Hypnaut Audio / Closed Beta / 2026
A dual fractal oscillator synthesizer for professional sound designers who want to work inside unstable systems. Move through fractal planes, combine orbit algorithms, cross-modulate both oscillators, and shape the result into basses, pads, drones, eerie SFX, industrial distortion, atmospheric texture, and layered sounds that keep moving.
Synthesizer
Each voice contains two independent fractal oscillators, global routing, dual filters, three LFOs, three step sequencers, two modulation envelopes, a dedicated amp envelope, Hive diffusion, and the Instinct FX2 drive engine. The selected point on each plane drives a fractal map, the map produces an orbit, and six algorithm faders decide how that orbit becomes sound.
The main panel keeps the oscillator planes, routing, filters, tabs, preset browser, zoom, themes, and voice handling visible together. It is built for iterative sound design: find a point, balance the orbit algorithms, add interaction, then sequence, filter, modulate, drive, and diffuse.
Architecture
Two oscillator planes run per voice. Dragging a point scans the fractal behavior continuously, with a visible orbit trace showing the current motion. Escape-family maps cover Mandelbrot, Burning Ship, Ship Sine, Tricorn, Celtic, and Phoenix; attractor and conservative maps extend the range into Ikeda, Henon, Tinkerbell, Standard / Chirikov, Gingerbreadman, Duffing, de Jong / Clifford, and Lozi.
The six vertical faders are not standard oscillator volumes. They expose different views of the same orbit: direct body, derivative motion, phase and angle behavior, radius, phase-scanned position, and harder radius-sync energy. Escape and trajectory modes decide whether unstable motion silences, loops, folds, bounces, bursts, freezes, grains, syncs, reverses, or feeds itself back into the system.
The center strip handles sync, direct pitch, cross-FM, cross-PM, sync gate, feedback, orbit-to-filter movement, stereo width, voice volume, and oscillator mix. Below it, two per-voice filters can run in serial or parallel. Filter 1 includes LP DRV and drive for the original Sisyphus low-pass behavior; both filters offer clean LP, HP, BP, notch modes, 12/24 dB slopes, cutoff, and resonance.
The LFO tab contains three independent modulation sources with sync, retrigger, invert, rate, wave, fold, phase, pulse width, and level controls. Classic, Shapable, Draw, and attractor-style motion can drive fractal X/Y, algorithm faders, filter frequency, pan, width, mix, XFM, XPM, and feedback.
The SEQ tab adds three tempo-synced step sequencers. Each row stores 32 bipolar faders, active step count, rate, retrigger, and a playhead. Assign them to filter cutoff, algorithm levels, pan, width, oscillator mix, or sync accents for rhythmic fractal patterns that still keep the patch alive between steps.
ENV 1 and ENV 2 are assignable modulation envelopes. A ENV is the dedicated amplitude envelope. Use them for filter plucks, algorithm attacks, X/Y strikes, sync bursts, and long evolving releases. Classic, Shapable, and Draw envelope styles cover predictable ADSR behavior, curved stage movement, and hand-drawn one-shot gestures.
The FX page centers on Hive, a diffusion delay and reverb processor for turning fractal material into space, smear, and width. Delay, feedback, cuts, diffusion, size, width, modulation, sync, and mix controls let harsh boundary energy become sustained pads, tails, drones, or subtle spatial motion.
FX2 adds the Instinct engine for transient sculpting, pre-drive boost, drive filtering, saturation, morph, bias, post-filtering, feedback, mix, and output trim. It is the destructive edge stage: use it when the fractal source needs more attack, forward midrange, physical bite, or animated distortion before or after Hive in the effects chain.
Switch between poly and mono-style playing, then add unison when a patch needs more width or density. Detune spreads the stacked voices in pitch; spread places them across the stereo field.
Sisyphus is not built around quick genre presets. It is for sound designers who want to follow a system, listen to how it behaves, and decide when to tame it or push it further.
The useful range runs from basses and playable pads to drones, SFX, eerie motion, industrial distortion, atmospheric beds, and layered textures that breathe over time.
Theming
Sisyphus is built for extended sound-design work, where contrast, hue, and brightness change how quickly you read the interface. Themes recolor the full instrument, including plane traces, modulation accents, buttons, tabs, sequencer rows, envelope curves, and the Hypnaut Audio lockup, while the signal flow stays fixed.
The same patch can ask for different focus: a bright room, a late-night mix pass, a performance screen, or a detailed modulation edit. Theme support keeps Sisyphus readable without changing the muscle memory of the instrument.
Closed beta
We are looking for producers, sound designers, film composers, and experimental musicians who will test Sisyphus across bass design, drones, SFX, industrial material, atmospheric textures, and layered performance patches.
Beta slots are reviewed manually. Accepted participants receive a free full licence when Sisyphus releases.
Contact
Questions, feedback, press enquiries, or beta notes. We read everything and respond personally.
About Hypnaut Audio
Creative audio tools for musicians, producers, and sound designers, centered on texture, sound design, and musical exploration.