Om Records' 30 Years of Deep House, Downtempo and Hip-Hop in SF | KQED

"After moving to San Francisco in 1992, Smith spent days and months digging through downtempo and European electronic records at stores like BPM, Clear, Zebra and Tweakin. The latter, now home to Vinyl Dreams, is where he met Om co-founder Steve Gray (who moved back to England shortly after the label was founded.)"

"Smith met Farina at an 11am afterparty at DNA Lounge, where the Mushroom Jazz auteur was dropping tracks that would later appear on Mushroom Jazz Vol. 1. The jazz-, hip-hop- and soul-inflected downtempo series became a phenomenon - from college and club night afterparties to soundtracking buzzy restaurant dining rooms in LA and Miami - and still stands as Om's most widely recognized output."

"Now, three decades and 800+ releases later, Om is not only releasing a 30th anniversary compilation album on May 8th, it's the focus of a free Day Party on Embarcadero Plaza on Sat, May 9th. Featuring label mainstays Farina, Colette, DJ Heather, J.Boogie and Shiny Objects (Smith's production moniker), and produced by Another Planet Entertainment (APE) and SF Rec & Parks, it's one of a growing number of free outdoor concerts meant to generate optimism for the future of San Francisco."

"Strangely, Om is hardly a household name in the city these days. The majority of its young residents haven't been here for a decade, let alone three. And while electronic music would go on to become a big-money industry, coinciding with corporate promoters' takeover of major markets, Om declined to sign up for the big-room EDM revolution - even as some of the label's early artists (Kaskade, Martin, Claude VonStroke) went on to help define it."

After moving to San Francisco in 1992, Smith searched through downtempo and European electronic records at local stores. He met Om co-founder Steve Gray at Tweakin, which later became home to Vinyl Dreams. Smith met Farina at an 11am afterparty at DNA Lounge, where Farina played tracks that later appeared on Mushroom Jazz Vol. 1. Mushroom Jazz became widely recognized, moving from college and club afterparties to soundtracking restaurant dining rooms in Los Angeles and Miami. Om now marks its 30th anniversary with a compilation release and a free Day Party on Embarcadero Plaza featuring multiple label artists. Om remains less known among newer residents and avoided the big-room EDM trend.

Read at Kqed