Here's a few tips I wanted to share about your breakdown, build up and 'kickoff' / main melody sections.
How you arrange your breakdown and build up to the main melody section is going to make a big difference to the impact your main melody section has.
What I would suggest here is the idea of the 'calm before the storm'. You want to create a contrast between the end of the breakdown / buildup and the main melody section. This can be done by fading / filtering some sounds out as you approach the kickoff, and by having a 4-beat (or longer) fill so you get a moments break which suddenly sucks all of the power out and then you get the impact when the main melody section hits straight after.
Another thing that can make your kickoffs less impactful is over-using the main melody throughout the breakdown and then kicking off with the exact same melody.
If you do have the main melody on the breakdown then its good to provide some contrast to keep things interesting, this could be by using a different sound or less layers for the melody on the breakdown, or by simplifying the melody notes on the breakdown so the main melody is more energetic and full.
Another mistake that I've seen a lot of new producers do is using boom and downsweep effects on the main melody / kickoff. Booms will suck all of the power out of your kickoff and ruin the relationship of the kick and bass by covering them with a long low frequency sound. Downsweeps also give the feel of slowing down which I think messes up the energy when you're supposed to be at the climax of the track.
Main Points:
- Make sure your Main Melody has more power / volume than the breakdown / buildup
- Don't over-use your main melody before the climax of the track
- Don't put heavy boom / downsweeps on your main melody section
- Create a contrast or 'calm before the storm' to make a bigger impact