For 25 years, Μелодия could be found on the sleeves of all domestic records and reissues in the former Soviet Union. It stands for “melody” in Russian, and is the name of the only record label in the socialist state. A mammoth state-run operation, Melodiya oversaw all aspects of record making and marketing and was at one time one of the largest record labels in the world. Today, it is the richest archive for music from the Soviet era, with more than 230,000 sounds on record. It is next to impossible to fully explore this musical vestige in a single article, but through the sharing of music, we may begin to skim the surface. For a brief introduction to electronic music released by the label, Guus van Bentum shares his finds.
