True House Stories® Youtube & Spotify Video Podcast
TRUE HOUSE STORIES W/ MARK FARINA
Mark Farina interviewed by Lenny Fontana for True House Stories # 075
Part 1
Mark Farina born in Chicago, Illinois, USA is an American disc jockey and musician, known for Chicago House Music, Acid Jazz and Downtempo works. His notable releases include “Mood” (KMS Records, 1989) and the Mushroom Jazz series (OM Records, 1996–2011), and is also known from the house compilations EL Divino.
He is primarily identified with the House Music scene based in San Francisco, California. He starts out in High School learning the craft of how to DJ. Eventually gets his hands on a pair of Technics Turntables and he begins to start to work at a club in Arizona while at college.
Part 2
Mark Farina speaks about his club life and getting a job at the record store in Chicago. He makes his alliance with Derrick Carter and Stacey Pullen. Shelter Club gives him his first residency in Chicago and the rest is the history.
He then works hard to become one of the few DJ’s that travel around the USA and Canada for the last three decades. He has plans to keep rolling forward and never stop.
Jon Mancini YouTube Video Part 1
Jon Mancini YouTube Video Part 2
Biography Mark Farina
Mark Farina has solidified himself in the world of Dance Music as a trailblazing DJ, Producer, tastemaker and bona fide House Music icon. After 3 decades crisscrossing the globe, he shows no signs of slowing down remaining innovative, humble, and firmly rooted in the underground.
“I look at my job as a ‘modern day traveling minstrel’ bringing new music to as many places as I can and exposing audiences to obscure records that otherwise might go hidden.
As an early House Music pioneer in the late 80’s, Farina’s history includes an impressive long standing residency at Smart Bar Chicago and a job at the legendary Gramaphone Records. In the 90s, Mark pushed musical boundaries and blended hip hop with downtempo grooves to create an entirely new genre, “Mushroom Jazz”. Eventually, Mark made San Francisco his home as his legendary DJ sets sparked a constant demand in clubs and festivals across the US.
The Bay Area proved to be a perfect match for Mark’s musical vision and he released a string of major mix compilations including his Mushroom Jazz series. With a tireless passion for playing extended sets, B2B shows with fellow House Music icons, or playing both of his signature styles on 2 stages on the same night, Farina continues to entertain his incredible fans all over the globe with over 100 shows per year.