Mark Farina: Fabric 40

I make no secret of my general loathing towards the majority of funky house, but there is something about Mark Farina’s style that cannot be denied. The long time Chicago deejay has a sense of honest experimentation in his production and his mixes (love the Mushroom Jazz series) stemming from his historical awareness and insight. He is often the exception to the rule that strangles most house acts desperately trying to stay trendy rather than timeless. For his first foray into the illustrious Fabric series, Farina lives up to his own standards by delivering a clean, even mix of contemporary b-sides and a few underappreciated minor hits from the last decade. In fact, it’s so even that picking highlights is pretty well pointless. It’s something you kinda sink into and lose sight of the shores. This isn’t peak time killer, but solid second stage nodding groove fodder. As long as you don’t expect transcendent catharsis through house, Fabric 40 is simple pleasure.