Music is a universal story. BabelBack keeps every verse readable, audible, and meaningful.
We built BabelBack to feel like a treasured lyric journal: warm serif headings, parchment accents, and AI tools that stay out of the way. Upload a song, translate it, learn the nuances, then save it to return whenever the melody sticks.
Why “BabelBack”?
The name is a mash-up of two references that always make us smile:
Babel Fish
Douglas Adams imagined a tiny fish that lets anyone understand any language instantly. That spirit of effortless translation is exactly what we want for lyrics.
Humpback Songs
Humpback whales sing across oceans—haunting, beautiful, and universal. Music connects us even when the words don’t, and BabelBack celebrates that shared pulse.
Together, “Babel” and “Back” remind us to translate richly and to bring every verse back to life for anyone, anywhere.
Sync every verse
Lyric scroller keeps the current verse centered while the fixed player stays in view.
Read in your language
Transliteration, translation, and deeper meaning toggle on in the same pane.
Save it locally
Your browser keeps a private library so songs reopen instantly, even offline.
Practice and get feedback
Record yourself, then let AI highlight timing, pronunciation, and clarity verse by verse.
Our approach
Curiosity first
BabelBack began as a way to make unfamiliar lyrics feel welcoming. The parchment aesthetic and serif headings keep the story in focus, not the chrome around it.
Always in the moment
The player stays anchored while verses glide past, so you can read, listen, and practice without hunting for controls.
Keep what resonates
Your saved songs live right on your device. Reopen them instantly, change languages, and share the context with friends.
Deep dive for nerds
Curious about how things work? Here’s the high-level tour—see the README for deeper schematics.
Next.js App Router on Vercel serves both UI and serverless APIs. Upload, analysis, and downloads share the same edge-friendly stack.
Audio uploads stream to GCS; Gemini generates lyrics, translations, and meaning. Seeds are cached so favorite songs open instantly.
Processed songs stay in IndexedDB on your device, and Playwright/Jest keep regressions in check before we ship.