Kickless Techno

If you ask about making techno, you will most likely be pointed to the importance of the bass drum (also known as kick) and how much time you need to spend on it to make it “just right.”

Yet at the same time, the genre is praised for the richness and innovation of its rhythms. Problem is, how can you put yourself in the creative mood required to produce these rhythms if you always start with a four-on-the-floor “boom?”

Forget the kick for a while. Go crazy with polyrhythms, syncopation or whatever you feel like. But force yourself not to have anything resembling a metronome.

Add it back at the very end. Let the interesting sounds drive your track. The kick is just there to help people dancing to it.