MARK FARINA
Born in Chicago, the birthplace of house music, Mark Farina developed a taste for the genre at an early age. Though he’s been touring around the world since 1989, it wasn’t until the ’90s reared its ugly, grunge-laced head that Mark would begin to grow his trademark style, Mushroom Jazz. A down-tempo mixture of acid jazz, funk, disco and hip hop, when Mark first showcased this to the main rooms in Chicago, he was demoted to the side room for playing too many Martin Luther King Jr. samples. Mushroom Jazz would later grow a legendary, cult-like following for Mark, as he would often DJ his two styles in separate rooms at the same party. Ranked as one of the top DJ’s in the world by URB, MUZIK and BPM magazines, seasoned veterans and newbs all flock to the self-professed “modern-day traveling minstrel’s” house sets, which are always brimming with funky rhythms and chunky bass lines.
— Brittany Gaston