Running a Record Label With Sam Valenti IV...and Eating Artichokes With Us

Here we are, asking the important questions, including “What’s it like to start a record label and run it for 20 years?” and “Who in their right mind decided to eat an artichoke for the first time?” Sam Valenti IV, behind the very compelling Ghostly International, has all the answers to our first query, and we don’t think we’ll ever really get to the heart (heh) of our second.

Best use of an Instant Pot: cookin’ artichokes. 

Oddly enthusiastic endorsement: vintage Majorcan and Portuguese artichoke plates.

A couple good ways to put a can/jar of artichokes to good use: sardine pasta and back-pocket canned salad. 

Dig into Sam Valenti’s Ghostly International—both the musical artists (including the label’s very first, Matthew Dear) and the products. Also, follow Ghostly’s playlists—their “At Work” one in particular.

A few Brooklyn record stores worthy of Sam’s fandom: Rough Trade, Academy Records, and Captured Tracks Shop. 

When Sam’s looking to discover new music, he can always count on Buy Music Club, Blackbandcamp.info, and Numero Group to deliver.

AND! A handful of other things we talked about: Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes, That Thing You Do!, The Last Dance, and the podcast How Long Gone.

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Produced by Dear Media