Melodic techno

History and character

Melodic, cinematic techno that established itself in the 2010s around labels such as Innervisions (Dixon, Âme, Frank Wiedemann; Âme's “Rej” dates from 2005) and Afterlife (Tale Of Us, since 2016), with artists such as Stephan Bodzin (Powers of Ten, 2015, with “Singularity”), Mind Against, Adriatique, Kölsch, Patrice Bäumel, Agents Of Time, Massano, Argy and the audiovisual project Anyma (Matteo Milleri of Tale Of Us). In March 2018 Beatport created the “Melodic House & Techno” category to gather this sound.

It combines techno's drive (strong kick, rolling bass) with emotional minor progressions, analog arpeggios, “epic” leads and long, soundtrack-like breakdowns; its influences range from '90s trance and progressive to film music. It is one of the most popular scenes at the big festivals and immersive shows of the 2020s.

Aesthetic: epic, nocturnal, melancholic, spacey; constant tension between machine and emotion.

Scales and keys

Convention: Roman numerals refer to the major scale on the same tonic (uppercase = major, lowercase = minor, ° diminished, ø half-diminished, + augmented; b/# = degree lowered/raised relative to the major: in A minor F = bVI, G = bVII). Notes and chords below are calculated exactly from the formula.

Aeolian

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — steps: T S T T S T T
• On D: D E F G A Bb C
• Diatonic triads: Dm i · Edim ii° · F bIII · Gm iv · Am v · Bb bVI · C bVII
• Seventh chords: Dm7 i7 · Em7b5 iiø7 · Fmaj7 bIIImaj7 · Gm7 iv7 · Am7 v7 · Bbmaj7 bVImaj7 · C7 bVII7
• Characteristic note: the b6 (Bb): the bVI (Bb) is the epic chord.
• Use: i–bVI–bIII–bVII loop (Dm–Bb–F–C), sixteenth-note arpeggios, long leads.
• Common mistakes: too many notes in the lead: slow phrases of 4–8 bars are better.

Phrygian

• Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — steps: S T T T S T T
• On E: E F G A B C D
• Diatonic triads: Em i · F bII · G bIII · Am iv · Bdim v° · C bVI · Dm bvii
• Seventh chords: Em7 i7 · Fmaj7 bIImaj7 · G7 bIII7 · Am7 iv7 · Bm7b5 vø7 · Cmaj7 bVImaj7 · Dm7 bvii7
• Characteristic note: the b2 (F): dark, “Eastern” tension.
• Use: bass riffs and arpeggios with F, i–bII–bIII–bII loops.
• Common mistakes: using it in every track: it loses effectiveness.

Harmonic minor

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 — steps: T S T T S T+S S
• On D: D E F G A Bb C#
• Diatonic triads: Dm i · Edim ii° · Faug bIII+ · Gm iv · A V · Bb bVI · C#dim vii°
• Seventh chords: Dm(maj7) i(maj7) · Em7b5 iiø7 · Fmaj7#5 bIII+maj7 · Gm7 iv7 · A7 V7 · Bbmaj7 bVImaj7 · C#dim7 vii°7
• Characteristic note: the leading tone C# and the augmented second Bb–C#: major dominant (A) for the climaxes.
• Use: i–bVI–iv–V cadence in the break; dramatic leads.
• Common mistakes: using it all the time: it sounds trance/epic.

Dorian

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 — steps: T S T T T S T
• On A: A B C D E F# G
• Diatonic triads: Am i · Bm ii · C bIII · D IV · Em v · F#dim vi° · G bVII
• Seventh chords: Am7 i7 · Bm7 ii7 · Cmaj7 bIIImaj7 · D7 IV7 · Em7 v7 · F#m7b5 viø7 · Gmaj7 bVIImaj7
• Characteristic note: the major sixth (F#): light in the moments of opening up.
• Use: arpeggios that touch F# over an Am pad, major IV (D).
• Common mistakes: mixing F and F# without purpose.

How to choose between scales

Aeolian base; Phrygian colors for the dark part; harmonic minor only at the climaxes; Dorian to open up. Keep the same tonic throughout the track: mode changes over the same pedal are a very effective way to create “chapters”.

Harmony

Function

More harmony than classic techno: loops of 2–4 minor chords, often over a tonic pedal; climax with a cadence to the major dominant.

Techniques

• Bass pedal with chords changing above (Dm–Bb/D–Gm/D–A/C#).
• Sixteenth-note arpeggios with tempo-synced delay (3/16), long filter automation.
• i–bII dyads (Phrygian) for tension.
• Fifth and octave chords in the leads (synthetic power chords).

Harmonic rhythm

1 chord every 2–4 bars.

