Though he has probably achieved more repute for his jazzy-fat, downtempo stylings on his Mushroom Jazz series, a sensational set of mixes that have essentially defined a subgenre, Mark Farina's roots are actually in house music. The beatrician does, after all, hail from Chicago where he began honing his craft before taking the San Fran music scene by storm.

Air Farina is a return to the producer's roots, a commendably solid dance record that demonstrates Farina’s wide array of abilities. Milking the aviation theme for its all worth but clearly have fun doing it, Farina introduces the majority of his tracks with snippets from a vintage pilot’s training program.

The introductory “Love Makes” sounds somewhat well-suited for a Mushroom Jazz cut, but a quickening mellow-to-mid-tempo distinguishes it. The nostalgic sample “Love will make the world go round” drives the track, while Farina adds some hip-hop scratches that are suitably on point.

Funky and jollity, the first house number, “Betcha Do,” brings in a pulsating beat matched with recurring but constantly reordered vocal samples that might as well be Biz Markie. The very dance-oriented “Leaving SF” employs tinges of electro-funk, but really thrives on it s melodious piano loops.

The beats on these tracks, like Farina’s style itself, are steady but never droning or monotonous. Air Farina ’s standout, however, shows a softer, poppier side of the producer. “Dream Machine,” featuring the enchanting vocals of Sean Hayes (no, not of Will and Grace fame), is the ideal close-the-house-down, laid-back dance track to a conclude a long, sweaty night of ass-shaking. Crooning over a dubalicious, multi-instrument-laced, all-together heavenly beat, Hayes’ soft and dreamy words have great sticking potential.

Farina’s flare for organic and worldly fare come to the forefront on the bouncy, Latin-influenced “Fusbol,” but unfortunately the repetitive spoken sample is a little too distracting. The L.A. rap outlet People Under the Stairs make an appearance on “Travel,” another of the album’s elite (though it doesn’t bear the same name nor a remix title, the verses were used on one of PUTS tracks from Or Stay Tuned ). Much like the contemporary work of the Jungle Brothers, the track is one of the finer exhibitions of just how good the hip-hop-dance fusion can be.
It was a smart move for Farina not to take the solely-house route in crafting Air Farina , as his growing conglomerate of Mushroom Jazz fans are more likely to give this more upbeat work some listens. It’s definitely worth the flight.

2003 1-42 Online

Managing Editor Kevin Polowy reps New York, from Buffalo to Brooklyn. A graduate of Arizona State University, Kevin started his writing career with USA Today at age 12 and today works on the editorial staff of AOL Movies and Moviefone.com. He also regularly contributes to Premiere Magazine and College Times. A part-time DJ ("Kevlar"), he enjoys spinning hip-hop (favorite group: A Tribe Called Quest), watching the Bills and breeding alley cats.