diff --git a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor
index 051827b..02067ad 100644
--- a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor
+++ b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor
@@ -27,8 +27,11 @@ else
 
                     <VolumeZone Volume="@Volume" VolumeChanged="@OnVolumeChange"/>
 
-                    <PlayerSeekZone CurrentTrack="CurrentTrack"
-                                    OnSeekStart="@OnSeekStart"
+                    <div class="meta-zone">
+                        <TrackMetaLabel Track="CurrentTrack"/>
+                    </div>
+
+                    <PlayerSeekZone OnSeekStart="@OnSeekStart"
                                     OnSeekEnd="@OnSeekEnd"
                                     OnSeekChange="@OnSeekChange"
                                     Class="seek-zone"/>
diff --git a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor.cs b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor.cs
index 6fa678e..d2f8366 100644
--- a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor.cs
+++ b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor.cs
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ public partial class AudioPlayerBar : ComponentBase, IAsyncDisposable
     /// Display time - shows seek position while dragging, otherwise current playback time.
     /// </summary>
     private double DisplayTime => _isSeeking ? _seekPosition : (PlayerService?.CurrentTime ?? 0);
-    private string PlayerModeClass => Fixed ? "player-fixed" : "player-docked";
+    private string PlayerModeClass => Fixed ? "player-fixed" : "player-dock";
 
     protected override void OnParametersSet()
     {
diff --git a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor.css b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor.css
index 49a9d6d..f9b9fcb 100644
--- a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor.css
+++ b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/AudioPlayerBar.razor.css
@@ -71,29 +71,53 @@
     }
 }
 
-/* Unified responsive player layout.
-   Wide and narrow shapes are pure CSS — no runtime breakpoint subscription.
-   Children are targeted by their stable classes (transport-zone, volume-zone,
-   seek-zone) rather than positional nth-child, since all three render a .mud-stack
-   root and positional selectors would be fragile. */
+/* Unified responsive player layout — CSS Grid with named areas redefined per breakpoint.
+   The metadata (meta-zone) detaches from the waveform (seek-zone) in the mid band, which a
+   flex order-swap can't express, so each of the four zones is placed by grid-area and the three
+   shapes are pure template-area swaps — no runtime breakpoint subscription. min-width:0 on the
+   shrinkable centre zones lets the title truncate and the waveform shrink instead of overflowing. */
 .player-layout {
-    display: flex;
-    flex-wrap: wrap;
+    display: grid;
     align-items: center;
     gap: 8px;
     padding-right: 2.5rem; /* clear the abs-positioned PlayerWindowControls */
 }
 
-/* Wide (>= 600px): single row, seek zone grows and sits between transport and volume */
-@media (min-width: 600px) {
-    ::deep .transport-zone { order: 1; }
-    ::deep .seek-zone { order: 2; flex-grow: 1; flex-basis: 0; }
-    ::deep .volume-zone { order: 3; flex-shrink: 0; }
+::deep .transport-zone { grid-area: transport; }
+::deep .meta-zone      { grid-area: meta; min-width: 0; }
+::deep .seek-zone      { grid-area: waveform; min-width: 0; }
+::deep .volume-zone    { grid-area: volume; }
+
+/* Wide (>= 900px): single row — transport and volume flank the centre column; the metadata
+   sits directly under the waveform (transport/volume span both rows, centred). */
+@media (min-width: 900px) {
+    .player-layout {
+        grid-template-columns: auto minmax(360px, 1fr) auto;
+        grid-template-areas:
+            "transport waveform volume"
+            "transport meta     volume";
+    }
 }
 
-/* Narrow (< 600px): transport + volume on top row, seek full-width below */
-@media (max-width: 599.98px) {
-    ::deep .transport-zone { order: 1; }
-    ::deep .volume-zone { order: 2; }
-    ::deep .seek-zone { flex-basis: 100%; order: 3; }
+/* Mid (600–900px): metadata rides the top row between transport and volume; the waveform gets
+   the whole bottom row to itself rather than being squeezed beside the metadata. */
+@media (min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 899.98px) {
+    .player-layout {
+        grid-template-columns: auto minmax(0, 1fr) auto;
+        grid-template-areas:
+            "transport meta     volume"
+            "waveform  waveform waveform";
+    }
+}
+
+/* Narrow (< 600px): transport + volume share the top row; waveform then metadata stack full-width
+   below — the most compressed shape. */
+@media (max-width: 599.98px) {
+    .player-layout {
+        grid-template-columns: auto 1fr auto;
+        grid-template-areas:
+            "transport .        volume"
+            "waveform  waveform waveform"
+            "meta      meta     meta";
+    }
 }
diff --git a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/PlayerSeekZone.razor b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/PlayerSeekZone.razor
index 10a0688..0232f65 100644
--- a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/PlayerSeekZone.razor
+++ b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/PlayerSeekZone.razor
@@ -5,5 +5,4 @@
                     OnSeekChange="OnSeekChange"
                     OnSeekEnd="OnSeekEnd"
                     Class="seek-waveform"/>
-    <TrackMetaLabel Track="CurrentTrack"/>
 </MudStack>
diff --git a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/PlayerSeekZone.razor.cs b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/PlayerSeekZone.razor.cs
index eccf29d..b290448 100644
--- a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/PlayerSeekZone.razor.cs
+++ b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/PlayerSeekZone.razor.cs
@@ -1,17 +1,16 @@
-using DeepDrftModels.DTOs;
 using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components;
 
 namespace DeepDrftPublic.Client.Controls.AudioPlayerBar;
 