Examples

• Dm–Bb–F–C (i–bVI–bIII–bVII).
• Dm–Bb/D–Gm/D–A/C# (i–bVI–iv–V).
• Em–F–G–F (i–bII–bIII–bII).

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Feel: straight, driving, 0% swing; movement left to sixteenth-note arpeggios and rolling bass.
• Polyrhythms from 3/16 delay and odd-length arpeggios.
• Long breakdowns (32+ bars) with the kick returning after a silence.

Drums

Kick

On every quarter note, deep and long (fundamental 45–55 Hz), with rumble; very powerful.

Clap

Clap on 2 and 4 with long reverb, or just rim.

Hi-hat and ride

Open hat on the offbeat, hats in sixteenth notes, ride in the main sections.

Percussion

Filtered toms, metallic perc, noises.

Dynamics and ghost notes

Fixed velocities, long automation.

Interaction with bass

Sixteenth-note rolling bass between the kicks; strong sidechain.

Sections

Intro, build with arpeggio, main, long breakdown with lead, drop with everything, outro.

Fills and transitions

Snare/clap rolls, long risers, reverses.

Sound choice

Powerful 909 and modern samples, lots of reverb on the claps.

Typical mistakes

Kick that leaves no space for the rolling bass; claps that are too dry.

Bass

• Sound: analog rolling bass (Moog, Juno) in sixteenth notes, filtered saw with short decay; separate sub.
• Register: D1–D2.
• With the kick: the three sixteenth notes after the kick (.xxx) or offbeat; sidechain 6–10 dB.
• Notes: tonic (pedal) or chord roots.

Harmonic instruments

Dark, wide pads, analog arpeggios, synthetic strings, piano in the breakdowns, moderate “supersaws” at the climaxes.

Melody and vocals

• Lead: analog, epic, with glide and vibrato; long phrases; often in octaves.
• Vocals: rare, ethereal (Anyma with guest vocalists), long phrases.
• Effects: dotted 1/8 ping-pong delay, enormous reverbs (hall 5–10 s), saturation.

Instruments

Analog synths (Moog One/Sub 37/Minimoog, Prophet, Juno, Jupiter, Oberheim), virtual (Diva, Repro, Pigments), drum machines and samples, sequencers, FX.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Mini V — Lead and rolling bass: Warm lead with 50–100 ms glide; rolling bass with 100 ms decay.
• Prophet-5 V — Arpeggios: Saw, filter at 30%, fast env, 1/16 arpeggiator, 3/16 delay.
• CS-80 V — Epic leads: Leads with ribbon and aftertouch for expressive vibrato, Vangelis style.
• Matrix-12 V — Evolving pads: Pads with slow modulations for the breakdowns.
• Jup-8 V — Pads and strings: Wide pads and synthetic strings.

Song structure

6–8 minutes.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Big, deep and powerful: massive but clean low end, bright arpeggios and leads, immense but controlled reverbs. References: Tale Of Us & Vaal — Monument, Stephan Bodzin — Singularity, Anyma.

Kick

HP 25 Hz; +2 dB 50 Hz; −4 dB 300 Hz; +2 dB 4 kHz; clipper; mono; separate rumble.

Clap

HP 250 Hz; hall 2–3 s; pre-delay 20 ms; filtered return.

Hi-hat, ride, perc

HP 500 Hz; dynamic EQ 8 kHz; wide panning; 1/16 delay.

Rolling bass and sub

HP 25 Hz; LP 300 Hz (rolling) / 120 Hz (sub); 4:1 GR 4 dB; mono; sidechain 6–10 dB.

Arpeggios, pads, leads

HP 150–250 Hz; −3 dB 300–500 Hz; +2 dB 2–4 kHz arpeggios/leads; pad LP 8 kHz; hall 5–10 s on pads and leads (HP 300 Hz on the return); dotted 1/8 ping-pong delay; wide; tape; sidechain 4–8 dB; long automation.

Vocals

HP 100 Hz; opto 4 dB; de-esser; long hall + delay; centered.

FX

Long risers, impacts, reverses; sidechain.

Buses and groups

Drum bus (glue + clipper), mono low-end bus, synth bus, sidechained reverb bus.

Sidechain

Bass 6–10 dB, pad 6–8 dB, reverbs 6–8 dB.

Master

EQ → compressor 1–2 dB → clipper → limiter. Target −8/−7 LUFS integrated, true peak −1/−0.5 dBTP, crest factor 7–9 dB.

Common mistakes

Reverbs that muddy everything; harsh arpeggios; low end that cancels out in mono; breakdown without dynamic contrast.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Stephan Bodzin — Singularity (2015)
• Tale Of Us & Vaal — Monument (2017)
• Âme — Rej (2005)

Reference listening

• Âme — Rej (2005)
• Stephan Bodzin — Singularity (2015)
• Tale Of Us & Vaal — Monument (2017)