Mark Farina is a Chicago-born house and acid jazz DJ and producer, associated with deep house, downtempo and the Mushroom Jazz style he develops from a blend of acid jazz, jazzy club production and urban beats. Born in 1969, he begins building his reputation in Chicago after meeting Derrick Carter in a record store in 1988, and he goes on to become known for house sets that draw on both the Chicago scene and a San Francisco sensibility.

Style and career

Farina explores a deeper approach to house music by mixing tracks such as De La Soul, disco records and other music that was not commonly heard in main club rooms. From this approach he creates Mushroom Jazz, his trademark downtempo sound. He starts a weekly Mushroom Jazz club night in San Francisco with Patty Ryan, and the event develops a strong following over three years. After the club closes, he continues the project through a series of Mushroom Jazz releases on OM Records.

He is also known for long DJ sets, sometimes lasting up to eight hours, and for switching between contrasting rooms and moods in the same party, moving from larger club sounds to more restrained, chilled material. When he is not touring, he works in the studio on releases for his label, Great Lakes Audio, and on further Mushroom Jazz mixes.

Releases

His selected releases include Mushroom Jazz, Seasons One, Mushroom Jazz 2, Imperial Dub, San Francisco Sessions, Mushroom Jazz 3, United DJs of America volume 9, Mushroom Jazz 4, Connect, Air Farina, Mushroom Jazz 5, Sessions, House of Om, Live in Tokyo, Mushroom Jazz VI and Fabric 40: Mark Farina.

Recognition

Farina appears on Top DJs in the World lists from URB, MUZIK and BPM magazines, reflecting his standing in club culture. His work is closely tied to the development of Mushroom Jazz as a recognised strand of downtempo and acid jazz-influenced house.