1 · The four phases
- Intro (Hotkey 1) — session start, trance induction
- Middle (Hotkey 2) — deepening, main work
- Climax (Hotkey 3) — emotional peak
- Outro (Hotkey 4) — fade out, integration
2 · Crossfade mechanics
Two internal decks (A and B). On phase button press:
- Engine picks a track for the new phase (from library or preset playlist)
- Track loads on inactive deck, starts at volume 0
- Both decks parallel: active deck ramps 1→0, inactive 0→1
- Blended over the crossfade duration. By default, "Smart Crossfade" computes it for every transition from BPM difference, key and phase: starting from 6 sec, e.g. longer for a big tempo gap, an unrelated key or in the outro, shorter for nearly equal tempo, the same key or in the climax — always between 2 and 16 sec. If you switch "Smart Crossfade" off under Settings → "Playback & Mixing", a fixed duration applies: the active preset's "Crossfade duration" if one is set there, otherwise "Crossfade duration (manual)" (default 6 sec).
- After completion: old deck stops, roles swap
Transitions stay click- and pop-free even when you switch quickly and repeatedly — feel free to "zap" through without worry. And beat quantization stays correct after loop jumps: the beat sync takes the loop into account.
3 · Beat quantization
By default, Hypnotika waits at least 3 seconds after the click, then starts the crossfade on the playing track's next downbeat. So transitions start on musically meaningful spots. You set the wait under Settings → "Playback & Mixing" → "Minimum lead time before transition":
- "Instant" — no waiting
- "2 s" — at least 2 sec wait
- "3 s" (default) — at least 3 sec wait
- "5 s" — at least 5 sec wait
The crossfade only lands exactly on the downbeat if the "Automatic pitch & tempo match" switch is on (see section 5) and Hypnotika can match the tempo and beat of both tracks. Otherwise it starts right after the wait.
While waiting, the "Up next" card in the bottom cockpit bar shows the incoming track name, the match score and a live countdown to the end of the wait. Esc or the cancel button on the card aborts the pending switch.
4 · Camelot wheel match
For each possible transition, Hypnotika computes a match score (0-100 %) based on:
- Key distance on the Camelot wheel — the same key fits best, followed by the same number with a different letter (e.g. C major 8B ↔ A minor 8A), then a neighbouring number with the same letter (e.g. C major 8B ↔ G major 9B); all other combinations count as dissonant (e.g. C major 8B ↔ F# major 2B)
- BPM difference (big BPM jump = lower score)
Below 60 % score: automatic lowpass sweep on the outgoing track — swallows highs, makes harmonic friction less audible. At 60 % and above, the crossfade runs without this filter. In the cockpit, the match score is colour-coded by quality: green from 80 %, blue between 60 and 80 %, orange below 60 %. You see it under the crossfade arrow in the bottom cockpit bar (for the pending or just-started transition), on the "Up next" card while a switch is pending, and, with a fixed playlist per phase, on the track chips in the playlist shelf (each measured against the track currently playing).
5 · Auto pitch shift (optional)
If enabled (Settings → "Playback & Mixing" → "Automatic pitch & tempo match", on by default), Hypnotika adjusts BPM and/or key of the incoming track via SoundTouchJS (at most ±3 semitones and ±6 %) to maximize match score — this applies when Hypnotika picks the tracks itself from the library (no fixed playlist per phase). With a fixed playlist per phase, such as in the "Standard session" preset that is active out of the box, Hypnotika never shifts the key; it only matches the tempo when the crossfade lands exactly on the downbeat (see section 3). Tracks to which you have applied a "Pitch offset" or "Tempo offset" yourself always play with exactly those values. Pre-rendered (~1 sec per minute audio) and cached.
6 · Auto-advance on loop end
What happens at the loop end is decided by the mode toggle at the bottom right of the cockpit: Loop = the current track keeps looping endlessly (DJ behaviour); with a fixed playlist per phase, pressing the phase button again restarts it. Playlist = the phase's tracks play through automatically one after another. The default comes from the active preset, and you can switch modes any time right in the cockpit.
In Playlist mode: when a track reaches its loop end, the engine automatically picks another track from the same phase and crossfades into it (self-loop or the next one in the preset playlist). You don't need to push a button every 4 minutes.
How the track order in a phase works
In Playlist mode, here is what happens once you start a phase (e.g. "Intro"):
- Track 1 plays through.
- Just before track end, Hypnotika auto-crossfades to track 2 — no click needed.
- Track 2 → track 3 → back to track 1 → 2 → 3 → … endless loop, until you switch to another phase or hit Soft-Stop.
Each phase has its own independent cursor: when you come back to a phase later, it resumes where the cursor was last.
What clicks during the session do
- Re-clicking the active phase (e.g. "Intro" while Intro is playing) → crossfade to the next track in the playlist (with a fixed playlist per phase, such as in the "Standard session" preset active out of the box, only when the "Mode" toggle in the cockpit is set to "Playlist"; in the out-of-the-box "Loop" position, the same track starts again). With a fixed playlist, the minimum lead time doesn't apply here (see section 3): the crossfade starts right away or, if Hypnotika can match the tempo and beat of both tracks, on the next downbeat. Useful when you don't like the current track and want to switch without waiting for it to end.
- Clicking a track chip in the playlist shelf → direct jump to that exact track. Useful when you want to go to the third track in the list specifically.
- Phase switch (e.g. Intro → Middle) → crossfade into the first track of the new phase (or wherever its cursor was). The Intro cursor is remembered for later.
Special case: only one track in the phase
If a phase has only one track, Hypnotika crossfades that track with itself — deck A ends, deck B starts the same track from the beginning, both overlap for the crossfade duration. This avoids silence between repetitions.
Note: if your audio track has a built-in fade-in at the start or fade-out at the end, you may still hear a slight volume dip at the crossfade point. Solution: set loop markers (loopIn/loopOut) so the start and end with the fades are skipped, leaving only the "strong" middle section to loop.
7 · Soft Stop
Hotkey Space (or the Soft Stop tile in the cockpit) → master volume gently ramps to 0. The "Standard session" preset, which is active out of the box, has a fixed 5 sec for this. With any other preset, or without a preset, the "Soft-stop duration" applies (Settings → "Playback & Mixing", default 2 sec); while "Standard session" is active, that setting has no effect. Stops session recording too if active and finalises the MP3.
8 · Repeat lockout
Settings → "Playback & Mixing" → "Repeat lockout" only applies when Hypnotika picks the tracks itself from the library (random mode, no fixed playlist per phase). The pick then skips the last N played tracks (default 2) as long as other tracks are available — so tracks change even with repeated phase clicks. With a fixed playlist per phase, such as in the "Standard session" preset that is active out of the box, the setting has no effect.
Related: Cockpit hotkeys · Session presets · Loop markers