since there is a player in the right hand panel is there any way to import your own music so you can control (play, pause, skip....) it inside the game?
A recurring request in the suggestions forum is for some form of in-game media player, however there is no sign of it being on a F D "things to do list".
There is a facility to play media via voice attack - there is even an in-game player and music library via gamemusicpacks but I stopped using that ages ago, don't know if it is any good these days (I think it became "Dark Nebula").
If you are happy to run E D in borderless then you can use one of the skins for VLC player that sort-of blends in with the HUD. Again I stopped messing with that ages ago (borderless was doing strange things).
If you play on the PC, you can play both the game and anything else at the same time. You can adjust the volumes in the Windows mixer or in the game audio settings.
Yes, open up a third party player (iTunes, MusicBee, Dopamine, Amazon Music etc.) and pick up any stored tunes on your drive(s). I do this all the time - can be quite atmospheric depending on your mood and in-game experience.
since there is a player in the right hand panel is there any way to import your own music so you can control (play, pause, skip....) it inside the game?
Give AIMP a try. Been using it for 13 years now since it's release.
It was started as an alternative to Winamp, as it was dying, and
shares many of its best features. AIMP is the best sounding
MP3 player I have found to date and I've tried them all.
Interestingly the default UI is Elite Dangerous Orange
X.
PS. Here's a nice review. It's 5 years old but still relevant. Make sure you download from the link above.
PPS. There's an Android version too.