Sam Valenti
Sam Valenti, founder of Ghostly International, is recognized for his exceptional taste and pioneering vision in music and art. A new father based out of New York City with roots in Detroit and Ann Arbor, Sam established Ghostly in 1999 as a dynamic platform for artists, encompassing a record label and a global collaboration network for designers, writers, and photographers. His work embodies a deep commitment to bridging music with visual arts, alongside a personal passion for collecting physical music media.
Recommendations
An excellent book providing scholarship on bootlegging as a creative practice, released in 2024.
A collection of essays that tell excellent stories of a world that is slowly disappearing, in this case, a wild, reckless way of life.
A biography that sets the record straight on a lot of historical comics stuff, providing insights into the life and legacy of Stan Lee.
A novel praised for its poetic and surreal tone, related to the emerging new language of literature in the 2010s/2020s that mirrors a clipped, hyperreal voice.
The most famous sleeve designed by Peter Saville for Factory Records, featuring a 'found' graphic of a pulsar on a space black sleeve.
A biopic that discusses the history of Factory Records and its approach to music and design.
Editions
On beating (then eventually becoming) the real thing.
On fatherhood, early mornings, and Louisiana
On death, art, and remembrance
On Peter Saville, Factory Records, and the lasting aesthetics of their partnership