Superstar DJ — turn it up!

DJ Mark Farina made his name in club music by pioneering downtempo house music, dubbed Mushroom Jazz. But it’s only one style for this spinner: After making his name on house beats in Chicago, he moved to San Francisco just in time to absorb the acid jazz scene and incorporate it into his sound. Now one of the biggest names in house music, he answers a few probing questions about the deep world of house before performing at Samana on Sunday.

You’re unique among DJs in that you’re known for being a master of more than one style. How did that happen?

A lot of it stems from my first time being a clubber. I’d go to a club in the mid ’90s, late ’80s and visit rooms with completely different styles. The A-room was house, and the B-room would be reggae or hip-hop. My first style was a deep-house thing, but later I started to do calm, chill-out rooms with less of a dancefloor focus.

Soon, I started to change and combine the two genres, and mushroom jazz kind of became my alter-ego. It’s the type of music you listen to after the party, on the way home from a club. It just sort of became quite popular from there, but it opens up different world of music to play.

I’ve heard that sometimes you’ll play two rooms at the same party, with different music in each.

It depends on where I’m at — lots of clubs have two rooms where I can make that happen. But it depends on the vibe of a town — some cities like acid jazz, others like mushroom jazz in the main room. I try and stay within the realms that they’ve created for their scene. Sometimes I’ll alternate hour-and-a-half sets in each room, which I’m doing next week in Japan. Other times it’ll be a half-hour break of downtempo between all night playing house. Sometimes I’ll play a really long set in one room of up-tempo or downtempo (music).

Do you know what you plan to rock before you play a gig?

I do and I don’t. I base it on how many times I’ve played (there) before, and what got the crow going. I bring everything with me, but I don’t know where I’m going to go. Depends on what the opener is playing before me. Colorado people are open-tempo — they’re up for most things, so maybe I’ll start early with downtempo and go to house. But I never have a setlist — I play it by ear. I like to try different things and see what people are up for. I’m looking forward to coming out. If people are on the border with dance music and don’t have a lot of electronic influence, this’ll be a good bridge, because my stuff is very organic. Newcomers will like that.

When did you realize you were breaking off your won style?

It wasn’t until I started traveling a bit more. In Chicago you didn’t realize the style was different. Then I came to San Fran and saw all the different styles of electronica — other music and acid jazz in San Fran parties. The type of stuff I played was different from that.

What’s the best way to go from bedroom record collector to DJ?

Practice make a lot of mix CDs. Record yourself, and spend time being a bedroom DJ. Give out lots of CDs. Making tracks can only help — ultimately, you make tracks or you don’t. Find a local club or venue and get a job there. If you know a room you want to play, and you think to yourself, ‘I think I can rock this crowd,’ try and get a regular gig there. Making tracks really helps if you want to be a travel DJ. Another DJ will reccommend you based on your tracks. It’s not so easy anymore — it’s like (making it in) a band. Maybe ten years ago it was easier, but now the market is saturated with kids coming up; you need little extra bits and bobs to get noticed.

You spend 150-200 days doing traveling gigs every year. Where are some of your favorite places to perform?

Auckland is great. London — even though it’s expensive, I still like it. Belgium. Tokyo — Japanese people are really great, I try and get there once or twice a year. Canada is a very hidden gem for clubbing. People really know what’s up up there.

What’s the best and worst part of the jet-set DJ lifestyle?

The best part is the office change every day. I know people in each place that can show me around. Traveling, to me, is better than being a DJ in just one room. The crowd changes everywhere you go. The downs are the usual stuff: getting stuck in airports, losing baggage, getting stuck on the runway or ending up with broken gear.

Jon Sa Trinxa Hits the Beach

Despite the island’s wild reputation, one of the essential Ibiza experiences will always be simply chilling to a selection of laidback, altogether more quirky tunes while horizontal on the beach.

Celebrated beach bar DJ Jon Sa Trinxa is a master of the genre, and his latest Space Tranquil compilation should probably secure him a role working for the Ibiza tourist board as the music just makes you want to be there!

“I’m always a bit nervous at the start of the season,” the Salinas Beach veteran tells us. “The main problem is meeting so many people again and I can’t remember anybodies names!”
When he hasn’t been playing to some of those global fans in Russia, Italy or Switzerland this winter, he’s been holed up in Ibiza, putting together a sublime selection of tunes for the latest in Azuli's range of chilled Space CDs.

