We had the honor of sitting down with one of the founders of Space Yacht, Rami Perlman (also known as LondonBridge), to discuss what’s been going on with the company during the pandemic, what the future of the company looks like, and how their most recent compilation Tech My House Volume 2 came together.
Space Yacht is an LA-based entertainment company that is known for throwing events in the EDM space. During the pandemic they started a live listening stream on Twitch called Tune Reactor as a way to stay connected with their community and fans. This led to the start of their record label, Space Yacht Records.
Watch the interview or catch some of the highlights below!
Below you’ll find a few questions from the interview where Rami touches on their new compilation: Tech My House Volume 2, their new record label, and the process behind Tune Reactor. Check out the video interview to hear a few more questions, and to take in all of the energy and passion that Rami radiates!
Stream Tech My House Volume 2
Space Yacht’s Rami Perlman Talks EDM Live Events, Tune Reactor, and New Music
RMR: Absolutely loving the Tech My House Volume 2 compilation that actually came out today. Tell me more about that and where all these artists and singles came from?
Rami: “We started Space Yacht Records during the pandemic about 10 months ago. Before we started putting out music we were really known as an event brand; we also do clothing as well. But the people who knew about Space Yacht really were coming to our event, whether it was in LA or around the country.
“The label started to become something like a whole new passion for Henry and I because we’ve always wanted to start a label. It made a lot of sense. We see other really great brands like NightBass or Dirty Bird, they throw events but they also have the whole label as the backbone of everything they do. And we didn’t have that so we saw this as a great opportunity, saying, okay, now is the time where we can start to do this.
“The weird way it kind of all came about was we started doing this Twitch demo listening show called Tune Reactor, where we listen to people’s demos. We didn’t start it as a way to start the label. We just started it. There was no events going on last year and we really needed something to do to not only stay relevant, but [also] keep Henry and me sane. You know, we love this. We love being in the mix in the electronic music community.
——————
“We just needed something to stay together with out audience. So we’re getting all these great demos…Tune Reactor started to became an A&R funnel where we realized, wait, we could actually find all the records for our label… just through our Twitch show. [About eight months ago], we did the first Tech My House compilation, which was a mixture of people from out Twitch show and then stuff we got from managers and other artists that we’d been friends with along the way.
“The second one, I’d say about 90% of the records on this compilation were found on our Twitch show… While we were putting together these 14 tracks I started to realize that this is very different in terms of what the first one was. Because it’s not just like push play and it’s all the same thing. It’s actually pretty diverse – the range of sounds within the house genre. So there’s tracks on here that aren’t even technically tech house. Some are leaning a little more bassy.
“Tech My House isn’t just about tech house. It’s representing multiple genres within house… I’m just excited for fans of house music to dig into this and give it some listens and see what they think.”
“It’s literally a compilation full of DJ weapons that work in many settings”
Rami recommends all DJs to download this compilation and use it in the club. Stating, “you could take any record off to this and play it in a specific setting and it’ll go off.” He continues, “it’s just literally a compilation full of DJ weapons that work in many settings.”
He also talks about diving more into visual arts as well through NFTs and cover art. Tech My House Volume 2’s cover art was done by a Las Vegas based artist named Pretty Done.
RMR: So the record label came about during the pandemic, but did you guys consider or talk about it beforehand, or was that not really even a thought until it happened?
Rami: “It was. It was always a thought even from like the very beginning. We started [in 2015] with just a weekly party in LA every Tuesday, and we still do that party to this very day. We were actually allowed to open up three weeks ago. So yes, to answer your question, the label was always something that we discussed… It would be a lot easier for us if we had a label, because then we could just book our own people, and you know, you get a global extension with a record label. Because anybody can listen to it anywhere.
“The same with our Twitch show, too. We realized we’re getting demos from Germany, from Holland, from all these different places. So there was always kind of this notion that we’re kind of limiting our ceiling if we’re just doing events because not everyone can get to it.”
“There was always kind of this notion that we’re kind of limiting our ceiling if we’re just doing events because not everyone can get to it.”
“So it was always on our mind. Then it was March 12th where all of our events were shut down. We had about 80 events scheduled for the rest of the year. We were averaging between 120 to 150 shows a year for like the last three years. It was really just Henry and me and then a couple of junior people. We didn’t even have the staff we have now. So we wanted to do the label but never really got to it…
“[It was a] combination between Twitch A&R and just like, ‘Cool, here’s another way to express the brand.’ That’s kind of how it came about.”
