Tuolumne, Calif. – Electronic-music industry mainstay OM Records marked its 30th anniversary this past July 2-5 at the Deloro Valley retreat in the Sierra Nevada foothills with a DJ-driven celebration that coincided with America’s 250th birthday.
The San Francisco-based label has maintained a diverse catalog of releases over the past three decades that includes such genres as house, downtempo, hip hop, and whatever Mark Farina’s landmark Mushroom Jazz series constitutes.
According to OM owner/partner/label manager Gunnar Hissam, this past July 4th weekend drew over 500 house-music heads to the event. The crowd skewed towards an older, deeply ingrained, and experienced demographic with attendees traveling from as far as Pennsylvania, Texas and Florida. Of course, there was a solid contingent from Cali – both Los Angeles and San Francisco repping big – not to mention plenty of Burning Man attendees, as well.
The terrific sound system was run by Void Acoustics via Royal Sound – with minimal sound bleed. The OM Stage also carried three-projector projection mapping courtesy of Mark Johns – who also played at the Mushroom Jazz Pool Party. Vinyl was also on display behind the booth in the Radio Room (with George Carlin and Richard Pryor comedy LPs) and OM Records – 30 Years, the label’s 30-year anniversary compilation, was sold at the merch booth — and the wax wasn’t just for show, either. Hissam himself took a turn on the ones and twos over the weekend, alongside DJ Garth and Alvaro.
Thursday, June 2 was kick-off day for music with only The Pool and the OM Stage playing host to music. Groovewell opened the pool stage while Rob Grega and Steamy Windows (who was accompanied by a saxophone and played on live drums) kicked off the OM Stage in the evening. Two of OM Records’ longest-tenured house artists, Miguel Migs and Marques Wyatt, closed out the night by dropping plenty of OM releases from back in the day.
On Friday, July 3, Timoteo Gigante, Thugfucker, Shiny Objects, and DJ Garth held things down at the Pool. Thee Rob G & Friends, Freestyle Playground, and Alvaro played at OM Lounge, while The Trout, White Light, and Jason Peters played at the intimate Radio Station. Then Tamo, DJ M3, and San Francisco native Dusty Carter took to the decks at The Saloon for some late-night action, ending at 4 a.m.
At 9 p.m., co-founder and main organizer of both OM Records and OM Getaway, Christopher Smith aka Shiny Objects, opened up the OM Stage with some groovy tunes before Listed Bookings’ own H-Foundation (Hipp-E and Halo), Doc Martin, and Galen took to the stage as the room slowly filled up.
Saturday, the 4th of July, happened to be the last full day of music with Mark Farina’s Mushroom Jazz Pool Party kicking off with Mark Johns in the late morning, followed by Mike Cashen and Farina himself, who played some of his iconic funky beats along with hip-hop samples before Heidi Lawden & Lovefingers took to the decks until early evening.
The OM Lounge gravitated towards a more mellow atmosphere and was donned with pillows, which put forth a much more relaxed vibe. It kicked off 4th of July in the early afternoon with White Light, Rithma, Thugfucker (Greg Oreck), and Mike Cashen. The Skyline stage was only open on Saturday, but it certainly delivered, with Timoteo Gigante, then PillowTalk, and then Justin Martin rocking it until 9 p.m.
The OM Stage then finished off the 4th with &ndmore opening the spot. Longtime label staples Colette and DJ Heather performed b2b, with Colette singing over her own tracks and DJ Heather grooving away on the dance floor. Mark Farina then took to the stage again, followed by the legendary DJ Harvey and Solar, who closed out the night.
The Saloon then saw Rithma starting off in the evening, who was then followed by 40 Thieves for an after-midnight set. Also, Brent Northey, Sean Majors, and Greg Eversoul took to the decks at The Radio Station. Then on Sunday, July 5, Alvaro opened up The Sunday Wind Down at The Pool in the late morning and was followed by 40 Thieves and Groovewell, who closed out the day with Ledet, J Key, and Soulfunky.
Origins: OM Records launched back in 1995 in San Francisco, long before the rise of social media or Spotify or SoundCloud or even Napster and Limewire. The first office space sat above Tweekin’ Records in the Lower Haight district. The space is now occupied by Vinyl Dreams after the label later moved into a building at the corner of Duboce Avenue and South Van Ness.
The studio ran out of the rooftop floor and the staff worked out of several offices on the third floor, which included a then-unknown local DJ named Ryan Raddon, years before the world knew him as Kaskade. He, of course, had many of his initial releases on the label, including his debut album, It’s You, It’s Me.
OM Records’ debut release was The Groove Active Collection, a compilation of jazzy hip hop, with cover art coming from a young Mission District muralist who tagged as “Twist” — almost certainly Barry McGee, who would go on to become one of SF’s most significant street artists.
OM founder Christopher Smith (aka Shiny Objects) first crossed paths with Mark Farina at an afterparty at San Fran’s DNA Lounge, where Farina was dropping tracks that would later appear on Mushroom Jazz Vol. 1 — the relationship is now three decades deep. Farina has claimed that Mushroom Jazz started out as a mixtape. He has had roughly 20 releases on the OM imprint over the past three decades, including a breezy new track “Stay on My Mind” on OM Records – 30 Years, which is available both on digital and vinyl. Smith also contributed to the compilation with the hypnotic vocal track, “Want Your Love.”
Although predominantly releasing house music, OM Records has a versatile catalog across its 800 releases, with some breaks, downtempo, and even hip-hop that includes OM Hip Hop and Deep Concentration on one side and Colourforms and Smoke N’ Mirrors on the other. It has paid homage to acts like People Under the Stairs and J Boogie’s Dubtronic Science over the years.
After this strong, July 4th weekend event, OM isn’t done celebrating. Hissam confirmed a 30th-anniversary event planned for January in Chicago at Smart Bar and Metro, with details still to come. Happy anniversary, OM Records!
OM Records: 5 Vital Releases
- The Groove Active Collection (1995). The label’s first release and the first of many OM covers to carry Mission District street art from Twist.
- Mushroom Jazz, Vol. 1 (1996). Mark Farina’s mix series, which moved from a mixtape to CD. It shipped with a bonus enhanced CD-ROM featuring interview content from Gilles Peterson, James Lavelle, and material tied to Dorado Records — years before “bonus content” was anything anyone talked about.
- Legends: Volume 1 by Juan Atkins (2001). A DJ mix from the founding figure of Detroit techno that barely touches Detroit techno at all. Of the 18 tracks, only Atkins’ own Model 500 opener, “I Wanna Be There,” carries any of that sound. The rest leans more toward tribal house and tech-house, including a cut from OM’s own Fred Everything.
- Electrolush: The Very Best Of Minimal & Electro Nouveau (2006). A detour into minimal and electro that also quietly connects OM to Get Physical Music’s M.A.N.D.Y., whose track “Body Language” (credited to M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka Shade) appears on the double-CD comp.
- OM Records – 30 Years (2026). The anniversary release itself, catalog OM-800 — built, per the label, like a classic OM party: big-room house on the first half, downtempo, breaks, and a little drum-n-bass on the back end. Just perfect.