Interviewed in May 2025. This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
west & ease is a space for conversations with creatives, insights on design, and the moments that bring community to life. I’m Leslie Luo and in this conversation, I’m catching up with Sam Ray Lee—a creative and part of the Brooklyn-based music collective Umami House.
We first spoke in 2023. Since then, a lot has happened. In this recent conversation, Sam reflects on what he’s been building over the past year and a half — from learning how to create the right atmosphere for live music, to finding that sweet spot where energy, space, and sound all come together. But it wasn’t until he came up with the idea for Jam Battle, a one-v-one musical improv showdown featuring talented artists, that he saw the full potential of what this could become.
Also heads up, there’s some explicit language in this conversation.
To learn more about Sam and his work, you can follow him on Instagram @raytheidea, @umamihousemusic, and @jambattleofficial.
You can also read our first conversation where Sam shares more about his creative journey in 2023.
Credits
Intro and outro song: Friends by Umami House
Umami House’s first song, Move Along
Audio from the first Umami House Experience recap
Audio from the second Umami House Experience recap
Audio from Umami House x 12 Pell collaboration
Audio from Umami House Presents Jam Battle 1 recap