Tune Reactor on Twitch
RMR: I imagine you guys get hundreds of submissions on Tune Reactor. What was your process of narrowing down submissions and choosing what songs to feature on the compilations?
Rami: “It’s actually quicker than you would think in terms of going through stuff. I’ve been saying this to a lot of people who were like ‘how do we get music to you?’ And I’m like, Tune Reactor is the time where you’re going to get my full attention. So we do the show, it’s now twice a week, but at the time we were doing three days a week for at least two hours. So six hours plus of A&R time for Henry and I. Listening and it’s funny, we try to make it funny and there’s a comedy element of our show. We’re not roasting, it’s not a roast show. This is for you to get notes and comments.
“What ends up happening is that on screen A&R is the most focused that we are… We listen to everything that people send us. Because we have that block time to do A&R, it’s much more quality A&R than just randomly listening between meetings. So Tune Reactor really helps us focus and do better and quicker, as opposed to being like, let me give it a couple more listens. Like we really know after the first listen whether it’s worthy of that second, third, fourth listen.
“Because we have that block time to do A&R, it’s much more quality A&R than just randomly listening between meetings.”
“To answer your question, during the height of the pandemic it was really those livestream DJ sets that I played and then also hearing my peers who also have the records… It wasn’t that kind of feedback from the live fans, but it was the feedback from the chat… So when that blew up, it was actually an indicator for me. So I would say that the feedback really was the chat.
…
“If it feels seamless, if it’s loud enough, if the quality is on par with Green Velvet or somebody who is at the top of the game, then I’m like okay, great. Like these records can hang because records need to have a certain level of audio quality. Because if someone’s gonna mix within their DJ mix, it all of a sudden your stuff is super muffled or the master of it is no good, it’s not loud enough, that’s an issue regardless of how great the song is. So the livestreams actually really helped me kind of test them, even though there wasn’t an audience.”
RMR: So with restrictions lifting, live music is coming back. You mentioned some shows in California, I’ve seen you’re throwing other shows around the country. Tell us what the rest of 2021 and the future of Space Yacht looks like.
Rami: “A couple territories opened up earlier. You know LA was kind of the last to open up and we knew and were prepared for that. So in the meantime, we started to start business in other areas where we weren’t as strong because they were open. So Austin for example all of the sudden became a really great place for us. We’ve been there at least once a month for the past six months. Salt Lake is another place. Other various places in Texas. We’re going to be in Houston this week, [and] Vegas.
“So the growth in the live event stuff was really a product of like, ‘what is open, what is safe, what is outdoors?’ We are very conscious of the COVID precautions and we didn’t want to be out there being irresponsible. All of the partners we worked with had that same mindset. All of those situations, whether it was outdoor festivals or in San Francisco where we did a three-day basically block party. That kind of, not on purpose, became a new growth area. And then LA Tuesday has just opened up three weeks ago.”
“We are very conscious of the COVID precautions and we didn’t want to be out there being irresponsible.”
“So in terms of the way we look at the future of Space Yacht for this year, it’s definitely like growth within the event space and finding partners in different places like Orlando… Then we think about the space in other cities… the community should be their community. It should be about like who’s into house music in Austin, Texas. Like, what is that vibe, who do they have with, and how can we take some of those artists that live in Austin that we don’t even know about yet? Put them on shows because the local aspect is always an aspect to our shows.”
To catch the rest of the interview, head over to our YouTube!
Stream Tech My House Volume 2
Make sure to give Space Yacht a follow on socials to stay up to date with shows going on, new compilations, merchandise, and much more.
Follow Space Yacht
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Twitch | Website
Follow the Founders
Rami Perlman (LondonBridge) | Henry Lu (HiddenHen)
Photo via @hiddenhen on Instagram
More Music and Cannabis Content:
WASHINGTON D.C’S NOOCHIE TALKS RELEASING NEW MUSIC THIS SUMMER [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]
TRAVIS SCOTT PARTNERS WITH CANNABIS CULTIVATORS TO CREATE CACTUS FARMS
RESPECT MY REGION LAUNCHES THE FIRST NORTH AMERICAN WEED TOUR SEARCHING FOR THE BEST WEED IN THE U.S. AND CANADA
DOMBRESKY & NOIZU TAKING OVER THE HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM FOR RAVE ALARM SHOW IN NOVEMBER
WISDOM FROM Q THE QUESTION ON THE RMR PODCAST: EXECUTIVE OF SKE RECORDS AND SUCCESSFUL MUSIC INDUSTRY ENTREPRENEUR
