at a glance...

Hometown: San Francisco, CA
First Recordings: 1994

Personnel:
Mark Farina -decks

Acts in the family :
Dubtribe, Terra Deva, Soulstice, Naked Music NYC, Thievery Corporation

If you've ever tried to DJ, then you have an idea how hard it is to get two records to both play at once and not sound like someone just dropped a drum kit down the stairs. Judging from this mix CD it must be easy for Mark Farina. Hands down, this disc has the best mixing of any mix record I've ever listened to. He doesn't just play one track and then beat match it into the next one. The mixes are really, really long, and he brings older tracks back in and out, sometimes two or three tracks after you thought they were over. He's also not afraid to scratch. The scratching on this record is so dope! I would honestly give one of my testicles to be able to DJ like this Mark Farina. Somebody should give him an award.

Mark Farina's live sets are usually hard, four-on-the-floor deep house, but he lightened it up for this compilation, focusing on jazzy, up-tempo trip-hop. You'll find break-beats, horn samples and vocals - there's even an uncut hip-hop track. The vocals don't ruin it - there's no cheese here. Though Mushroom Jazz may be remembered as the record that broke Blue Boy's hit "Remember Me," the entire collection is essential, and it reminds me why I pay money to hear people play records.