A few things I'd consider:

1. The fx brass warp type sound at 1:06 wants a ton more delay and reverb on to give it some space
2. Arrangement wise it's got a really long intro with nothing much happening if you compare to most reference tracks there's usually an offbeat shaker-hi or similar in there and maybe some light closed hihats to start bringing in the groove/build a bit earlier. Yours is 3 minutes in before you add virtually any percussion. Lacks layers in terms of hihats, rides etc as well. You could easily bring that quiet closed hihat in at 30 seconds or a minute into the track.
3. Lack of fx/risers/downlifters etc in general - stuff just 'happens' without any change in filter/eq/fx to build the tension
4. Snare on the offbeat like this really isn't how most techno is arranged and is more a tech house kinda vibe - tends to be more of the tom/white noise percussion on beats 2 or 4 rather than 3 as this helps add some groove and not make it so 'basic' sounding. It gets better at 2:58 but even then i think it needs a tweak.
5. The sawtooth synth at 4:36 is really quiet in the mix when in fact that appears to be the main lead for the build there? Again sounds very dry
6. I think you could roll off the EQ on that kick rumble a bit sounds like its around the 120-130 mark and maybe if you lowered that to 100-110 it would sounds more rumbly without the obvious delay/rolling vibe maybe.

I cant help feeling in the breaks it needs a low sweep/dark brass/reese type hit in there to give it some more oomph as well. Theres a bit of one in the second break but it's go like no low end at all so it lacks a lot of power.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 23, 2021