Modern Melodic Techno lives on energy, rich harmony and emotion, in the world of artists like Anyma, Artbat and Cassian. This breakdown pulls a full track apart into five lessons: the gated vocal stack, the saw lead, the drums, the bassline, and the background layers. Get these five working together and the track already feels finished.
Lesson 1: The Gated Vocal Stack
The catchiest sound in the track, and it is really three layers doing three jobs.
Key settings:
- Gated Vocal 1: the real vocal, the core of the sound
- Gated Vocal 2: a support layer from sine and noise for width and texture
- Gated Vocal 3: a harmonised layer so the stack feels wider and more musical
- Rhythmic gating-style processing to glue the three layers into the groove
Lesson 2: The Saw Lead
One of the most important sounds in melodic techno. It is simple, but the details make it, and it has to breathe with the kick.
Key settings:
- A plucky amp envelope (ENV 1) that still keeps some body
- A small amount of LFO pitch modulation to keep it alive
- Expression from the FX chain and mod-wheel control
- Sidechain ducking so the lead sits inside the groove
Lesson 3: The Drums
In this style the drums do not need to be complicated. Classic placement, strong sounds and enough punch to cut through is the whole job. They anchor the track and keep it club-friendly.
Key settings:
- A solid kick as the foundation
- Hats for motion
- Percussion that supports the groove without cluttering it
- Straightforward programming, the strength is in sound choice and placement
Lesson 4: The Bassline
A big part of the energy, with a rolling feel. The smart detail: it skips the first 16th note, leaving space for the kick and tightening the groove instantly.
Key settings:
- Main rolling bass that skips the first 16th note for the kick
- A bit of modulation to keep it moving
- A higher amp-envelope sustain to keep energy in the groove
- An extra sustained layer, between a reese and a wide square wave, for depth
Lesson 5: The Background Elements
Not the focus, but often what makes a loop feel complete. Pads, cello-style layers and saw textures add space, mood and movement around the vocal, lead and bass.
Key settings:
- Pads for width and mood
- A cello-style layer for emotion
- Sustained saw textures for movement
- Kept as support, filling gaps and never dominating
Grab the full project
Want to study this track in detail? Eclipse has 9 Ableton project files, 480+ samples, and 60+ Serum presets with matching MIDI, including the full project behind these five lessons.
Watch the full breakdown
See all five lessons in the video:
Reference tracks
Typical reference tracks for this style are:
- Kream – Arrival
- Yuvee – Freydies
- Rivo – Mess Around (Baby Baby)
- Pete Oak – Merula (Martin Roth Remix)
- Cassian – Dun Dun
- Artbat, Joa – The Spot
- Anyma – Quantum
- Joshlane – System Overload
- Max Styler – You and Me
