Looking for my way back.

[speen]

If you want to get shit done, I'd say go for 8:08 or even 7:07 even though it will put you in a more groovy mood

[Críoch]

Another thing that can be cool is to rip some audio from YT & chop it up in a simpler & play some slices (ARP & octaves ) & record the results of tweaking. The sensitivity amount in simpler can't be automated, but you can record the results all the same.

Finding an interesting sound when reversed or pitched down / played in a chord can set you off in another direction.

Doing this to your own music can be wild. Bouncing out some stale loop . Or element . Then playing with slices in a sampler. Pitching down. Hip-hop MPC Style. You can discover some interesting rhythms and textures that are impossible to program any other way.

I spent some time recording shitty 70s sci-fi sound effect albums & other vinyl sfx things last night. Really shitty quality.. but dunno.. they have interesting sounds. Sometimes that's all You need to lift or redirect something that's too straight. Sampler food.

[Be without]

Another thing that can be cool is to rip some audio from YT & chop it up in a simpler & play some slices (ARP & octaves ) & record the results of tweaking. The sensitivity amount in simpler can't be automated, but you can record the results all the same.

Finding an interesting sound when reversed or pitched down / played in a chord can set you off in another direction.

Doing this to your own music can be wild. Bouncing out some stale loop . Or element . Then playing with slices in a sampler. Pitching down. Hip-hop MPC Style. You can discover some interesting rhythms and textures that are impossible to program any other way.

I spent some time recording shitty 70s sci-fi sound effect albums & other vinyl sfx things last night. Really shitty quality.. but dunno.. they have interesting sounds. Sometimes that's all You need to lift or redirect something that's too straight. Sampler food.

That’s some great advice. I’ll be trying this.

[subvers^v]

Try setting your alarm clock at 9:09.
That way, you immediately get into a techno mindset from the moment you wake up.

That works best if you go to bed at 3:03 the night before

[pupps]

I've been struggling with making music, or more, the idea of it for a bit too. When asking yourself, do I want to make music because I like it when it's done and I can be happy with the result, or do I like the process? I came to the conclusion that for me it was neither, so I just quit completely for a while. It's best to go into it without preconceptions, thinking "I'm gonna make some banging hot shit techno now" could well be counterproductive, as you're limiting yourself severely.

And knowing this doesn't necessarily help either, you can only control your subconscious up to a certain level, at least that's how it is for me. So deciding to make another genre can help for a bit, but you'll eventually hit the same wall again trying to make some banging polka tune or whatever. Trying just to let go of any preconceptions is probably the best way to get into it again, though I feel it's also the hardest part.

So true. From what Ive read this comment gets the closer to the root of the problem
Workflow infuences the result the most.
When creativity is blocked, it doesnt work to force it, its better to let go, reflect and have different intentions of doing things
I think with music or art we all have more a less a purpose or intentions set on why we wanna do it and what we wanna channel
Putting yourself the pressure to perform good or expect to get a settled result is maybe sabotaging the process
I guess you can't be really happy about what you do if you do it like a robot

Maybe let yourself feel your inner, whatever you feel in the moment and let it translate to your music
imagine how would sound what you feel
Frustration could sound great

good luck let us know how it went

[Stace]

Wowweeeee!!! Subskekt, you've totally delivered. You really have. Thank you!

There's some actual gold in here. I am going to try all of these things. I'm so keen at the moment to try some new things and ways of working.

I'd been thinking about what I've been doing that I've been finding hard.

I think this has been my main "mistake" was I got stuck in the loop, constantly and often fucking about with it ENDLESSLY - this wasn't an issue when I was using Logic 9 as I just didn't have the ability to not build a track at all, yeah, I could have looped but it didn't really lend itself to that very well.
I jumped on a mentoring thing with Martyn, which I happened to find literally after I made the OP and we went through arrangement on Friday and that was the one thing that he said.
It's about getting an idea down and then going back and tweaking it, for what I'm doing anyway.

The second thing that had been troubling me was the whole bullshit of "Techno Twitter" I've got (hopefully) some stuff coming out this year and there's just so much drama and associated bullshit that goes with trying to get heard.
I don't want to get caught up in all the DrAmAz that go on there and I don't want the only reason people remotely know who I am is from that, which there is a hell of a lot of. So I've muted all that shit on there now because there is some really decent stuff and people to connect with on there.

I think somewhere in me, I've got some stories to tell and I want to do that by making music, I got lost and confused along the way and I'm sure I will again so maybe this can be a note to my future self.

[Oktagon]

Many ways to get out of a creative rut but I've found moving away from the computer to hardware (without patch recall) has been a big step forward because:

- Forces me to commit to audio straight away, no endless noodling
- Not looking at a computer screen all the time seems to focus my brain more on the sounds I'm making
- Also an improvement in the complexity of sound I get 'out of the box' although this is less important I think

On the down side it's all bloody expensive and I still do my drums/fx/mix in the box but that's fine with me.

No it's not a magic fix (sometimes you'll sit down with the hardware and feel uninspired) but it's definitely progress for me.

[nomadjames]

You know, when I'm stuck and just not digging it, I stop. I'm always reading shit, and watching videos, and some times I'm even just fucking around with music (chopping breaks, playing with synths and shit, etc.) but I just stop...Or I'm worn out from the real world and I just stop...As soon as I come back to it, though, so many things click, things I never even thought about.

If you can, just keep working on your craft. Eventually a tune will pop out, lol.

[m_mori]

Agree with the comments above try to go to art galleries, museums and other cultural and art events that might inspire you. You can also try to compare a track you made in de past couple of days to a track that you made when you felt better about your music and try to write down every differences you. This might help you to get to the source of the problem. Anyway, good luck and I'm sure you'll get back tobwherenyoubwant to be if you keep going!

[timc3]

I find watching films, documentaries, playing some games also inspires me.

When I am stuck in a rut, I usually just mess around with sound design or my modular.

[Críoch]

Yet again, drum & bass production techniques provide me with loads of inspiration. They're legends of modulation, surgical character & energy. If anyone is bored or wants to get some different synth programming ideas, DnB can be an eye opener.

[Barfunkel]

Yet again, drum & bass production techniques provide me with loads of inspiration. They're legends of modulation, surgical character & energy. If anyone is bored or wants to get some different synth programming ideas, DnB can be an eye opener.

I've noticed that if I wanna make house or techno it's very easy to stagnate, basically make hundreds of pastiches of my own work, ending up with no progress. Doing something completely different, be it d&b or whatever, REALLY helps in finding new ideas, both musical and technical.

I often have these music psychoses, ie. I get really excited about something new or different. They last usually a few months, during which I try to learn some production tricks related to them. When I go back to my standard house and techno I'm always better than before.

So definitely try something new Stace. Doesn't have to even be electronic or dance music. Learning blues guitar or such would probably do the trick as well. Whatever suits you.