Slow Techno
Production Bible

Kick Design at 100 BPM

The 909 was designed for 130 BPM. At 100, its decay is too short — 600ms of silence between hits exposes every flaw.

Three-Layer Kick Architecture

At slow tempos, the sub tail can extend 200–400ms without interfering with the next hit. But this also means every kick is more exposed — a poorly designed kick at 100 BPM is far more noticeable than one at 135.

Frequency Zones

Phase & Processing

Zoom to sample level — ensure zero-crossings align between layers. Use polarity flip to test. Fade the kick tail rather than relying solely on amp decay — use the filter envelope to close the LP as the kick decays. Add saturation before final EQ to gently tame transients.

Bass as Lead

In minimal techno, bass and lead are rarely separate. The filter cutoff is your instrument — closed it's sub, open it's a lead.

Surgeon literally split the same synth into two mixer channels — one EQ'd for bass, the other delayed by a quarter bar with swept midrange EQ — then performed arrangement by dubbing faders up and down. The bass and lead were the same sound, differentiated only by real-time filtering.

Waveform Selection

The 3 Valid Kick/Bass Configurations

Bodzin's Technique

Bass is "almost always very gritty" with multiband distortion (heavier on low-mids, subtler on highs). Filter cutoff is the primary performance parameter — automated alongside drive, resonance, feedback, glide, detuning, and LFO targets simultaneously. Each creates micro-variation that prevents monotony.

Warmth & Saturation

Multiple gentle stages beat one heavy stage every time. The cumulative effect of subtle processing across the chain creates cohesive analog feel.

Saturation Types

DIY "Sound Heater" Rack

6× Dynamic Tube in series. Vary models (A/B/C), no two identical. Keep everything subtle — magic comes from stacking.

After the 6 tubes: Saturator in Sinoid Fold mode, Drive 0 dB, Dry/Wet 15–25%. Optionally add EQ Eight as gentle LP above 8–10 kHz. Map macros: Drive → all Bias knobs, Tone → all Tone knobs, Saturate → Saturator Dry/Wet.

Radiator Replacement (Ableton Stock)

Saturator in Analog Clip (drive 3–6 dB, Soft Clip on) → EQ Eight (low shelf +2 dB @ 200 Hz, high shelf -2 dB @ 6 kHz) → Dynamic Tube Model B (low drive). This approximates the Altec 1567A tube mixer that Radiator models.

Noise, Hum & Drift

Noise floor as composition: Layer at -30 to -20 dB — felt more than heard. Sidechain to main elements so it breathes. Use Operator (sine at 50/60 Hz + noise osc, very low) or free Izotope Vinyl.

Oscillator drift: Use Diva's Voice Drift knob or Repro's built-in drift. For others: extremely slow sine LFOs (0.01–0.1 Hz) modulating pitch at 0.1–1.5% depth, different rates per oscillator. Route same modulation to resonance and filter frequency at tiny amounts.

Hit Hard = Hit Soft

A track at -8 LUFS with preserved dynamics physically hits harder on a Funktion-One than one crushed to -5 LUFS. The physics are real.

Why This Works

Club limiters: Every club runs limiters. An already-crushed track gets crushed again, destroying transients. Speaker physics: A constantly hot signal keeps cones at high excursion, constantly distorting. Dynamic signals allow speakers to rest, producing cleaner peaks. Human hearing: The ear resets during quiet sections. No quiet = no loud.

Gain Staging Numbers

Sidechain as Architecture

Sidechain compression is structural, not an effect. Standard: compressor on bass, sidechained from kick, 4:1, fast attack, 30ms release, 3–6 dB gain reduction. Advanced: frequency-selective sidechain — compress only below 120 Hz, leaving upper harmonics untouched. Ghost kick: muted kick drives sidechain consistently even when audible kick pattern changes.

Pre-Finish Checklist

• Master peaks at -6 dB, NO limiter while producing
• Kick is loudest peak by 3–6 dB
• Everything below 120 Hz is mono
• High-pass at 35–40 Hz on master
• Kick and bass in the same key
• Phase check: flip polarity on bass, keep whichever sounds fuller
• Bass has harmonics above 100 Hz for small speaker translation
• Sidechain creates silence before each kick
• Spectrum shows energy at 50–150 Hz, not a wall of 20–60 Hz
• Decided: kick owns sub OR bass owns sub — not both

Groove & Micro-Timing

At 100 BPM, a 16th note = 150ms. The same swing percentage shifts offbeats 30% more than at 130 BPM. Use lighter values.

