Hello there Fil Devious...

I've downloaded a couple of yur mixes`way back, which were of the 'happy go lucky kinda acid techno' side of things, as i remember... :)

Well this is a good start as you have identified the right elements which would purport to the making of a 'techno' genre track... that background atmospheric strange vocal is pretty cool n I like that kind of thing coz your mind makes up what it is saying...

Best thing that was said to me on starting out was listen to what your into (alot!) and emulate it, both in structure and 'feel' using similar sounds... you have done this to a certain point re your break down - which works and i like how it comes back in - - a good pointer is to listen to when changes come in on your fave tracks - -

Look at the mix in your sequencer window and think about what's going on each 4 bars then 8 bars then 16 bars etc. and structure what elements you think will sound right coming in at each of these points, or like whether you 'feeeel' the mix is ready for a new element - picture yourself on the dancefloor as this is a different way of listening to music to being sat at home...

Try this way of approaching your next mix and set this first one aside as you don't wanna fall into the same trap I did and get caught up in trying to make a track work when it is better to move on - - you learn faster that way... groovy