diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index f04836e..c72d5a5 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 <head>
 <meta charset="utf-8">
 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, viewport-fit=cover">
-<meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="default-src 'self'; connect-src https://api.venice.ai https://inference.yolopreneur.lol; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; img-src 'self' data: blob:; media-src blob:; font-src 'self'">
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="default-src 'self'; connect-src https://api.venice.ai https://inference.yolopreneur.lol; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; img-src 'self' data: blob:; media-src blob: data:; font-src 'self'">
 <title>gandora</title>
 <meta name="description" content="Type a seed. Get a station. Every song is made for you as it plays, and every cover is drawn from the song's own settings.">
 <link rel="icon" href="favicon.svg">
@@ -595,8 +595,35 @@ function drawRings(canvas, spec, { lit = 1, pulse = null } = {}) {
 }
 
 /* ---------- the visualizer: an analyser on the player, driving the cover while music plays ---------- */
+/* the first tap unlocks the player: a silent clip played inside the gesture makes the <audio> element "user-started",
+   so the first real track can start itself when the render lands, however long that takes */
+const SILENCE = "data:audio/wav;base64,UklGRiQAAABXQVZFZm10IBAAAAABAAEAQB8AAIA+AAACABAAZGF0YQAAAAA=";
+function prime() {
+  if (state.primed || (state.audio.src && !state.audio.paused)) return;
+  try { state.audio.src = SILENCE; const p = state.audio.play(); if (p && p.then) p.then(() => { state.primed = true; }).catch(() => {}); } catch {}
+}
+for (const ev of ["pointerdown", "touchend", "keydown"]) document.addEventListener(ev, prime, { capture: true, passive: true });
+/* iOS routes sound through Web Audio the moment the element is wired to an analyser, and suspends Web Audio when
+   the screen locks (and obeys the mute switch). So on iOS the cover pulses to the beat from the sheet instead,
+   and the music stays a plain <audio> element that keeps playing in the background. */
+const IOS = /iP(hone|ad|od)/.test(navigator.userAgent) || (navigator.platform === "MacIntel" && navigator.maxTouchPoints > 1);
 const viz = { ctx: null, an: null, data: null, raf: 0, smooth: { bass: 0, mid: 0, high: 0 } };
+function vizBeat() {
+  cancelAnimationFrame(viz.raf);
+  const canvas = $("#cover canvas"), t0 = performance.now(), rnd = prng(hash32(state.current.spec.title || ""));
+  const frame = () => {
+    if (!state.playing || !state.current || !state.current.blob) { viz.raf = 0; return; }
+    const spec = state.current.spec, t = (performance.now() - t0) / 1000, bps = (+spec.bpm || 100) / 60, en = +spec.energy || 0.5;
+    const beat = Math.pow(Math.max(0, Math.cos(2 * Math.PI * t * bps)), 6);                 // a kick on every beat
+    const bar = Math.pow(Math.max(0, Math.cos(2 * Math.PI * t * bps / 4)), 2);              // and a swell on the bar
+    const bass = Math.min(1, (0.25 + 0.75 * beat) * (0.5 + 0.5 * en)), mid = 0.3 + 0.3 * bar * en, high = 0.2 + 0.25 * Math.pow(Math.max(0, Math.sin(2 * Math.PI * t * bps * 2)), 4) * en;
+    drawCover(canvas, spec, { pulse: { bass, mid, high, t } });
+    viz.raf = requestAnimationFrame(frame);
+  };
+  viz.raf = requestAnimationFrame(frame);
+}
 function vizStart() {
+  if (IOS || state.beatViz) return vizBeat();
   // the player is only wired through the analyser once the context is actually running: a suspended context
   // (iOS before a tap) would mute the music, and the cover can wait for the next gesture
   try {