Swing at Slow Tempos

Most minimal techno uses 1/16 swing at 50% — meaning no global swing at all. Groove comes from selective micro-timing offsets on individual hits, not a global parameter. Research confirmed: 10–30ms performer timing deviations trigger stronger physical entrainment than quantized versions.

Velocity Patterns

Hi-hats: descending/ascending pattern on 16ths — 100, 70, 85, 60, 100, 65, 90, 55. Ghost notes at velocity 20–50 on weak subdivisions. Barely audible solo'd, adds movement in context.

Digitakt II Specifics

Conditional triggers: 50–70% probability on non-essential percussion. Lock essential pillars at 100%. A:B format (2:4 = play on 2nd cycle out of 4) turns 1-bar patterns into 4 bars of variation. Combine with free-running LFOs on filter cutoff, decay, and attack for continuous humanization.

Subtractive Arrangement

Build your full loop with ALL elements. Fill the timeline. Then subtract — mute, remove, filter down. It's easier to hear when something is bad than to imagine something good.

The 16-Bar Grid

Typical 7-Minute Arc

0:00–1:00 Sparse filtered intro · 1:00–2:30 Element introduction at 16-bar intervals · 2:30–4:00 Core groove, subtle automation · 4:00–5:00 Tension peak or breakdown, kick drops, filter sweep · 5:00–6:00 Return with full groove · 6:00–7:00 Gradual subtraction back to minimal state

The Rule of Never More Than 5

Never have more than 5 elements playing simultaneously. If you open a 9th track, delete one. One automation per track maximum. Filter cutoff on the bass = your "movement." The track should feel like it's always about to lose something, not gain something.

Reverb & Space

Villalobos: "Dry recordings are timeless, and reverb recordings are always fixed to the time of a technology."

Hood brought Minimal Nation to mastering completely dry. The spatial dimension that defined the album came at the very end, applied by someone with fresh ears. Keep things dry by default. Add reverb with extreme intention.

Reverb Return Processing

High-pass return at 200–600 Hz (prevents mud). Low-pass at 4–8 kHz (prevents metallic harshness). Sidechain return to dry signal — reverb ducks when source plays, blooms in gaps. Pre-delay synced to 1/64 or 1/32 preserves transient clarity.

Dub Delay as Composition

Delay → EQ → reverb → saturation. Remove lows for thin dubby character, remove highs for lo-fi. Placing saturation after delay and reverb mimics redlining the channel on an analog mixer — where classic dub techno warmth actually comes from. Feed ONE hit, delay creates rhythmic pattern. Automate feedback 60–70% for 8 bars, then pull back.

Width Rules

Kick + bass: 100% mono, center, dry. Always. Hats/percussion: slight stereo, subtle delay sends. Pads: wider, reverb sends, but roll off reverb below 200 Hz. Put warmth chain AFTER reverb on return track — makes reverb sound vintage instead of digital.

Frequency & Club Translation

Tracks that sound thin at home sound enormous on club systems. Less low end often = more perceived bass on Funktion-One.

Frequency Allocation

Only ONE element dominates each zone at any moment. Kick and bass take turns — sidechain enforces this mechanically. High-pass non-bass elements aggressively: claps at 300 Hz, hi-hats at 200 Hz+, synths at 80–150 Hz.

Reference with a spectrum analyzer: Load a reference track you love. Compare where energy sits. Match your track to that, not to what your monitors suggest. Excessive sub below 40 Hz eats headroom and creates mud on club systems. Clean, focused bass at 50–80 Hz with harmonics to 200 Hz+ moves the room while staying clear.

The "Between" Sounds

The textures that aren't drums, bass, or pads — the sounds that fill the spaces between — define minimal techno's character more than primary elements.

Filtered Noise Sweeps

White noise → LP filter with ~50% resonance → automate cutoff upward over 8–16 bars → send to ping-pong delay. Automate both HP and LP filters independently for complex movement. Process through long reverb, sidechain to kick for rhythmic pumping.

Resonant Filter Pings

Route a trigger impulse to a filter with resonance set just below self-oscillation. Filter frequency determines the pitch. Result: decaying tonal percussion — snappy and musical. In Diva: crank Ladder or Cascade resonance, use filter envelope as pitch envelope. This is the "Buchla bongo" sound across minimal techno.

Self-Oscillating Filters as Instruments

All oscillators to zero. Crank resonance past self-oscillation. Key tracking to 100% — filter becomes a playable sine oscillator. Modulate cutoff with audio-rate signals for FM-like effects. Ride resonance at the edge of self-oscillation for a "living" filter sound where small automation changes create dramatic shifts.

