If you know about the various houses left in the wake of this bloke named Jack, you must have been to the house Mark Farina built. His Mushroom Jazz series is the stuff of legend, but on the tremendously promising new effort Fabric 40: Mark Farina, we see Farina elegantly returning to the house he started building at his core — the one built during his early residency at famed Chicago underage hotspot Medusa; the years digging for vinyl at Gramaphone, all the while rubbing elbows with masters of the Chicago house music scene — Derrick Carter, Ralphie Rosario, J Dub, DJ Heather.
Farina’s charisma behind the turntables lies in his ability to integrate styles that aren’t always inherently cohesive. His version of house music blends his famed huge party soundscapes with the intimate “back room” grooves he loves so much. “When making the mix,” Farina says, “I played a sort of fictitious set at fabric on a night that doesn’t exist. Musically, I tried to capture the techy, jackin’ Chicago/SF side of the house spectrum – dubby, chunky tracks. I picked a good variation of underground goodies, a lot of which are unreleased or hopefully not on any other compilations. Tracks that have a good ‘shelf life’ but that aren’t proven hits; hidden gems that might go over looked in this fast paced music era.”
Fabric 40: Mark Farina adds another worthwhile chapter to the ongoing legacies of both Fabric and Farina. Attention must be paid.
Frank Solano – The Blues Line (Tommy Largo Remix)
Fabric 40: Mark Farina can be pre-ordered from Amazon By Clicking Here.
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Been a Farina fan for about eleven years now. Had the priviledge of seeing him live on numerous occasions. Blew my mind more than once. The Mushroom Jazz series remains a regular on my playlists.
I will say that I haven’t enjoyed all of his CDs and mixes…Air Farina was a big disappointment, for example. In any case, the Fabric 40 mix is simply fantastic. Easily worth the $12-$15 I’ve seen it advertised for. (Luckily for me, my wife manages a music store.)
I concur with major points and overall comments made by the gentleman above. While some disappointment & whatever has been ushered out under the house of Farina, Mark seems to be back on his turf, the solid ground of Windy City house-funk, sans San Francisco subtitles & art-house voice-overs. His tenure with Om was getting to be a blessing & curse enigma. Forest and trees blocking the breeze.
Let’s hope Fabric 40 breaks out the cure and kudos to these folks for providing the premise, promise of support for this shell game, his ghost phantom cameo session in the London of our minds. Forever too cool, from old skool, I’m glad Farina never started a band. Seasons, Imperial Dub, & the Mushroom Jazz series remain classic house imprints, classic standards for those ever in doubt. This will do for a yank in the King’s Court.