There is little in the world with the ability to unite like music does.

In times of crisis, there is not much more solace than listening to a song that makes you feel something outside of yourself. Music can validate your experience, or simply soothe your spirit. Dancing is therapeutic and cathartic all at once. It moves the stored trauma in your body and whether it be instantly, or over time, you start to feel better. Lighter, freer. Music, in its purest essence, has the ability to spark joy across generations. 

Renowned DJ Mark Farina, an early pioneer of Chicago House and Acid Jazz music, was a testament to this fact on the leg of his Australian tour across a few very special locations in the country last weekend. Mark Farina is an icon in the electronic dance scene for experimenting with funky house, downtempo, and disco classics, merging them and creating his own sub-genre of music, with a decorative career spanning decades. 

It was in the 90s that Farina began a weekly club night in San Francisco, where fans flocked to embrace the DJ’s creative fusion of downtempo and disco, Chicago House, urban beats, and jazzy classics. 

And thus, “Mushroom Jazz” was born. 

The club was open for three years, and during this time Farina had established a healthy following, and so he continued his new sound long after the club was closed. He produced a collection of cassettes initially, then CDs, all under the same name: “Mushroom Jazz”. The eight volumes span an impressive timeline from 1992 (the first cassette) until 2016, the first album released on CD in ’96. This series of musical compilations features an array of artists; legendary beats produced by Farina, and then some. 

It is needless to say Mark Farina’s following can be found in all corners of the globe. Music travels far and Farina works endlessly to this day, to entertain fans worldwide, oftentimes performing over one hundred sets in a year. 

And so the DJ kicked off his Aussie tour in Brisbane on Friday 27th of October and the venue of choice was none other than ‘Oasis’ — Brisbane City’s newest, floating party destination. The three-level luxury boat has a limited capacity and tickets were sold out for months. On the day of, last-minute punters were seen posting all over social media trying to scrape up one last chance to see the “Mushroom Jazz” legend himself play atop the Brisbane River. 

‘Oasis’ was the perfect spot because it offered a very different edge to what clubs and rooftop bars in Fortitude Valley try to do— to put it simply, there was no keeping up with appearances amongst the crowd that night. It was all about connecting to a rhythm, truly dancing, and letting go. That’s what nights out should be about anyway. An experience next to none, being on a boat gives you the ability to dance under the sun or the stars, next to the sea, moving vast distances whilst also being confined to the very same space. 

There’s ample room to move and dance though, with three levels and a smoking section sanctioned to one corner on the second floor. Mark Farina’s crowd did not disappoint. They danced their heart out on the D-floor for five straight hours, rubbing shoulders with each other, swinging hips, and dropping it low whenever appropriate. 

With fans from all walks of life and a median age of 35, pushing 40 plus, it truly was an all-age party. The partygoers here were experienced. They knew all the moves and tricks, heard all the tracks, they’d been around before. They had done their time on the dance floor, and then some. The older you get, the more you realise what matters in life, and what’s really ‘fun’. Nights out have more meaning when they are few and far between. Most people on board knew that. Before we docked, everybody stood in line, all smiles, for it was a reunion, many people bumping into friends they hadn’t seen in years. 

There was a really positive and light energy in the air, no drama aboard the boat. In true acid jazz style, the beats were banging and the dancers, oh no, weren’t headed straight home afterwards. They were going to ‘La-La-Land’ in the heart of the Valley, headlined by the one and only Mark Farina, of course. 

We need more nights like this in Brisbane’s party scene. 

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All Aboard the Oasis