Tape Hiss / Room Tone

Constant low-level noise through LP at 4–5 kHz on a dedicated always-on track. Makes silence sound full. Sidechain to main elements. This is structural — the "air" that digital production lacks.

Harmony & Theory

Open fifths. No thirds. Hypnotic ambiguity through harmonic stasis.

The Open Fifth

Root + fifth, no third. Without the third, the chord is "chameleon-like" — sounding major where major is expected, minor where minor is expected. In saturated contexts, thirds sound muddy while bare fifths remain crisp. Root + minor seventh (no third) creates suspended, unresolved quality for pads.

Chord Movements

Modal Flavors

Dorian (raised 6th) — brighter minor, groovy. Detroit-influenced. Aeolian (natural minor) — cold, dark. Berlin/Berghain. Phrygian (flat 2nd) — exotic, ritualistic. Dozzy-style hypnotic.

Signal Chain

Cut first, shape second, glue last.

Per-Track Order

Corrective subtractive EQ → Saturation → Compression → Tonal additive EQ. The "EQ sandwich" — cutting before compression prevents resonances from triggering unnecessary gain reduction. Post-compression EQ shapes tone after compression has changed harmonic balance.

Master Bus Chain

HP filter 20–25 Hz (24 dB/oct) → Corrective EQ (subtle moves only) → Optional multiband compressor (2–3 dB max GR per band) → Glue Compressor 2:1–4:1, 10–30ms attack, auto release, 2–4 dB GR → Optional subtle saturation → LP 18–20 kHz → Transparent limiter -1 dBTP ceiling (no more than 3–4 dB reduction)

Soundtoys → Ableton Replacements

Artist Philosophy

Every artist researched — without exception — converges on constraint as creative engine.

"When I didn't have anything, I had to squeeze blood from it. That caused me to really use my mind, which is the most powerful computer in the universe."

— Robert Hood

Hood made Minimal Nation on pawnshop instruments for $100. He traced minimalism to funk breakdowns: "The best part of the record was always the breakdown. I saw what that did to people if you extended that break… Stay in the pocket and watch it put people in a trance."

"Dry recordings can be timeless and reverb recordings are always fixed to the time of a technology."

— Ricardo Villalobos

On soft kicks: "Harder bass drums with long decay don't leave much space in the mix for all the other stuff and details." Tracks that sound enormous in clubs often sound underwhelming at home — by design.

"That thing of when people say 'right then, today, I'm going to make a dark techno track.' That attitude is the absolute recipe for shit music."

— Surgeon

Surgeon split one synth into two channels for the bass/lead duality. He advocates deliberate discomfort: "When you become comfortable — sometimes it's time to tear that all up and become uncomfortable again."

"Creating a repetition in which we feel comfortable. You don't expect annoying elements inside, but rather you get lost in the loop."

— Donato Dozzy

Dozzy and Neel's Voices From The Lake process: after intensive live jamming, they drove 200km in a Mercedes listening through a 9-speaker Bose system without speaking. Then almost entirely reworked the live recording. Willingness to destroy good work in pursuit of the right work.

The Three Recipes

The Rules (All Recipes)

• Pick ONE recipe. Finish in one session. Don't switch synths.
• 8 tracks maximum. Open a 9th? Delete one.
• No presets. Init patch → set values → done (30 seconds).
• Warmth chain on master OR one return — not on every channel.
• Master peaks ~-6 dB. Minimal techno breathes.
• One automation per track max. Filter cutoff on bass = your "movement."
• Arrangement = subtraction. Always about to lose, not gain.

Production Gems

Specific tricks buried in interviews and forums that courses never teach.

The Bodzin Bass Recipe

Bodzin's Glide Manipulation

He changes the glide/portamento amount within a phrase — not just set-and-forget. Some notes slide, others don't. This makes robotic sequences feel human and unpredictable.

Bodzin on Presets

"What's very important is that this synth doesn't save any presets. I have to create any sound from scratch and very much live. This leads to random results, random errors and random highlights."

— Bodzin on the Moog Matriarch

Translation: On your Digitakt 2 and Diva, start from INIT patches every time. Don't load presets. The 30 seconds it takes to build a patch gives you ownership of the sound.

Bodzin on Melody + Sound Design

"A good melody is only half as good with the wrong sounds. With the right sound, that stupid little 3-tone thing becomes a powerful enduring evolving part with character."

