Side A · Stillcraft

What's inside

Everything Side A does.

Records or cassettes

Pick a look at the start and the whole app follows. A walnut hi‑fi with a turntable, a tonearm and lit VU meters, or a silver eighties tape deck with piano keys, a counter and LED meters. Each in its own light or dark.

One album a week

The shop gets a delivery on the day you pick, and an unused week doesn't carry over. Put others aside on the counter for later weeks. The first three are a gift, for the records you already love.

Skipping leaves a mark

Move the needle while it's down and the record keeps a scratch that clicks each time round. A cassette can't jump; it winds, at the speed of a real deck. Prefer to change songs freely? There's a setting for that.

Twenty‑four places

A shelf of spines or a rack of cassettes titled in ballpoint. When it's full, one goes to the second‑hand shop with a farewell line, and can be bought back as a week's buy.

The listening room

Thirty seconds of silence before the needle drops. Pick up the phone and the needle lifts; put it down and the music plays on. After a long sitting, write a line on the inner sleeve.

Your music, wherever it lives

Albums from a folder play here, with crackle, wow and flutter that grow with wear (real CC0 recordings if you like). Or listen along with Spotify, YouTube Music, Yandex Music: with your own Spotify Client ID, search its catalogue and start albums without opening it.

Screens

Captured in Side A.

Side A: The shelf — **The shelf**Twenty‑four places, spines that crack with use.

Side A: The turntable — **The turntable**A side at a time, scratches and all.

Side A: A record — **A record**Ring wear, sides, lines on the inner sleeve.

Side A: The rack — **The rack**The same shelf, as cassettes.

Side A: The tape deck — **The tape deck**Winding takes real time.

Side A: The record shop — **The record shop**One delivery a week.

Records or cassettes

	Records	Cassettes
Skipping	Move the needle while it's down: a scratch that clicks each time round.	No jumping: it winds, about twenty times faster than it plays.
A skip in another player	Scratches the record.	Creases the tape.
Wear	Ring wear, white corners, crackle.	A yellowed label, stretched tape, wow and flutter.
Turning over	When side A runs out.	Any time; it plays on from the mirrored spot.

Get it

Get Side A.

Install

Version: v1.0.0
File: SideA.apk
Requires: Android 9.0 (API 28) or newer. No Google services needed.
Permissions: Folders you pick, notification access (only to see what your player plays), media playback. Internet only to search Spotify, if you connect it.
License: MIT

Download the APK on your phone.
Open it and allow installs from this source when Android asks.
Pick records or cassettes, then bring home the three albums you already love.

Download APK All releases

Build from source

JDK 17+ (Android Studio's bundled JBR works) and the Android SDK. Sleeves, the turntable, cassettes and meters are drawn on a Compose canvas; the surface noise is a Media3 audio processor.

git clone https://github.com/bigdevwhale/side-a.git
cd side-a
./gradlew testDebugUnitTest             # the shop week, sides, wear, matching, the needle
./gradlew assembleDebug                 # app.sidea.dev, installs next to a release
./gradlew assembleDebug -Pdemo          # app.sidea.demo, a lived-in shelf of made-up records
./gradlew testDebugUnitTest -Prender --tests '*RenderArtScreens*'  # every screen, both looks, to app/build/art

Good to know

Questions people ask.

Does it sell or stream music?

No. It's the turntable: the music is yours, from a folder on the phone or the streaming app you already use. The shop sells nothing; it only rations.

How does it listen along with Spotify?

With notification access it sees what your player plays (only the song), recognises the album, learns its songs and counts the time. Skips scratch the record. With your own free Spotify Client ID (Settings → Spotify shows how) it can also search Spotify's catalogue and start albums without opening Spotify; that needs Premium.

Can I skip songs at all?

Yes. Lift the needle first and move the arm, and nothing is scratched; or turn on Songs by button for previous and next in the room.

Is the crackle real?

Made in code by default, rising with wear. Optionally, real recordings of vinyl crackle and tape hiss (CC0, from Freesound), under folder albums and over your streaming app too.

What does it keep?

Your shelf, notes, scratches and listening times, on the phone, with no account and no analytics. It goes online only to search Spotify's catalogue, when you've connected Spotify.