This is my first ever J-card design for a custom tape insert, which I designed for a tape that I had also recorded myself!
Melodimania Mix is a mixtape I made to show respect towards melodicas, and it contains popular songs in which the melodica is used professionally. It features songs made by famous music groups like Gorillaz, New Order and others.
My motivation to make this tape was my observation that melodicas are seen as unserious instruments, kids’ toys or meme instruments like the Stylophone or Otamatone. People don’t know exactly how to feel about them unless they are played with complexity to be impressive. I thought they deserve better treatment, so I made this tape to celebrate melodicas being used professionally, sounding good, and belonging in various genres.
My Mel character is drawn on the cover of the tape because he is a humanoid melodica. He clearly deserves to be there, as a nonhuman humanoid who speaks with reeds instead of vocal cords and has melodica-key-shaped teeth and actual functional keys on his body.
The colours of the J card are a mix of the same Reddit-orange colour as the tape inside and a contrasting blue. This was carefully thought out.
I might speak in more detail about the contents of this tape in a dedicated article about melodica slander or the tape itself in the future.
This tape, complete with the J card I drew and put in the case, was an emotional support object to me back in March-April 2026. I was really into Mel as both a melodica and a fictional man OC, and I felt encouraged to keep trying my best.
Honestly, when I placed the tape on my desk at work, I was inspired to make him proud, and ended up working a little bit harder.
Facts about this piece
- The melodica that Mel is holding isn’t just an instrument to him. It’s a kin, it’s an individual close to his species. He is a melodica as well, with the only difference being that he is shaped like a humanoid.
- The melodica in the drawing is inspired by my dream melodica I wanted since I was a teen in 2021, the Suzuki Melodion M-37C Plus. The colours are a bit different, but the inspiration is visible.
- The Silver Sound brand is a real, unpopular cassette tape brand. I didn’t create the brand name from scratch. It likely dates back to the 70s.