Om 100: Celebration of the 100th Release Om Records
A lot has changed in short seven years since San Francisco's Om Records first started dropping wax into the world. Back in 1995, while most of America's underground scenes were raving and rolling to the hard, electronic sounds of techno, breaks and hardcore, these organic groove merchants were moving to the sound of a different drum machine. Sides of cool jazz vibes, deep, aquatic house, trippy hip-hop and futuristic soul found Om proudly representing a genuine San Francisco sound. It felt more sophisticated than most American independents, freely roaming between these disparate but complementary styles with, well, style.Today, the landscape is littered with indie labels able to similarly cross such sonic boundaries. As such, Om has had to diversify their interests even further, resulting in this eclectic two-disc celebration that's also Om's 100th release. While there are plenty of classic downtempo moments like King Kooba's "Salvation," there's also Detroit techno from Juan Atkins, banging house from Johnny Fiasco and Fred Everything and backpack hip-hop from People Under the Stairs. Granted, the dramatically eclectic nature might feel schizophrenic to the more puritanical head, but open-minded music fiends will find plenty to love in the happily chaotic world of Om.Eric Jen--From URB Magazine