A local music player that puts users in control of their files and algorithms. Train your own music discovery system while owning your data and breaking free from corporate recommendation engines.
A local music player that puts users in control of their files and algorithms. Train your own music discovery system while owning your data and breaking free from corporate recommendation engines.
Project Overview: Player - Your Personal Music Algorithm
Player (formerly 9layer) is a local music player designed for people who want to own their files and train their own personalized music algorithm. It represents a rebellion against corporate music platforms that dictate what you discover and how you experience music.
Core Philosophy
"We need to really think seriously about taking control of the algorithms that dictate to us." Player puts users back in control of their music discovery and listening experience through local data ownership and custom algorithm training.
The app features a unique plus/minus rating system that builds a detailed profile of your musical preferences, going far beyond the simple "heart" buttons of mainstream platforms.
Current Features & Architecture
Player runs locally with a SQLite database that tracks every interaction, building a comprehensive profile of your musical preferences over time.
Core Features
- Intelligent Rating System: Plus/minus feedback that goes beyond simple likes
- Multi-Device Control: Control playback from your phone while blasting on speakers
- YouTube Music Integration: Download playlists and albums directly from YouTube Music
- Advanced Search: Search across tracks, artists, and albums with fuzzy matching
- Listening Analytics: Detailed history and insights into your music consumption patterns
- Local File Management: Complete ownership of your music library
Technical Stack
- SQLite database for local data storage
- Web-based interface accessible across devices
- YouTube Music API integration for content acquisition
- Real-time synchronization between devices
- Open-source codebase (public repository)
Default Behavior: Musical Teleportation
"By default, it's just going to the next random track because I'm like semi-skitso and like I like things to just constantly be teleport like the experience should be one in which you're teleporting around your musical latent space like randomly."
Current Development Challenges
Player is actively being developed with a focus on functionality over polish. Several UX challenges are being worked through with the help of AI coding assistance.
Agentic Engineering Challenges
"Sometimes it just does dumb stuff like the model like cloud code sonnet... It's like definitely a good example of jagged intelligence... and you're in a dark agentic engineering loop at that point." The development process highlights both the power and limitations of AI-assisted coding.
Known Issues Being Addressed
- UX Clarity: Plus/minus icons confused with zoom controls - needs better iconography
- Volume Control: Slider behavior inconsistent, snaps back to incorrect values
- Track Synchronization: Some tracks don't match up properly from early development
- Navigation Flow: Clicking artists should lead to their profile pages
- Download Feedback: Progress indicators need to show track-by-track status
- Album Playback: Sequential playback vs random mode toggle needed
Design Philosophy
"In the past, I used to be like pixel perfect psycho, and now it's just like I'm more interested in getting the raw functionality down path first before I really give a shit about the pixels." Function over form during development phase.
Future Roadmap: Toward Intelligent Music Discovery
Player's roadmap focuses on creating the most sophisticated personal music algorithm through voice interfaces, emotional classification, and agentic music discovery.
Voice User Interface
Local speech-to-text model integration for hands-free control. Commands like "Player stop," "Skip the track," and "Yo, I like this. Let's go!" will execute corresponding functions, making feedback instant and natural.
Emotional Classification System
Advanced emotional tagging beyond simple ratings: "sad love song," "exciting love song," "chill love song," "happy," "depressing," "inspiring." Natural language processing will map varied user descriptions to core emotional categories.
Librosa Integration for Audio Analysis
Machine learning framework to extract deep insights: instrument count, BPM, energy levels, and genre classification. Enable searches like "tracks with only a lute, very calm, few notes, neutral emotion" - finding needles in musical haystacks.
Agentic Music Discovery
Autonomous music researcher that analyzes your highest-rated recent tracks and discovers similar music from alternative magazines and taste-making sources - the digital equivalent of discovering music through underground publications.
Intelligent Track Correction
Semi-agentic system to identify mismatched tracks, search for correct versions online, and automatically redownload proper versions. No more "070 Shake" tracks that are actually YouTube shorts audio.
Advanced Filtering Vision
"Maybe I want to listen to a track with a lute like the only instrument is a lute and I can filter my entire library based on that right and and and it has to be a very calm track right so few notes quotes um interspersed, right? Um and the emotion has to be neutral, right?" - capabilities impossible on current platforms.
Philosophy: Reclaiming Algorithmic Autonomy
Player represents more than just a music application - it's a statement about data ownership and algorithmic autonomy in an age where corporate platforms control what we discover and how we experience art.
Breaking Free from Corporate Algorithms
"We lost that to the algorithms" - referring to how magazine-based music discovery was replaced by corporate recommendation engines. Player aims to restore user agency in music discovery through local AI and personal data ownership.
The Local AI Movement
"I think there's a lot of potential here, especially in this coming age of local AI and just like local data." Player positions itself at the forefront of the local-first, user-controlled AI movement.
Open Source Philosophy
Despite acknowledging that "open source just has a like a kind of bad rep for like good UX and good design," Player embraces open development as a public repository, prioritizing transparency and user control over polished corporate aesthetics.
Project Status
Player is an active open-source project, though not yet recommended for download due to ongoing refinement. The focus remains on establishing core functionality before perfecting the user experience - "AI slop design style" that prioritizes function over form during development.