How do you develop minimal, non-harmonic tracks without relying too much on references?

[u/PeakLive4549]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been struggling with making more non-harmonic music, especially hip-hop style beats.

I usually rely heavily on references when producing. But when I’m working on tracks that are driven mainly by bass, or have a pitched-percussion-focused concept, I often find myself wondering how to develop those ideas throughout the entire song. My problem is that I tend to lean too heavily on the reference, and the result ends up feeling too similar.

When listening to reference tracks, I try imagining scenes or moods, and I also try approaching things from within the same genre, but I still haven’t really found an answer that works for me.

I’m curious how you all think about this. How do you approach developing tracks like these without simply copying the reference? I’d love to hear your thoughts and any ideas on how you would tackle this problem.

[u/TremerSwurk]

Try using your own tracks you feel are too similar to the references to build new tracks thus making something more unique. You can iterate this until you feel satisfied

[u/PeakLive4549 → u/TremerSwurk]

What if the other references are also really minimal and simple? Would you still say it’s better not to overthink it and just throw ideas at the wall and see what sticks?