 /// <summary>
-/// Centre zone of the player: the <see cref="WaveformSeeker"/> over the now-playing metadata row
-/// (<see cref="TrackMetaLabel"/>). The seeker owns the pointer-gesture seek logic and reads playback
-/// state off the cascaded player service directly; this zone just forwards the seek callbacks up to
-/// <see cref="AudioPlayerBar"/> (whose wiring is unchanged) and renders the current track's metadata.
+/// Centre zone of the player: the <see cref="WaveformSeeker"/>. The seeker owns the pointer-gesture
+/// seek logic and reads playback state off the cascaded player service directly; this zone just
+/// forwards the seek callbacks up to <see cref="AudioPlayerBar"/> (whose wiring is unchanged).
+/// The now-playing metadata (<see cref="TrackMetaLabel"/>) is a sibling zone in the grid, not nested
+/// here, so the responsive layouts can place it independently of the waveform.
 /// </summary>
 public partial class PlayerSeekZone : ComponentBase
 {
-    [Parameter] public TrackDto? CurrentTrack { get; set; }
     [Parameter] public EventCallback OnSeekStart { get; set; }
     [Parameter] public EventCallback<double> OnSeekEnd { get; set; }
     [Parameter] public EventCallback<double> OnSeekChange { get; set; }
diff --git a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/TrackMetaLabel.razor b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/TrackMetaLabel.razor
index 5748711..a4909d9 100644
--- a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/TrackMetaLabel.razor
+++ b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/TrackMetaLabel.razor
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
             <MudText Typo="Typo.subtitle2" Class="track-meta-title text-truncate">
                 @Track.TrackName
             </MudText>
-            <MudText Typo="Typo.subtitle2"> - </MudText>
+            <MudText Typo="Typo.subtitle2" Class="track-meta-sep"> - </MudText>
             <MudText Typo="Typo.caption" Class="track-meta-artist text-truncate">
                 @Track.Artist
             </MudText>
diff --git a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/TrackMetaLabel.razor.css b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/TrackMetaLabel.razor.css
index caaa3bc..0bb89d1 100644
--- a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/TrackMetaLabel.razor.css
+++ b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/TrackMetaLabel.razor.css
@@ -40,3 +40,56 @@
 ::deep .track-meta-year {
     opacity: 0.75;
 }
+
+/* The metadata's three shapes track the dock's layout bands (same breakpoints as the grid in
+   AudioPlayerBar.razor.css), not the label's own slot width — in the <600 band the slot is actually
+   full-width yet we still want it fully vertical, which a container query can't express.
+
+   Mid band (600–900): 2×2 — title over artist on the left (start-justified), genre over year on the
+   right (end-justified). The row stays a row; only the two inner groups go vertical. */
+@media (min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 899.98px) {
+    .track-meta-row {
+        align-items: flex-start;
+    }
+
+    .track-meta-identity {
+        flex-direction: column;
+        align-items: flex-start;
+        gap: 0;
+    }
+
+    .track-meta-accents {
+        flex-direction: column;
+        align-items: flex-end;
+        gap: 2px;
+    }
+
+    ::deep .track-meta-sep {
+        display: none;
+    }
+}
+
+/* Narrow band (<600): fully vertical — title / artist / genre / year all stacked, left-aligned. */
+@media (max-width: 599.98px) {
+    .track-meta-row {
+        flex-direction: column;
+        align-items: flex-start;
+        gap: 4px;
+    }
+
+    .track-meta-identity {
+        flex-direction: column;
+        align-items: flex-start;
+        gap: 0;
+    }
+
+    .track-meta-accents {
+        flex-direction: column;
+        align-items: flex-start;
+        gap: 2px;
+    }
+
+    ::deep .track-meta-sep {
+        display: none;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/VolumeZone.razor b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/VolumeZone.razor
index a1e6a22..e3e1d71 100644
--- a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/VolumeZone.razor
+++ b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/VolumeZone.razor
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 @namespace DeepDrftPublic.Client.Controls.AudioPlayerBar
 
 <MudStack Row="false" AlignItems="AlignItems.Center" Spacing="1" Class="@($"volume-zone {Class}".TrimEnd())">
-    <SpectrumVisualizer BucketCount="24"/>
+    <SpectrumVisualizer BucketCount="10"/>
     <MudStack Row="true" AlignItems="AlignItems.Center" Spacing="1" Class="volume-row">
         <MudIcon Icon="@GetVolumeIcon()"/>
         <MudSlider T="double"
diff --git a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/VolumeZone.razor.css b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/VolumeZone.razor.css
index acbf638..a090403 100644
--- a/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/VolumeZone.razor.css
+++ b/DeepDrftPublic.Client/Controls/AudioPlayerBar/VolumeZone.razor.css
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 /* Width caps only — layout/colour come from MudStack + theme.
-   The zone stacks the spectrum visualizer above the volume row. Width is sized
-   so 24 spectrum bars (4px min + 2px gap ≈ 140px) render without clipping under
-   the container's overflow:hidden, while staying compact. */
+   The zone stacks the spectrum visualizer above the volume row, both sized to the same
+   compact width so the spectrum matches the slider. 75px fits 10 spectrum bars (4px min +
+   2px gap ≈ 70px) without clipping under the container's overflow:hidden. */
 .volume-zone {
-    width: 150px;
+    width: 75px;
 }
 
 .volume-row {