How to take hard techno forward

[Sunil]

I think too much thought just throws up more problems, and ultimately will make your tracks sound more and more like the sound your trying to get away from.

Good point. It also means you end up zoning in too much on the pretty slow state of many aspects of the music and scene now. It's more productive to spend time making than thinking about what to make. The thoughts of new techniques etc. will naturally pop into your head if you have a true desire to do something new.

I find it nice to have a serious think about old memories, club nights, magic weekends etc ive had in the past and use this as insipiration for tracks that capture emotions.

For sure. There's often nothing better that kick starts a techno track for me than being out at a club, and with it still being fresh in my mind when I sit down to make music the next day.

The club scene itself will have a big bearing on the future of hard techno or the future sound, particularly as younger producers start and come through. What they hear or see in clubs, or hear from the producers of now will have a big effect...

just throwout that rule book, put all your fave artists out of your mind for a few hours

Yeah, and also the distribution thing mentioned by Tony earlier... this is a major factor in so many samey tracks and records being made today. If you make stuff without the thoughts of particular labels or distributors in your head, it will always serve as a less of a distraction, and lead you to better results. That's why not relying on selling records as a main source of income, is helpful. 'Hobby' producers should seize the advantage they have a bit more perhaps.

Being in your own zone and trying your best to be *you*... is the most important thing. Getting genuinely angry at the state of the scene and quality of a lot of hard techno, may also be a good method for making good tracks ;)

It's good you started this thread Mark, personally though I think as a journalist that a lot of the buck also stops with you. I'm not saying that you don't review good records, but I think it's important to expose the shite just as much as the bad too. Unfortunately very few mags or journalists do this enough even though it's important, especially if there's a mould that needs to be broken.