another thought...fwiw,

i dont dj
never have (other than drunken spins at after parties etc).

so from the point of view of just writing the music
i find that it cycles and changes enough so that as
i follow the trail of bread-crumbs the music takes me
to many different places in due course.

when i first met techno it was hard as nails
this was good as i was playin guitar and loved
hard metal sounds.

then breaks influenced me to listen to my old
hip-hop (80s) tapes and videos
which i incorporated into a jackin sorta techno.

now i am listening to old jazz (1930-40) and funk
and exploring finer technicalities of the sound
trying to experiment with mixing newer elements.

i am wading through 40 x old 4 track 7" tapes
filled with Jazz from 1930-40s. A lot of it is drummers
like Louis Bellson & Gene Krupa...
...go figure??