Specific Tricks from Felix Lehrer's Workflow

The MusicRadar Minimal Tip

"Program synth patches with short decay times and zero sustain, turning the sound into a series of blips. Decay time can be automated to add interest. A lot of minimal producers get a great deal of mileage out of making tiny, almost imperceptible adjustments to sounds as the track progresses."

Your Gear → Your Recipe

Hood used an Akai XR20, a microKorg, and a Yamaha QY1000. Handheld Japanese electronics and borrowed gear. You have 10× that.

What to Use for Slow Minimal (~100 BPM)

The One-Session Recipe

1. 01 Digitakt 2: program kick + hat + one perc (4 tracks max)
2. 02 Repro-1: make bass patch from init (saw, filter low, glide on)
3. 03 Write 1-bar bass loop, 3 notes maximum
4. 04 Warmth chain on bass, on drum bus, on master
5. 05 One reverb return (plate style) with warmth chain after it
6. 06 One delay return (ping pong or dub)
7. 07 Perform arrangement live in session view → record
8. 08 Edit recording in arrangement view (trim, not add)
9. 09 Total tracks: 6–8 maximum
10. 10 Finish in one session. Export. Move on.

Bodzin's One-Take Method

He performs tracks live rather than building bar-by-bar. His album Boavista came from selecting 25 pieces from a huge collection, editing/sculpting to 17. "Less pondered-over, more direct and immediate."

For you: Stop building 64 bars in arrangement view. Start with 8 bars in session view. Perform variations live with Digitakt 2. Record the performance. THAT is your arrangement. Edit the recording — trim, not add.

Essential Listening

Study these for your specific sound: slow, ~100 BPM, minimal.

What to Listen FOR

• How FEW elements are playing at any moment
• Where the kick's energy sits (not as much sub as you think)
• How dry/wet the mix is (less reverb than you expect)
• The micro-timing relationships between kick, hat, bass
• How filter automation carries the entire emotional arc
• The noise floor — it's always there in the good ones

Hidden Artist Stories

The buried context that changes how you understand the music.

Hood's Actual Gear

Akai XR20 drum machine. microKorg for basslines. Yamaha QY1000 for sequencing. Tiny handheld Japanese electronics and pawnshop instruments for ~$100 each. "When I didn't have anything, I had to squeeze blood from it."

Hood on What Minimal Actually IS

"It's not just about a kick drum, a hi-hat, a bassline or some Morse code sound, for the sake of being minimal. It's about finding rhythm inside rhythms. If you listen closely to some of those tracks, you find other hidden rhythms inside of the rhythm."

Translation: The hi-hat pattern IS a melody. The kick pattern IS an arrangement. The space between hits IS a sound. Stop thinking of drums as "just drums."

Villalobos' "Easy Lee" Story

His wife made him add the bassline. He would have left it as just drums and voice. Sometimes you need someone outside your head. His tight circle is 10–15 people sharing 4 studios behind Berghain. The feedback loop is tiny and trusted.

Villalobos on Groove

"The most important thing about dance, the secret about the dancefloor, is the rhythm. What relationship the bass drum has with the hi-hat, the snare and the bassline in-between — only little differences define whether it is groovy or not."

Translation: Groove is not swing percentage. It's the RELATIONSHIP between timing of kick, hat, snare, and bass. Move the hat 5ms late. Move the bass note 10ms early. Program by feel, not by grid.

Villalobos' Soft Kicks — On Purpose

"His tracks might sound soft at home, but in the night club the story is quite different. Harder bass drums with long decay don't leave much space in the mix for all the other stuff and details."

If your kick sounds "not hard enough" on monitors but the mix has detail and space, it might be PERFECT for a club. Don't judge club music on laptop speakers.

Hood's 909 Approach

Each voice serves a clearly defined role. The kick is not just rhythm — it's the pulse. Hi-hats structure space. Claps/rimshots build tension without overwhelming. He works with subtle variations within static patterns — adding an offbeat, altering velocity minimally, shifting an accent slightly. Alternating higher and lower-pitched kick drums. Using ride cymbals to introduce transitions.

Sources & Further Reading

The actual interviews, forums, and articles this guide is built from. Open in new tabs to go deeper.

Artist Interviews & Profiles

Kick Drum Design

Bass, Saturation & Warmth

Dynamics, Mixing & Club Translation

Groove, Arrangement & Sidechain

Reverb, Delay & Spatial

Filter Techniques & "Between" Sounds

Harmony & Theory