ETC!ETC! and Ephwurd give a surprise back-to-back performance. Photo by Anastasia Velicescu
If you’re a Los Angeles native with a keen interest in music then chances are that you’ve heard of Space Yacht. If not, let us introduce you to the legends responsible for curating Hollywood’s most talked about party with appearances by artists like Skrillex, Steve Aoki, Ghastly, 12th Planet, ETC!ETC!, Ephwurd, Anna Lunoe and many more.
The party brand was originally founded about two years ago by Ollie Zhang, Henry Lu and Rami Perlman. According to Mixmag, the trio based the name of their project on a joke among them that once they were successful, they would Skype each other from their yachts in space.
Ollie first met Henry through their involvement in college concerts. Shortly after college, the pair began working at the same digital agency, where they later met Rami.
When reminiscing on the old days of how the three met and the inception of their brand, Henry reflects,
“Ollie, Rami, and I stayed late at the office often, and when everyone left we started bumping dirty house music pretty loud. At some point, we thought it would be cool to throw a party and it went from there. It was about our community and creating a shared space – it’s still like that.”
Late nights at the office paid off as seen on Space Yacht’s Instagram, where it’s clear that the weekly Tuesday party has become a sensation. The weekly event has had a history of attracting industry regulars, surprise guests and late night orders of pizza.
The selection of performing artists varies on a regular basis as Rami Perlman explains,
“… We feature a mix of up and coming artists as well as established acts. For some, it’s the first show they have ever played, for others it’s the smallest room they’ve played in years! That’s what makes it so special. You really never know who’s going to show up and rock the party. “
In an exclusive with Four Over Four, Ollie, Henry, and Rami discuss Space Yacht, the details of how their project took on a life of its own as well as plans for 2017.
How did you discover electronic music?
Ollie: It took until college for me to really understand dance music culture and dig deeper. The first Justice album was super impactful to me, as was a lot of blog house and Dim Mak stuff. I only listened to metal in high school – never would have guessed I’d end up here.
Henry: Remix culture was a big part of what brought me into electronic music. I was a teenager scouring blogs for cool indie tunes and all the best remixes. Then blog house became its own thing and things kept going from there.
Rami: The first electronic album I had was Bjork’s Homogenic. My sister was a big Bjork fan so she put me onto it. The production on that album was way ahead of it’s time for 1997. From there I started listening to a lot of house and drum & bass.
When curating events and choosing talent, what is the goal?
Ollie: Building a fun, communal, and cohesive experience. We try to give opportunity to new artists, but we very much curate who plays. We feature a number of different genres from house to heavy bass, so the curation is based on what sound we are programming that specific night. We listen to all types of music, so the major through-line in our booking is simply “stuff we like”.
How did you carve your corner out in the LA music and nightlife scene?
Ollie: We were lucky to be at the right place at the right time. All three of us wanted to be threaded into the fabric of the LA underground scene. We had no idea it would blow up the way that it has and are all super thankful.
Favorite show so far?
Rami: Selfishly, my first birthday show at Space Yacht was probably my favorite. Anna Lunoe was kind enough to bless us as the surprise guest and I had so many of my close friends there to celebrate and jump on the decks.
Henry: It’s hard for me to be partial but I’m always a fan of the nights where they’re all special guests. The reality is that we often don’t even know who’s playing. Those are the nights that sort of take on a life on their own and things start getting crazy in a beautiful way.
Ollie: We’ve done a few pop up shows and collaborations this year that I’m really proud of. For Party Favor’s “Party and Destroy” EP release party, we produced an interactive “break room experience”. We hauled in a dozen old TVs and gave guests a chance to destroy them with a baseball bat.
Just recently, we teamed up with several other promoters in the city for an amazing charity event. We brought Valentino Khan, Party Favor, ETC! ETC!, Ephwurd, and more to our stage and helped raise over $50k for the homeless in Los Angeles.
Where do you hope to go from here?
Rami: This year we started throwing Space Yacht events outside of LA. For 2017, we want to keep bringing this party to other cities while also keeping what we have in LA going strong.
Henry: I would really like to get in touch with someone at Domino’s. I started drunk-ordering pizza for the party at midnight and now it’s sort of our tradition. If someone at Domino’s sees this please DM me.
What can we expect in 2017?
All: As we wrap up our 2nd year, we are bringing our Tuesday party to Sound Nightclub every week. To now host our party at one of the most respected clubs in Los Angeles is a huge honor. We’ve done a handful of shows at Sound in the past year and they’ve always been really special. It’s much bigger than our past weekly venues so this is a big leap for us, but we’re excited to do what we do on a higher level in every way.
2017 is going to be an important year for us.
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