Techno is an interesting genre of electronic music. In this article, we will tell you how to make a techno beat with AI.
The repeating, hypnotic rhythms and aggressive synths are so interesting to work with.
It’s so cool throwing that classic four on the floor kick pattern underneath a pulsing baseline or synth part.
With tons of great techno samples to work with on LANDR samples, we’ll see what Selector recommends a music producer uses to make his own techno track.
We are going to focus his search on melodic lines, instead of drum parts.
The drums are the most important part of any techno beat.
There’s a lot of subtlety involved with making techno drums sound right, so he just find some good drum samples he can use in my drum machine, and have Selector recommend him the melodic parts for his track.
Starter sample: ES TEMDS Synth Loops
He thought this sample made for a good place to start with his techno track. The reason why is that it has four distinct synth stabs that he can chop up in my sampler and use in different ways.
He also like that it has a minimalist quality that lines up with the kind of minimal techno he loves.
There’s a good amount of delay in the track too. So he think this will result in some interesting melodic rhythms when he add even more delay in my sampler.
Now that he has a starting point lets see what Selector recommends to him based on this sample.
Selection one: DARKM2 Dark Sequences
When he pulled the Selector results for his starter sample this one immediately stood out to him.
I liked a couple things about it in particular–the airy noise in the background, dark melody, and the rhythmic sidechain effect you can hear throughout the sample.
Sidechaining is a really useful effect that you can hear in almost all forms of electronic music.
Pay attention to how the volume ducks to the beat in this sample.
On every downbeat, you should reduce the volume to create a subtle rhythm in the background.
This is done by putting sidechain compression on the track.
We’ve written about sidechaining before, but in short sidechain compression works by using one track to control and reduce the volume of another track using a noise threshold, attack and release.
Usually, the element that used to lower the other track’s volume is a kick. This makes the kicks more audible, but it also adds a distinct rhythmic feeling to the rest of the track.
In this sample, you can’t hear whatever instrument is controlling the volume of the sidechain which is why the volume very clearly ducks on each downbeat.
Selection two: SS9 1 Bass Clarinet
When he hit the Selector button, the Dark Sequences sample returned some pretty surprising results.
Specifically, it returned this Bass Clarinet sample that immediately caught his ear.
Orchestral excerpts aren’t something you’d normally associate with a techno track.
But in reality, a lot of electronic music was inspired by modern orchestral works like Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich which prominently featured the bass clarinet.
In this case, he thinks the bass clarinet could be used as a punchy melodic line that sounds more unique and interesting than any synth part could, especially if I play with pitch and effects on it.
Selection three: 003 Atmosphere
Atmospheric samples are always a wonderful way to add depth and character to any track, especially in a techno setting.
He was drawn to this sample in particular because it had such a gritty nature that he thinks compliments the Dark Sequences sample he picked earlier.
It has a dark and creepy quality that he really likes and since he’s planning on creating a minimal dark techno track it’s perfect.
Here’s a great video about making ambient pads of your own!
Selection four: WISR5 5 Conga
He already has a bunch of good melody and texture samples so he starts thinking about the drums for the loop he chooses.
He’s always loved how congas sound when used in electronic music, so he immediately gravitated towards this pulsing conga loop.
He thinks it will sound great once layered overtop of the kicks, snares, and hi-hats that he’ll use in his track.
The final product
Alright, He has a bunch of great samples to inspire his new techno track.
Here’s what he made once he compiled them into his Digital sampler.
Of course, don’t forget to master your track to finish the process.