“I hate the term ‘chillout DJ’ though”, he says. “I suppose people who only listen to barking mad techno must think anything below 130bpm is ‘chillout’, but I always like to throw all kinds of tracks together.”

It’s certainly much more eclectic than chilled, and with a high proportion of unusual cover versions to keep things strangely familiar and totally blissed out.
“Oh yes, there are always versions,” say Jon. “It defines part of the Balearic sound. Cover versions can be one of two things, they’re either diabolically appalling or they add to the original and bring a different perspective.”

The Tranquil mix is also not afraid to be political, opening with a DJ Day Intro that sets the tone and also featuring one of Jon’s all time favourite tunes in Ollo’s The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum) with “a message that’s over 20 years old but still relevant,” Jon nods.
Passionate message seem to work well with emotional melodies, even if the listeners are happily dozing off on the beach. But Jon thinks it’s another key ingredient behind the sound. “I like to put some kind of message in there, a bit of attitude,” he says, “otherwise it’s just flippy floppy music.”

The devotees of Sa Trinxa Bar would hate their music to be considered lightweight, and with Jon at the helm again throughout the summer, it should be the spot for those idyllic, totally Balearic if not explicitly chilled musical moments.

Smokin Jo Nude Again

The island’s resident queen of clubs is gearing up for another epic summer of club mayhem, bringing her Nude parties back to the island after last year’s successful events at Space and a few secret beach and villa bashes too.

After having worked, played and ended up living in Ibiza she’s seen her fair share of all things weird and wonderful to inspire her and partner in crime, promoter Terry Hart, to throw some ultra stylish, deep down dirty parties.

“God, I have seen so many mad things over the years, some far too rude to mention!” she laughs. “Last year when we hosted Nude on the Terrace at 'We Love at Space', one of our pole dancers got carried away and decided to tease the crowd by stripping off naked at the top of the pole. Then another dancer – who was not even supposed to be working that night – decided to join her on the pole. It got very heated... and half the crowd stopped dancing to have a look!”
Jo attributes such wild abandon to the power of the island. “For thousands of years it has always been a place people come to dance, if you read up on the history of Ibiza it actually has the nickname "The Island of Dance". It has a special quality and spirit that nowhere else has, so it attracts the free spirited people.”

And with that in mind, her Nude night returns to the island for a suitably sleazy series of afterhours parties running from 7am-1pm at one of Ibiza’s more underground clubs, the venue formerly known as Lucifer’s, now called Prestige, on the waterfront in the Ibiza Town Marina.
Having opened last Friday, expect DJs like Clive Henry, Miss Jools and Jamie Jones joining Jo and her glamorous friends when the next parties takes place on July 13th, August 3rd and 31st plus September 28th.

I’ll also be playing regularly at Space and Made in Italy at Amnesia this summer,” she tells us, “and Nude will host August 26th at We Love, with all our performers and free clothing giveaways. Then will be hosting a series of very secret underground beach/villa/farmhouse parties throughout the summer, these parties I am really looking forward to as the atmosphere and the vibe is just so exciting at these free events. It will be so much fun.”

Ibiza Airport Bomb A Hoax

The evacuation of the airport and controlled explosion of a suspicious package on Saturday have turned out to be a false alarm.

An anonymous caller had made three phone calls, the first around midday, to Gara -- a Basque newspaper -- the DYA (an emergency service) and one of Ibiza´s newspapers. Subsequently security forces searched the airport and discovered a suspicious package, which had gone unmarked by sniffer dogs.

This later turned out to be an empty shoebox in a wastepaper bin in the car park, which was blown up in a controlled explosion. A rucksack was also investigated but found to contain personal possessions.

At the moment there is no definite link to Basque separatist/terror group ETA, but bomb or no bomb, the chaos can be much the same.

The airport was cleared prior to the explosion and The Spanish Airports Authority, AENA says air traffic was halted for some three and a half hours, affecting some 13,000 passengers.

Our reporter on the island, Zoe Glass, says “Flights were landing as normal from late afternoon (judging by the quantity of air traffic going over my house in Figueretes) and when I went down to pick someone up at 1am it was operating absolutely as normal.

