Air Farina

Amazon.com
Mushroom Jazz-man Mark Farina steps out from behind the decks for the funky and unpredictable Air Farina, his first self-produced artist record. Farina’s experimental streak has always competed with his Chicago house background, but this one is a complete grab bag. Sparse beats mix with electro and ambient textures, with grooves hovering just out of reach, lingering in a funk-jazz haze. The theme of aviation fits in the cracks and crevices, expressed literally with five different "layovers" of air traffic dialogue and flight school instruction. "Dream Machine" is a standout, as Sean Hayes’ vocals stretch out and sigh over cowbells and Farina’s laconic production. The house DJ does make an appearance now and again on songs like "To Do" (featuring label mates Kaskade), but other tracks ("Dropped into the Water") could pass for a poor man’s Mouse On Mars. It’s a tribute to Farina that despite the sonic diversity on display, his record still has a sense of unity. Nevertheless, while his ears are admirably open, Air Farina would be better off keeping a few ideas in reserve for artist record number two. --Matthew Cooke

Product Description
San Francisco, Om Records Announces the Release of "Air Farina" the Long Anticipated Debut Artist Album of all Original Material from Mark Farina. Designed as a Transcontinental Flight Through the Mind of Mark Farina, "Air Farina" Takes the Listener from Take off to the Wildest and Most Exotic Places Visiting Friends Kaskade, People under the Stairs, Lance Desardi and More. This Album Includes Released Mark Farina Tracks!

Tracks:

Take Off
Love Make's
Layover 1
Betcha Do
Leaving SF
To Do
Talk To Me
Layover 2
Dream Machine
Layover 3
Fusbol
Dropped Into Water
We Gotta Get
Gramma So
Gramma Si (Late Night Mix)
Layover 4
Travel
Layover 5
Radio (Los Baggage Mix)

Amazon.com

Mushroom Jazz-man Mark Farina steps out from behind the decks for the funky and unpredictable Air Farina, his first self-produced artist record. Farina's experimental streak has always competed with his Chicago house background, but this one is a complete grab bag. Sparse beats mix with electro and ambient textures, with grooves hovering just out of reach, lingering in a funk-jazz haze. The theme of aviation fits in the cracks and crevices, expressed literally with five different "layovers" of air traffic dialogue and flight school instruction. "Dream Machine" is a standout, as Sean Hayes' vocals stretch out and sigh over cowbells and Farina's laconic production. The house DJ does make an appearance now and again on songs like "To Do" (featuring label mates Kaskade), but other tracks ("Dropped into the Water") could pass for a poor man's Mouse On Mars. It's a tribute to Farina that despite the sonic diversity on display, his record still has a sense of unity. Nevertheless, while his ears are admirably open, Air Farina would be better off keeping a few ideas in reserve for artist record number two. --Matthew Cooke

Album Details

San Francisco, Om Records Announces the Release of "Air Farina" the Long Anticipated Debut Artist Album of all Original Material from Mark Farina. Designed as a Transcontinental Flight Through the Mind of Mark Farina, "Air Farina" Takes the Listener from Take off to the Wildest and Most Exotic Places Visiting Friends Kaskade, People under the Stairs, Lance Desardi and More. This Album Includes Released Mark Farina Tracks!

Customer Reviews:

Oh what a great CD!.......2006-06-04

That's all really, this CD is one of the best in my collection! If you like house, you should love this! One thing I really liked about this CD was that all the tracks are joined like one long track! Excellent!

concept album?.......2006-05-04

I am not a house person and might not have known that Farina was house if weren't for the categorization here. However I do recognize that this is his style. So for a guy that is drum and beats plus a bit of Trip-Hop, Farina has 3 of the top 5 songs on my iPod and Fatboy and Moorcheeba have none:) Two of those are from this album....so if you are questioning the sub-genre or just looking to start into electronica, he's a guy you can't go wrong with and this is a great start. And if you ever buy an album for just one song, then by all means allow it to be this album for Travel. In fact, had that been the first song, I may have never heard another on it....it's that good.

Underrated...really underrated.........2006-03-30

Disappointed to see that only few people are open-minded about house music..

I've been dreamin' and listenin' to Farina for 4 years now. I love deep house, I love HipHop, I love urban sounds.. but I love experimentation and people who dare some stuff too...

San Francisco sessions vol 1? a masterpiece for the deep and funky house generation..

Mushroom jazz series? a unique atmosphere, a pride for true downtempo/hiphop heads..

Air Farina? something special, 4.5/5 stars. The man has dared, the result is freak, the result is deep..

Some pure deep house tracks, with a strong idea of experimentation.. (elements of HipHop, Electro, Minimal, and the very smart airport ambiance)
Listen to Betcha Do..Radio...Cali Spaces.. have you ever heard a man who did something like dis before?..
Farina is unique with his musical approach. He has HIS unique style.
Okay, that's not the album which will make you dance and rock on the dancefloor... it's an album that you will hear with your favourite audiophones, in your sofa..and you will dream, you will travel with Farina and his airport concept, very aesthetic, very stylish, very...original.

Buy it if you want a different house, more minimal, more "mental".

Nowhere near Farina's usual high standard.......2006-01-28

I'm a big fan of Mark Farina's DJ mixes, so I expected a lot from Air Farina. It's a perfect example of why it's easier for producers to move to DJing than DJs to move to producing.

The production of this CD is amateur at best. The beats are flat and uninspiring. There's no swing whatsoever... it sounds like it was programmed by a robot. Every other sound on the CD sounds like it was pasted in at random intervals on top of these beats. Every song on the album is exactly the same.

It sounds just like the kind of music I made after two months of playing with my gear. The difference was I realized I sucked, and Mark Farina is a world class DJ. When judging your own work it's hard to be critical, especially if you're surrounded by "yes" men.

Mark Farina is a superb DJ, but he needs a lot more time to develop into a competent producer. This album should have had another producer since the concept was workable.

Lacking the Life and Energy...........2004-12-12

I absoloutly LOVE Miguel Migs. His groovy beats are like none other, and unfortunately in this album are not found to the extent in his other albums. I agree with Phopo in that the beats were very repetitive. Not every album is perfect, he'll hit it next time!