of techno ur referring to…what this strain of music has in common is the simplicity of stompin’ straight four to the floor…
so, if u don’t want ur sonic efforts always end up in techno, all u gotto to do is not programming straight quarter downbeat kiks…avoid the obvious…
overall tempi and different downbeatsignatures than the most obvious one are THE first and last element to divide and define whole genres…
ur music…ur sonic cake…ur taste…ur choice…
change ur pattern…
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I’m avoiding the 4 on the floor but still, it’s ends up techno.
Using sample chains and not worrying about perfection and slowing down is helping. If I could make a set that starts hip hop and goes to techno via some Thom Yorke style stuff over an hour id be happy. But start techno and end at techno via techno… I get grumpy.
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Haha, same here. Except the longer I work on something, the more it’ll sound like a bad impression of Pet Shop Boys. No way around it. I’ll start with something dark, or industrial, or noisy or techno. And some adjustments later, it will have turned into a pop song all by itself. I cannot not make something friendly.
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If i would be only able to make techno, i mean like started breakbeat - jungle - hiphop and usually ending with techno.
- I would embrace it.
- Because i would end up being productive (because i didn’t care about the result, it’s techno fine whatever.)
- My Techno would be different because inside there would be traces of many other styles of music
- Then when my discography will be something i would find another alias
- And i would pair with someone into a different music genre
Sometimes the solution could also be different than what we seek-think
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…the exact opposite here…
whatever i do…it ends up melancholic and darkish…no matter what the kik says…
Yeah, seems to have resonated with a lot of folks. Lots of great suggestions. So thanks for starting this thread.
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One thing you can try is watching other music genre tutorial on synthesis and try to design sounds from different music genre. (for your A4)
Fill the OT and the AR with different drums like acoustic, linndrum… acoustic sounds for melodic sample… Some hits like horn, brass
Stuff or things from a sound point of view that take you away from techno.
After that, Try to make jungle or broken music.
Music is also “the actual mood” so try to change your mood before to make music.
Cut you from your main environement and go make music elesewhere…
Try to get rid of the drums and make music without drums like ambient or something.
Delete all TB303, TR808, TR909, SH101, DX7… JUNO… Don 't use the delay
And make two audio snippets (with clyp.it or soundcloud) :
1/ the starter idea
2/ write on a piece of paper : what makes you go off the rails on techno (if you are able to identify)
3/ what you end up with
And post it there so we can listen
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I had the same thing. I wanted to go into electro territory, but ended up with techno.
Yes, I agree with most of the posts telling you to change the bpm. BUT. Turn it up. Go for 170 bpm and try some d’n’b for a change.
For me, I didn’t like techno when it went too fast. So there was no way I ended up with a fttf beat.
I ended up with some decent dnb and that helped me to somehow set ma mind free…
Try it for one session.
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If you have any gear that will allow it, let the bpm fluctuate. I know the evolver and the microfreak can both have bpm set as a mod destination, there are probably others. It doesn’t tend to feel like techno when the tempo is constantly changing.
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Techno beats are good, what’s bad in that groove?
But if you are sad about it, try to forbid kick drums. If you fall in techno again, forbid drums at all and make drones instead or enjoy pure synths textures.
And in the end make techno again, who cares! It is not a sin.
“Tell me your sins son.”
“Excuse me father… I made techno again”
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Such a good thread title
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Yeah, familiar problem😂 you start out with something mellow and an hour later you gravitated towards utter brutality. Doesn’t have to be bad though🤔
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This title still makes me laugh. Did you find some peace (or sleep) yet?
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I’ve not turned the hardware on since, I’m just playing piano. Training myself to do melody. Also playing in Ableton, again with melody.
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Then you did really stick to it, the change of pace. Good on you. Although I’ll miss the mental image of you frantically making techno without eating or sleeping.
Why through Ableton? To use for different piano’s, or?