Few artists in contemporary house music carry the spirit of the genre with as much sincerity as Space Ghost. Hailing from Oakland, his work taps into something timeless — a deep, emotional current that connects the roots of house to its more introspective, dreamlike edges. Drawing lineage from figures like Larry Heard, Alton Miller, and Blaze, his music channels a sense of warmth and affirmation that feels increasingly rare in today’s fast-moving landscape.
Originally released in 2021, Dance Planet quickly became one of those records that quietly embeds itself in people’s lives — not just as a dancefloor tool, but as a companion. With the newly expanded Dance Planet – Be Free Edition on Tartelet Records, that vision returns with renewed clarity. Remastered and reimagined through a series of new remixes — including contributions from RAMZi and Crystalline Reality — the album deepens its emotional reach while staying rooted in its original message: to move freely, to feel deeply, and to be unapologetically yourself.
Across ambient passages, broken rhythms, and classic 4/4 grooves, Space Ghost continues to explore the healing potential of music — something that extends beyond his productions into his label Peace World Records and his broader artistic philosophy.
For this MIXED BY, we caught up with him to talk about revisiting Dance Planet, the role of affirmation in his work, and how his musical world continues to evolve.
INTERVIEW
Dance Planet has taken on a kind of timeless quality since its original release. What made you want to revisit it now with the Be Free Edition?
Well I think it’s been about 5 years since we first released Dance Planet, which is crazy by the way! But yea, Tartelet hit me up recently and we thought it sounded like a good idea to reissue the project. It felt like a good opportunity to remaster everything, add some new remixes, and mess with the art to give it a fresh twist.
When you went back to the album, did you hear it differently compared to 2021? Had your relationship with those tracks — emotionally or technically — shifted over time?
I would say as a whole I feel very proud of this album and when I listen back, it still feels very solid and timeless to me. This album helped me explore my sound/style 5 years ago and everything I’ve made after feels like a product of it. The tracks still feel relevant to who I am at this moment. It was interesting going back to the original premasters as we prepped for new mastering because the premasters sounded way different than I remember. I remember thinking that these were some of the best mixes I had ever done back when we first released it, but now some of the premasters sounded a bit lacking! It was a good reminder of how much the mastering brought out of the tracks originally.
The record has always carried a strong message of affirmation — “be yourself,” “go,” “heal.” Where does that impulse come from in your music? Is it something intentional, or just naturally embedded in how you create?
I think the affirmation themes were prevalent around that time because I was teaching myself to let go within my music and create what felt true to myself. Plus I think those kinds of themes and lyrics always go hand in hand with dance music. Optimism, healing, being yourself, I guess either way you spin it, they’ll work well on the dancefloor or at home.
There’s a beautiful balance in your work between dancefloor energy and introspective moments. How do you approach that duality when producing? Do you think in terms of function (club vs. home listening), or more in terms of feeling?
It just depends on my mood or attention span. I think generally the duality of those two styles is kind of just who I am. A lot of the time I’m very introverted and like being in my own head at home but sometimes I’m feeling like going out and dancing or interacting with others. Sometimes I feel like making a house track and other times I feel like making something more ambient. I think as I get older I’m still learning how to make more proper club tunes, it’s really hard! Sometimes I think I’m making something for the club but later realize it’s better suited for home listening. I think most of the time I’m really just going off of mood and when a project starts forming, I begin to understand which direction it’s going either dancefloor or home listening. In terms of an album though, it just sounds nice on an LP to have the mixture of both club and home listening to balance each other out.
Your sound is often linked to the legacy of artists like Larry Heard or Blaze — music that feels deeply human and emotional. How do you engage with that lineage without feeling constrained by it?
People will always draw their own lines to other artists when listening to my music. I’m often linked to the sounds of Larry Heard because I’ve been pretty open about my inspiration from his music and sometimes my older tracks used similar keyboards. I love blaze, but I don’t think I was ever inspired by them directly for any releases. But that said, I can’t be too mad being compared to some of the greatest house legends. I don’t think I’ll ever feel constrained by those musical links, I’m always going to be inspired by other people’s music and people will draw their own conclusions when they listen to my sounds. Music and Art are like a game of telephone, we’re just absorbing what we like and then trying to recreate our favorite parts with our own voice. People will listen to my music and relate it to everything that came before me, and that’s just a part of being a musician or artist.
The new remixes bring very different perspectives to the album. What stood out to you when you heard interpretations from artists like RAMZi or Crystalline Reality? Did any of them surprise you in how they reframed your work?
I know these songs so well, I’ve heard them a million times. I guess it’s just interesting to hear them totally reimagined by other artists through their own creative lens. I really appreciate that both the RAMZI and Crystalline Reality remixes were quite different from the originals, it just brings a new flavor to my music and hopefully a new crowd of listeners. But on the other hand Not Even Noticed provided a nice take to my original track as well, kind of in the same spirit but a little faster and DJ friendly.
You’ve also revisited your own tracks for this edition. What does it mean to remix yourself? Is it about refinement, reinterpretation, or something closer to closure?
I really like remixing my own songs, sometimes you can get a lot of creative juice out of one idea. I often like doing different versions of my own songs which can sometimes land on the same release. For my remix of Be Yourself, I was thinking more about trying to simplify the original into a more club friendly tune and breathe some new life into it. I still like the original but sometimes it can also sound a bit too mellow. I often make songs thinking they would work really well in the club, only to realize they might sound kind of clunky or lack energy. So with that, I thought I’d try to update ‘Be Yourself’ so that it could fit into a faster club set, with more groove and swing. I think it worked, guess I’ll go find out?
Your label, Peace World Records, also reflects a strong sense of identity and intention. How does running a label feed back into your own creative process?
I’m still trying to figure out the right flow for my art and my label. Right now I’m just trying to catch up with myself and release a few projects that have been taking me a long time to complete. But ideally when I’m feeling more caught up, I’d like to get in a nice flow of creating and releasing my own music on my label at a nice non-stressful pace. Hopefully then I’ll have this sort of rolling ball of creativity from creating and releasing music more smoothly.
The MIXED BY format sits somewhere between a DJ set and a personal statement. How did you approach building this mix? Were you thinking about storytelling, mood, or something more instinctive?
I was looking back at my more recent mixes and realizing I needed some more house focused or uptempo mixes. I’ve got so much house music stacking up over the years and I’m not putting enough of it into mixes. So I blended some recent finds that I’ve been enjoying as well as some things that have been starting to gather dust and I just haven’t gotten around to putting in a mix for awhile.
Is there a thread or idea that connects the tracks you selected for the mix? What do you hope listeners take away from it — especially in relation to Dance Planet?
Honestly there’s not much of a deep takeaway from this mix, just some nice dance tunes I hope people enjoy. The mix is mostly moody old school house, with some faster stuff towards the end that I usually wouldn’t get to play out.
A lot of your music feels rooted in healing and emotional release. Do you think dance music still holds that space today? Or has the context changed in recent years?
I feel like the core values of dance music is about emotional release. Whether as a DJ, Musician or Dancer, it’s all about expressing yourself and healing through music. Not sure if much has changed.
Looking ahead, where do you feel your sound is moving? Do you see yourself continuing along this path, or exploring new territories beyond what we hear on Dance Planet?
I don’t think there’s a straight answer to that one, I’ll just continue being creative and the music will go where it wants to go.
