How to Make High-Quality Tracks for Defined Sound Records

At Defined Sound Records, we are an independent electronic music label that focuses on house and melodic techno. Creating tracks for our label means we want to hear the best house and melodic techno tracks. High-quality tracks aren't just about the quality of the track encoding; they also require ensuring the tracks fit the type of music the label is looking for. We will focus on house and melodic techno here, but you can find things you can take into other genres as well.

What you can do to improve the quality of your tracks

Creating great house tracks and melodic techno tracks requires taking into consideration the things that make those genres so great. There are also a good number of pitfalls that can turn your tracks from something amazing to mediocre. Here are some things to try to incorporate into your tracks and some pitfalls to avoid.

House Tracks

What to incorporate into your tracks

House tracks are known by their four-on-the-floor beat and a tempo of around 115-130 beats per minute. But that's not all that makes a great house track. Here are some things you should consider incorporating into your house tracks:

• Strong kick/bass relationship

  • Creating a track where the kick and bass don’t clash with each other makes for an amazing listening experience. If you want your mix to sound professional, this is one of the most important things to focus on.

• Professional mixdown

  • As you may know, the mixdown is when all the individual tracks made while recording are mixed together. Having a professional mixdown means that each track can be heard without one drowning out or dominating the track. This is also the stage where effects are added to the track to truly make something sound amazing.

• Modern sound design

  • Having a sound for your track that sounds modern will help your track resonate with more people. An old-sounding track can sound cheap or low quality.

• Clear energy progression

  • The way the tension is built up and released during the song makes sense and builds in a logical way.

• Good arrangement (not repetitive)

What to avoid in your tracks

On the other hand, there are various things you will want to avoid in your tracks. These red flags may make your track sound unprofessional or even worse, boring. Here are some red flags to look out for:

• Generic sample-pack track

  • Makes your track sound unpolished and like every other low-quality track. Find things that give your tracks your own unique sound

• Weak drop

  • One of the most disappointing things in a song is a weak drop that doesn’t release the tension it has been building up.

• Muddy low end

  • The low end is what people feel first, and if that low end is muddy, it gives the feeling of an unfinished song even if everything else is great.

• Over-compressed master

  • Over-compressing the master to make it sound louder can just make it sound flat and less “punchy”.

• Sounds outdated

  • If your track sounds outdated, which could be over 3 years behind current trends, then your track may fall flat with audiences.

Melodic Techno Tracks

What to incorporate into your tracks

Melodic techno tracks have their own set of characteristics that you should try to incorporate. These tracks feature strong storytelling and atmosphere that has emotional depth while also still being techno. It is a genre of music that can be amazing to listen to both at home and at festivals. Here are some things to focus on to make your melodic techno tracks stand out:

• Emotional storytelling

  • Melodic techno is all about emotional storytelling. The track should have subtle progression with layers that change as the track progresses. 

• Strong atmosphere

  • Adding sounds and layers that add texture and atmosphere to the track gives it a sense of polish that can help fill the empty space.

• Memorable melodic motif

  • Something that repeats throughout the track of a few notes that the audience can latch on to and remember.

• Professional sound design

  • Sound design adds the texture, atmosphere and layers to a melodic techno track, and the type of sounds used, the use of risers, and more push the track to sound more professional.

• Dynamic arrangement

  • A great dynamic arrangement maintains energy throughout the track.

• Powerful vocals

What to avoid in your tracks

While pursuing a melodic techno sound, you can fall into some pitfalls that can make the track sound amateurish. Something about the track just makes it fall flat. Here are some things to think about when making the tracks that you want to avoid:

• Excessively long intros

• No emotional payoff

• Copying popular artists without originality

• Weak breakdowns

What kind of music does Defined Sound look for?

At Defined Sound Records, we focus on house and melodic techno as an independent melodic techno and house label. For house music submissions, we are looking for tracks that feature the following:

• 122–135 BPM

• Strong groove

• Modern production

• Memorable vocal or hook

• DJ-friendly arrangement

And for melodic techno, we want to hear tracks that have:

• Emotional impact

• Distinctive lead melody

• Modern cinematic production

• Club functionality

• Streaming-friendly length (3–5 minutes preferred)

If you are interested and think you fit, please submit your demos to Defined Sound Records. We also offer various mixing and mastering services and stereo mastering services. Additionally, we offer Spotify and custom marketing solutions.