Sam Valenti IV (US)

The founder of Ghostly International, home to two of America’s finest independent record labels, Ghostly and Spectral Sound. Valenti grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, fascinated by the city’s musical history from Motown to techno. He picked up his first pair of decks at the age of 15, adopted the moniker DJ Spaceghost, and began tutelage under some of Detroit's most respected DJs. At the age of 19, Valenti noticed a distinct lack of options for American electronic music, and began envisioning a genre-less label that would respect the freedom and intellect of both its audience and its artists. Founded in 1999 and including artists such as Matthew Dear, Tycho, Avalon Emerson, Gold Panda, Seth Troxler, Dabrye and Com Truise, Ghostly has balanced carefully between pop culture, leftfield experimentation, and studied artistic tradition.