Leading DJs take booth at latest ‘Orbit’ evening
Tonight, the Seoul party planner Riskei has asked two leading international talents, Mark Farina and Oriental Funk Stew, to fill the swank W Seoul Hotel’s Woobar DJ booth for a party titled, “Orbit: 06 Vol. 5.”The world got to meet Oriental Funk Stew and his music in New York as early as 1992, and upon his return to Korea in 1997, the Korean-born DJ ― better known here as DJ Decode since he only began to use the new monicker in 2004 ― performed in Sangsudo, Korea’s first, and perhaps its most storied, dance club near Hongik University, central Seoul. Through his promotion companies, Intertech and Baseline, he brought in and played with international talents, such as Jason Hodges, Raoul, Olivier Desmet, Jay J, JT Donaldson and more.
His notable works include the now sold-out vinyl single “The Way We Slice” on the Odds & Ends Music label, which was picked up by the world-renowned DJ Sneak’s label, Oomph.
The globe-trotting Mark Farina will reveal his own jazzy side of Chicago house, mixed with San Fran-style. He started DJ-ing at 15, while living with his parents, treating making music as a hobby. He was quickly attracted to Chicago underground house, the origin of house music.
Voted one of the top 20 DJ’s in the world by Muzik and BPM magazines, Farina is best-known for a landmark track called “Mood,” which sold more than 35,000 copies in the United States and the United Kingdom.
In 1992, Farina created the by-now legendary weekly club, Mushroom Jazz, with his partner/manager, Patty Ryan-Smith. The two proprietors put together an interactive project, the “Mushroom Jazz” CD-roms for Om records. Despite a cult-like following for the Mushroom Jazz Sound, the club closed down, leaving behind the CD series only. “Mushroom Jazz” is a hip-hop sub-groove fused with jazzy, dubby elements in the downtempo range, and another single, “Seasons,” is a critically acclaimed house mix. “Mushroom Jazz” has become a series of volumes with the latest, the fourth, released in November, 2002. A past release, “Connect,” nicely combines the deep San Francisco style and funky house sound of Chicago.
by Ines Cho
The Orbit event is from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. Admission is 30,000 won ($26). During happy hour from 8 to 10 p.m., two drinks will cost 10,000 won.
For more information, visit the Web sites, www.riskei.co.kr or www.riskei.cyworld.com.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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