Sourced long-form music journalism about artists, scenes, recordings, and design.https://stories.melody-mind.de/enhttps://stories.melody-mind.de/the-guitar-before-rock-had-a-name/https://stories.melody-mind.de/the-guitar-before-rock-had-a-name/Sister Rosetta Tharpe made the electric guitar answer a gospel voice, then carried that sound through churches, theaters, studios, stadiums, and a railway platform.Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTSister Rosetta Tharpegospelelectric guitarperformance historyMelodyMind Editorialhttps://stories.melody-mind.de/the-business-in-ma-raineys-voice/https://stories.melody-mind.de/the-business-in-ma-raineys-voice/Before record companies could sell the blues as a category, Ma Rainey had learned how to make it work in tents, theaters, train cars, and towns across the South.Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTMa Raineybluesvaudevillerecording historyMelodyMind Editorialhttps://stories.melody-mind.de/five-strings-no-drummer/https://stories.melody-mind.de/five-strings-no-drummer/Django Reinhardt’s Quintette made rhythm guitar carry the floor, then placed an improvising soloist above it with no brass section or drum kit to hide behind.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTDjango Reinhardtjazz guitarParisRoma musicMelodyMind Editorialhttps://stories.melody-mind.de/forty-five-seconds-of-room/https://stories.melody-mind.de/forty-five-seconds-of-room/Pauline Oliveros entered an empty water cistern with an accordion and left with a practical question: what changes when musicians treat the echo as a member of the group?Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTPauline OliverosDeep Listeningexperimental musicsound practiceMelodyMind Editorialhttps://stories.melody-mind.de/a-jazz-history-at-the-keyboard/https://stories.melody-mind.de/a-jazz-history-at-the-keyboard/Mary Lou Williams did not move from swing to bebop as if changing departments. She wrote, played, taught, and argued for a continuous music with the blues running through it.Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTMary Lou Williamsjazz pianoarrangingmusic educationMelodyMind Editorialhttps://stories.melody-mind.de/the-room-before-the-record/https://stories.melody-mind.de/the-room-before-the-record/Chicago house did not begin as a drum-machine preset. It took shape through queer Black and Latino dance floors, DJs extending records, local radio, and small labels.Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTChicago houseFrankie Knucklesclub cultureelectronic musicMelodyMind Editorialhttps://stories.melody-mind.de/belleville-to-metroplex/https://stories.melody-mind.de/belleville-to-metroplex/Detroit techno grew through high-school exchanges, late-night radio, basement studios, independent labels, and a city whose machine age offered material rather than a slogan.Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTDetroit technoBelleville Threeelectronic musicindependent labelsMelodyMind Editorialhttps://stories.melody-mind.de/how-to-play-a-record-without-language/https://stories.melody-mind.de/how-to-play-a-record-without-language/The Voyager Golden Record cover does not advertise the music inside. Its etched diagrams try to explain playback, image decoding, location, and time without a shared alphabet.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTVoyager Golden Recordinformation designrecord technologyspace explorationMelodyMind Editorialhttps://stories.melody-mind.de/manchester-fac-1-to-fac-51/https://stories.melody-mind.de/manchester-fac-1-to-fac-51/Between a Hulme club night and a purpose-built dance floor, Factory became a network of posters, recordings, debts, arguments, and rooms spread across Greater Manchester.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTFactory RecordsManchesterpost-punkHaçiendamusic scenesMelodyMind Editorialhttps://stories.melody-mind.de/one-hundred-pulses-no-band-name/https://stories.melody-mind.de/one-hundred-pulses-no-band-name/Unknown Pleasures turned a scientific plot into a sleeve with almost no sales language. Its afterlife reveals what the object kept, what it erased, and why the pulse count is disputed.Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTUnknown PleasuresPeter Savillegraphic designpulsarsFactory RecordsMelodyMind Editorial