“In fact, there wasn't a hint of stress or any sign that anything had happened. Normal security, everyone going about their business. The Ibicencos could certainly teach the Brits a few things about keeping a stiff upper lip...”

Chuck Love Jams with his Parrots

Animal friendly debut on Om Records“I'm always battling the parrots squawking here at the pad,” chuckles Chuck Love lovingly. “So I just have to build in the good bits when they come.”

Love’s philosophical, animal-friendly approach has worked out well for his debut album Bring Enough To Spill Some.

Rather than let his screeching pets put him off his stride, he has managed to build some of their colourful conversation into his project. It’s a wonder he didn’t invite his dogs to guest too – oh, there’s a reason for that.

“The dogs were a little uptight about Matt Darling's trombone when he did the session,” explains Chuck. “But the video of the Oasis of Luxury Wildlife will be coming soon.”

Chuck’s animalistic asides add idiosyncratic charm to his mellifluous and warm debut album, one that celebrates the producer’s chunky house studio talents as well as his skills behind the decks.

Having started out as a musician backing DJs on trumpet, guitar and anything else he could find, Chuck soon found his way around the studio and turntables, and nowadays acts as his own front man while laying down tunes, playing flute, trumpet, guitar, melodica and percussion as well as dropping his own vocals.

Made up of two separate discs, Bring Enough To Spill Some boasts 14 original, edited and re-mastered chunky Chuck cuts on the first set, including collaborations with house siren DeMonica (on Spread The Love), Estaire Godinez (on Bailando), and longtime Twin Cities studio buddy Fourfeet on a handful of others.

Also featured is Love’s dancefloor anthem Back In My Life (featuring Fourfeet on vocals).

Disc two, meanwhile, is full of Love’s finest remixes and a selection of choice cuts, including Andy Caldwell's Warrior, Colette's About Us, and DJ Fluid's Keep On.

“I really wanted to have a definitive collection of what I do for my first LP,” says the Minneapolis based maestro. “Something I could hand someone and say ‘here's what I've been up to for a couple of years’. I wanted to reach a wider audience beyond the DJs that are already familiar with my stuff.”

Tom Middleton's new direction

One of the UK’s most accomplished DJ/producers, Tom Middleton, has conceived a new live music project.

Called Amba, the new band pools Middleton’s production nous and technical wizardry and fuses it with the drums of Andy Gangadeen, Tom Szirtes’ piano, Chris Taylor’s bass and the guitar of Charlie Casey to assemble a spanking new collision between organic instrumentation and electronica.

Their first album, entitled ‘Life Tracks’, will effectively be Tom Middleton’s debut solo long player, and is going to be released on Big Chill Recordings.

This Friday 29th June sees the band’s live debut at London’s National Film Theatre where Amba will perform accompanied by cutting edge VJ/visual artists Ben Mason, a.k.a. Red Dog, and Nick Hillel a.k.a. Yeast. Both are highly accomplished and visionary film makers, having worked in commercial and artistic fields for clients including Back to Basics, Channel 4, Glastonbury, Stop the War Coalition, Fabric, and many more.

Their collaboration is bound to be an audio-visual feast, augmented by DJ sets from Big Chill artists Alucidnation, Pete Lawrence and Leggo Beast in the Film Café. Tickets are priced at £14.75 with concessions just £10.75 (BFI members £1.00 less), and are available from the National Film Theatre website or 020 7633 0274.

The Film Café will be open to Tom Middleton ticket holders only. Make sure you get down to see what all the fuss is about!

Kissy Sell Out Joins Radio One

DJmag favourite and recent cover star Kissy Sell Out has been announced as the latest DJ to join the Radio One DJ roster. Joining their coveted ‘In New DJs We Trust’ slot from 2am-4am on Friday nights to Saturday mornings, Kissy will be playing a selection of electro, rock ‘n’ rave, in rotation every four weeks, with Mistress Da Funk (minimal/electro tech), Kutski (hard dance/hardcore) and Professor Green (hip hop/grime).

His first show will air on 21st July, with Kissy replacing dubstep and grimester Plastician in the hot seat. It’s exciting news for the selector who DJmag has championed from day one. Go Kissy!