Mark Farina :: Live in Tokyo

Artist :: Mark Farina
Album :: Live in Tokyo
Label :: Om Records

In a word :: Momentous

There are some names that are synonymous with the genre they've helped to build. I say Juan Atkins; you say Techno. I say Aphex Twin; you say IDM. I say Mark Farina; and you damn well better be saying house.

From his Warehouse days in Chi-town alongside his brother-from-another-mother, Derrick Carter, to his migration to San Francisco and his work with Om Records, Mark Farina is a staple of house music. From minimal, to deep, to mid-tempo, there's nothing he can't (or won't) spin a set around. And he is a DJ who spins a lot.

The normal progression in DJ culture if for artists to cut their teeth spinning vinyl and building a name that way. After awhile, when enough people know him, said DJ will cut a record of original material and go that route. Some even go so far as to abandon the DJ set altogether to make their own tracks. Mark Farina is not your normal DJ. And he never has been.

While he has some of his own tracks out, Mark Farina is a DJ first. He enjoys international fame for spinning records, because he does it better than most anybody else. Could he put out albums of his own material? Sure he could. He'd probably sell a respectable amount, too. But that is not his game. He doesn't transcend into that realm. Rather, he is a Bodhisattva of the beat, bringing other artists into the spotlight where they can get noticed. And for a house artist, being in a Mark Farina mix that gets released is like being on Oprah. He takes talented artists and puts them in the spotlight.

He makes the magic happen. He is the DJ.

But why? Why is he so good? What is it about Mark Farina, out of the thousands of DJs in the world, that makes him stand out? I'll give you a clue, the answer is closer than you think. It's because he's a lot like you and me. Before he is a DJ, he is a music fanatic.

You know what it's like when you have friends over, and you've got this disc you want them to listen to because it is so good and you know they haven't heard it before, and they absolutely have to hear it! But before that song is done, you are already excited because you just thought of something they else they have to hear! And the kicker is that you know they aren't enjoying it as much as you are, because they just don't get it. They are not music fans, like you...like Mark Farina. It's that familiarity in a Mark Farina mix. He gives you stuff you've never heard before and does it at a time when you need nothing more in the world than that track.

And he does it mix after mix, never the same mix twice.

That's the magic. That's the DJ at work.



On Live in Tokyo, Mark Farina delivers again. This time he does it like you haven't heard him on a release before. In the past, I've enjoyed his work as it slowly builds, wave upon wave, peaking then rescinding. This time, however, it's different. Taking a mid-tempo groove and weaving it through different house genres like glitch house and soul house, the whole disc slowly builds until about 3/4 of the way through when cuts like Ken ECB's "I Heart Bougie (Toka Project Mix)" and Daniel Cummings's "Deep Heat" are pumping, you feel the crescendo of the mix building. No tempo changes. No key changes. Just a steady increase of intensity that is the DJ making his magic in time.

It's rare that a mix CD really seems to capture the energy of the live show. Then again, Mark Farina is a rare DJ. And Live in Tokyo rare is mix.

Samatha James :: Rise

Artist :: Samantha James
Album :: Rise
Label :: Om Records

Play this cut first :: Living Without You

In a word :: Captivating

Okay, it's been a long time since an artist came along with a sound so pure and direct that it cannot be overlooked. Om Records' artist, Samantha James, shows on her debut album, Rise, that she could very well be the voice of electronic music for years to come. Quite frankly, this album is so good it's stunning.

Initial comparisons to Sade are obvious. She has that same smoke in her voice. I'm trying hard not to call it sexy; so I'll call it sultry. Fans of Aya and Lisa Shaw should also find Samantha James to be to their liking.

Sade is certainly an influence. I would say that Morcheeba and Massive Attack even get in there sometimes. As a result, it's not a run-of-the-mill vocal house album by any means. Rise runs the gamut from dancefloor fillers, to think pieces, to bedroom music. It's not something that is easy to do. And frankly, I don't think I've heard it done this well since Madonna hit the scene. Does that mean Samantha James will be the next Madonna? Probably not; the music industry landscape is a very different place these days. If this were 1983, however, well ... maybe.

Standout tracks include "Rise", which is featured below. What is most striking is the simplicity of the arrangement. It puts all of the focus on the vocals, where it belongs. And Samantha James carries it. "Living Without You" has a decidedly electro feel that is clearly aimed at the dance floor. "Send It Out To The Universe" is another traditional house cut that brings out the soul flavor that put house on the map before acid house emerged.

Along the way, however, are interesting bossa nova tinted tracks like "Enchanted Life" and "I Found You". While these tracks aren't my favorite on the album, they serve a purpose in showing the amazing range of Samantha James. In fact, these are the cuts the allow her to avoid being pigeon-holed as just another house singer. When you hear these cuts, you wonder what the next album will bring.



What I'm having a hard time getting to is this: you'll find a lot of hardcore aggressive music on this blog. I consider myself a rocker first. Sometimes, however, an artist comes along whose music is so powerful that it cannot be denied. I adore Bjork, Peter Gabriel, Beethoven, and Stevie Ray Vaughan because there is something in their work that completely transcends genres. It is the power of music that knows no boundaries. It is the power of musicians to be in touch with some sort if eternal and universal musical element that goes beyond cognition and completely penetrates the human soul, filling it with the spirit of music - that spirit that made us fans of music in the first place. Samantha James's Rise is that type of album.

Best cuts on the album :: Rise, Living Without You, Send It Out To The Universe, Right Now

The bottom line :: This is an album of life. It is an album of endless summer nights dancing on balconies with the buzz of a few drinks spinning in your head. It is an album of cruising the coast with the top down. It is the aural equivalent of the northern lights painting the sky wonderful shades of magnificence. It is an album that touches the core of the human soul and makes you wish that this moment, this very moment, would never end. Yeah, it's that kind of album. And it doesn't come around very often.