Before Dirtybird, before Monstercat, there was Om. San Francisco’s pioneering dance label brings its 30th anniversary celebration to Jungle Hollywood this Saturday, Mark Farina headlines.
Written by Eric B. Thornton’
Before Dirtybird had a bird, before Experts Only was an idea, and before Monstercat became a YouTube algorithm, there was Om Records. The San Francisco label that quietly built American dance music’s deep roots is turning 30 this year — and on Saturday, May 16, the celebration lands in LA.
The party is an early one, 4 to 9 pm at Jungle Hollywood, presented by KCRW with Coco & Friends and WCS Events. The label’s new compilation, Om Records, 30 Years, dropped May 8, an 18 tracks across deep house, downtempo, breaks, and a little drum & bass, sequenced like a classic Om party: room-shaking front half, gorgeous comedown back half. You can stream it here or grab the limited-edition vinyl on Bandcamp.
Founded in 1995 by Chris Smith, who also produces as Shiny Objects, and yes, he has a new track on the comp, Om built its catalog at a moment when San Francisco’s SoMa warehouses and Haight Street record shops were a churn of house, acid jazz, hip-hop, and downtempo all bleeding into each other. The label didn’t just document that moment; it became the export version of it. Kaskade signed with Om before he was Kaskade. Justin Martin and Claude VonStroke (yes, Dirtybird’s founder) cut early records there. People Under the Stairs, Bassnectar, Crazy P, Colette, and J Boogie all spent time on the roster. The Mushroom Jazz compilation series, Mark Farina’s downtempo mixtape franchise, is basically the spiritual ancestor of every “chill beats to study to” playlist on Spotify today.
So who’s playing Hollywood? Farina headlines, naturally, bringing that jazz-laced Chicago-via-SF house sound that’s still his signature. Colette and DJ Heather — first-name basis in any conversation about Chicago house — round out the dance floor heavyweights. Rithma (whose “Sloe Gin” and “Can’t Future the Past” both land on the new comp) brings the producer-DJ chops. KCRW’s Raul Campos — not technically an Om artist, but a longtime friend of the label, sits in alongside DJ Dazy.
It’s worth noting where this is happening. Jungle Hollywood, at 1640 N Cahuenga, sits on what’s known as the Chaplin Keaton Lloyd Alley, a literal historic landmark from the silent-film era. A 30-year-old San Francisco label throwing an afternoon party at a 100-year-old Hollywood corner: that’s a very LA way to mark the milestone.
Tickets to Saturday are limited and going. See you at 4, early, but worth it.
CONNECT WITH OM RECORDS
om-records.com | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify
CONNECT WITH MARK FARINA
om-records.com/mark-farina | Instagram | SoundCloud
CONNECT WITH JUNGLE HOLLYWOOD
junglehollywood.com | Instagram
CONNECT WITH KCRW