STREAMING AUDIO INTERVIEW

Through thick and thin, Mark Farina is one of those seminal names in US house who can always hold his own, no matter what’s big or trendy at any current moment – and to emerge unscarred from the massive shifts that we’ve seen house music undergo in the past several years is a massive achievement in itself. And in recognition of this consistency, he’s finally been selected by London superclub Fabric to mix the 40th installment of its revered CD series. And as it’s been pointed out in the ITM review, Fabric40 is a corker and one of the best mixes to reach the record shelves so far this year. But if you know Farina as a DJ who plays jazzy deep house, then you’ll be in for an interesting surprise – the mix definitely caters to the techier side of his musical personality, showcasing the fact that his sound has always fallen somewhere in that vast middle ground between house and techno.

“As it was being compiled for Fabric, I know their style and I kept that in mind, and while otherwise I might have played more ‘swing house’ stuff or music with a stronger jazzy influence, but instead I tried to keep it more in line with a minimal Chicago house vibe.” And it’s his background in the Chicago house style that has allowed him to stay relevant as minimal/tech has blossomed in popularity. “If you’re coming from a modern techno and minimal background, you might have a little harder bridge to cross to get into a straight vocal deep house vibe, and vice versa… But Chicago is a bridge between techno and deep house.”

ITM’s Angus Paterson talks to Mark Farina about throwing down those jackin’ house tunes in the main room of Fabric.

Mark Farina’s Fabric40 is out now through Fabric/Inertia, check out the promo mix in ITM-FM