Melody Makers

Feel the Beat: Music’s Wild, Untamed Tales

Music is the thing that gets there first. Before the words, before the explanation, before you’ve had time to decide how you feel—the music is already telling you. NAO has been covering music since the beginning. We focus on the stories underneath the hits. This includes the guitar builder in Kansas who makes instruments one at a time, or the Cape Breton musician keeping Gaelic traditions alive. We look at the American pianist in Vienna and the London manager who has spent decades inside the industry.

Music connects everything else on this site. For example, the travel episodes and interview pages go deeper because of the sounds attached to them. Indeed, the history episodes—blues in Mississippi, jazz in New Orleans, punk in New York—are really stories about the places and the people. This page collects it all: interviews, histories, and documentaries. In short, if it has a beat and a story behind it, it’s here.

THE INTERVIEWS

The archive features meticulous craftsmen like of MonkeyHouse Guitars, who builds handmade instruments for bands like Everclear and Candlebox. The cultural thread continues with , a Cape Breton singer-songwriter whose music connects audiences to Gaelic culture. We also feature Canadian blues legend, whose career spans 16 albums and stories about B.B. King.

From the media perspective, of FaceCulture discusses the art of the interview after conducting 14,000 of them. In contrast, shares his journey as a concert pianist in Vienna who believes meaning matters more than happiness. The industry’s inner workings are laid bare by , a London manager and promoter with decades of experience. Finally, explores the intersection of music and retreats in Catalonia, while tells a classic Canadian story about the long road into the industry.

MUSIC HISTORIES

The history section explores how specific locations changed the world. We look at and the British Invasion, alongside the history of Los Angeles, a city that built and rebuilt the industry. The roots of modern sound are traced through and , the music that became the foundation for everything that followed.

The archive also covers the raw energy of NY Punk Rock and the birth of NY Hip Hop in the 1970s Bronx, examining where the genre went from there. Additionally, we look at the impact of MuchMusic on Canadian culture and offer Random Rock Stories for analysis that doesn’t fit anywhere else. Music doesn’t belong to any one place; consequently, it belongs to whoever needs it. NAO is here to prove it is still true now.

Interviews

MonkeyHouse Guitars — Mike Thompson builds custom guitars for Everclear and Candlebox from his shop in Kansas. Specifically, every instrument is handmade, one at a time. LED inlays, hand-carved bindings, and a story behind every fret.

Nathan Bishop MacDonald — Cape Breton singer-songwriter keeping Celtic tradition alive through song. Moreover, his music connects audiences across Canada to Gaelic culture and the Highland Clearances that shaped it.

Canadian Blues Legend David Gogo — 16 albums, a Juno nomination, and stories about B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Guy Lafleur. In short, Nanaimo BC’s most important musical export.

Robin Hignell | FaceCulture Amsterdam — The Dutch music journalist behind 14,000 interviews. In this episode, he steps in front of the camera and talks about what makes a great interview.

Albert Frantz — American concert pianist based in Vienna. He started at 17, won a Fulbright, and consequently built a career on the idea that meaning matters more than happiness.

Paul Bower — London-based manager, promoter, and musician with decades inside the industry. Overall, one of the most candid conversations on the site.

Marc Cinanni — Author, musician, and retreat founder. Additionally, his band Mantranima, his ashram recordings, and the retreat he built in the Catalan hills all feature in this episode.

Reg Carkner — From taxis to tunes. A Canadian music story about the long way into the industry and what you find when you get there.

Music Histories

Abbey Road & The British Invasion — How a recording studio in London changed popular music permanently.

Los Angeles: Music History — The city that built the music industry and subsequently rebuilt it three more times.

New Orleans Jazz — Where it started, why it started there, and what it consequently gave the world.

Mississippi Blues — Robert Johnson, the crossroads, and the music that therefore became the foundation of everything that followed.

NY Punk Rock — CBGB, three chords, and a city that was falling apart and somehow made that beautiful.

NY Hip Hop — The Bronx in the 1970s. How hip hop was born, why it survived, and furthermore where it went from there.

MuchMusic — What made Canadian music television special and why it mattered beyond the border.

Random Rock Stories — Music analysis, cultural commentary, and the stories that don’t fit anywhere else.

Music doesn’t belong to any one place or any one people. It belongs to whoever needs it. That’s been true since the beginning. Overall, NAO is here to prove it’s still true now.