How to choose the energy level for a DJ track: warm-up, build, peak time or after-hours

Set energy under 05 · Groove in the Club Ready Music studio: the Energy select offers Warm-up, Build, Peak time and After-hours, with Peak time as the default. The choice is written into the style prompt as an energy phrase, so a warm-up track comes back restrained with fewer elements and softer drops, and a peak-time track comes back driving. Pair it with the matching intro length, BPM and vocal amount.

Steps

1. Decide the slot the track is for

Think in set positions rather than moods. Warm-up is the first hour when the floor is filling. Build is the stretch where you raise the tempo and tension. Peak time is the busiest part of the night. After-hours is the long tail after the peak, deeper and more hypnotic. One track rarely works in all four.

2. Pick the energy in the Groove panel

Open 05 · Groove and choose from the Energy select next to Length. On a phone the control is on step 4, DJ settings. The result tag on the right does not show energy, so check the select before you press Generate.

3. Match the BPM to the energy

Energy does not change tempo, so set it yourself. For house, a warm-up track sits at 120 to 124, build at 124 to 126, peak at 126 to 128. For techno, warm-up at 126 to 128 and peak at 132 to 136. Press MATCH ↑ for the genre midpoint and nudge down for warm-up or up for peak.

4. Match the arrangement

Lower energy wants longer edges. For warm-up, set Intro bars to 32, Outro bars to 32 or 64 and Drop at bar to 48. For peak time, 16-bar intro, drop at 32, 32-bar outro. For after-hours, 32-bar intro, 32-bar break and Drop at bar 48 keeps the tension long. See set intro bars.

5. Match the vocal amount

Open Voice options and set How much vocal. Warm-up and after-hours tracks usually want Sparse chops or Instrumental mode. Build tracks suit Hook only. Peak time can carry a Full lead. A full vocal on a warm-up track pulls attention the room is not ready to give.

6. Write the brief in the same register

Repeat the energy in your own words in 02 · Vibe: "patient, stripped back, slow filter movement" for warm-up, or "relentless, big drops, crowd-facing hook" for peak time. The energy phrase and the brief reinforce each other.

7. Set loudness for the slot

Under 07 · Master & export, Club −8 suits most tracks. Warm-up and after-hours tracks sit well at Festival −10, which leaves more dynamics; peak-time tracks can use Club max −6. See set a loudness target.

Tips

• Build is the forgotten setting. Use it for tracks that go from a long groove into a late drop; the model holds back the first half.
• After-hours is not slow. It is hypnotic and deep at normal tempo. Lower the BPM only if the genre allows it.
• Energy follows the lead genre. Big Room at Warm-up is still big room. Pick a genre that fits the slot first.
• Make the same brief at two energies. Render once at Warm-up and once at Peak time to get an opener and a closer from one idea.
• Check the preview from the drop. The share page preview starts at the first drop, so a warm-up track previews at its busiest point.

Common problems

The warm-up track still has big drops. Say "no big drops, gradual builds only" in the brief, and set Drop at bar to 48 so the first drop lands late. Remove Big drops from the featured sounds if it is ticked.

The peak-time track feels flat. Check that Energy is Peak time and the BPM is at the top of the genre range. Add "driving, relentless" to the brief and consider Ad-libs around the drops in Voice options.

After-hours came back as a slow downtempo track. The energy phrase is "after-hours, deep and hypnotic", which some takes read as slower. Keep the BPM where you want it and add "steady club tempo, hypnotic" to the brief.

Both takes have the same energy problem. The brief is contradicting the setting. Read it for words like "massive" on a warm-up track or "chilled" on a peak-time track and remove them.