Words, tracks, and guest playlists from Ghostly International’s founder Sam Valenti IV.

Dig in the crates all you want, but if you don’t have a clue what you’re supposed to be finding, or are unaware of the various signifiers that lead to uncovering diamonds in the rough, you’ll likely be disappointed during record shopping sojourns.

Which is to say, the more you know, the more you’ll find. Which is to also say, newsletters such as Sam Valenti IV’s Herb Sundays will help you find the good stuff. Valenti is best known for founding Ghostly International, the Michigan-born techno and experimental electronic institution that since 1999 has released crucial work by Matthew Dear, Lusine, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Tycho, Mary Lattimore and dozens more.

The format’s pretty simple, but yields fascinating information and picks. Each week he highlights a musician, writer, visual artist, or thinker and their work and invites them to create a playlist. Among the highlights? Sam Gendel, Michael Mayer, Kool Keith, Hua Hsu, Ami Dang, Philip Sherburne, and dozens more.

Valenti launched Herb Sundays in 2021 and just published his 82nd installment, which features writer-publisher Kevin Kelly, best known as the cofounder of Wired magazine. Valenti describes him as someone “who defies definition and sits somewhere between what we used to call a public intellectual, a professional writer/thinker, and sort of a cool uncle/grandparent type who keeps you on your toes.”

Though Kelly isn’t a music-type, which is the focus of Herb Sundays, Valenti asks him what his go-to music is these days. Kelly replies that over the years he’s become “less surrounded by music, and for most the time I enjoy the silence of working.” One exception, he continues, is when he’s writing. “I have one song I play on repeat. It just goes around and around and around. It forms kind of like a trance, I don’t hear it, but it puts me in the writing state. So I can almost hear this music and be able to concentrate to write. it’s a Russian chant, I think the Bulgarian men’s choir or something.”

Valenti’s highlighting of Okay Kaya in Herb Sundays #73 was an epiphany. Writes Valenti: “Kaya’s work walks that line between dreamy and brutal but never shies away from directness or hides completely behind metaphor. The music is romantic, but with a sense of despair around the corner (a press release describes her as ‘Sade for nihilists’).”

Installment #72 features the great visual artist and musician Cory Arcangel, who writes of his listening habits:

“Generally, I tend to listen to albums. I will listen to one over and over again for weeks, or sometimes months (with exceptions for dance music, contemporary classical, and other forms which can be single heavy). For this selection, I’ve picked some Sunday style cuts which are on some of the records I’ve roamed through over the last few years. I can highly recommend the albums behind some of these(!): Arkbro, CHORDS; Softcore Untd, Skokebenken; Bochum Welt, Module II; Triad, Triad God, etc, etc.“

You can dig through all of the installments at the Herb Sunday archive page. Guaranteed you’ll discover a track or artist worthy of your attention.