How do you know what music to make?

2 years is a long time to reconsider things.  After a period of just letting go, thoughts of composition and production crept back into my head.  When I stopped making music, I wasn't a happy music maker.  The source was this obsessive notion that I HAD to create dance music.  Music that may not have been very me.  For this I have no one to blame but myself - I bought & listened to too many Global Underground mixes and had visions of superstar (read overpaid) dj-dom.

2 years later it's obvious that most of the GU mixes are full of crap (except for the two Danny Tenaglia mixes I own, which have some really good tracks on them).  I'm not sure if I liked the music or what back then, but they have a debilitating sameness about them now.  Listen to my release at Beatport and you'll see what I mean - the music is kinda boring and just missing something.  There are some good sounds and the production is decent but the songs themselves are forgettable.

otoh, some of the music that I loved then and even 10 years ago are still favorites - Aphex Twin, Massive Attack & Speedy J (btw - does anyone have his !ive cd?  I've bought & lost it twice).  I think that speaks more about what really moves me, and the obsessive dance music thing was an aberration.  Not that I don't want to make dance-oriented music - I'd rather let the music & my intuition take a track wherever it needs to go.

I do have some specific styles that I want to explore this time around, because 1) I like them, 2) I'm curious about them and 3) I just have a sort of feel for them.  I'll be checking out old school dub - Lee Perry, King Tubby, etc. - and wondering if FL Studio's Delay Bank will do the trick or if I'll need Audio Damage's Dubstation to capture the vibe.  I'll be hitting the melodic side of IDM & trip-hop.  And I need to play a bit with lo-fi hip-hop as well (or whatever it's called - I'm thinking of DJ Vadim).  I also will play more with sound design, working on pads & textures that can be used in a more visual context.  Part of the reason for this is a renewed affection for animation & sound design in general.  But I think it's a strength as well, based on tracks that were licensed via Pump Audio.

Of course, it's distinctly possible that I won't make any music like I intend.  Who knows where the music will want to go?