About Me
people were telling me to put a real bio up. this is from ovum's site but it's kind of old
(no more blonde dreadlocks)At the age of 26, Philadelphia-based DJ/producer Josh Wink has already
seen many of his musical dreams come true. Embracing a diligent work ethic,
a spiritual mindset and a self-taught mastery of dancefloor devastation using
little more than a pair of turntables, the blonde-dreadlocked Josh Wink has
worked hard since 1990 to become one of the world's most in-demand purveyors
of experimental, electronic, danceable music. Raised in an open-minded
environment by parents who encouraged him to explore the arts and sounds
of his native Philadelphia, the clean-living Josh was weaned on a disparate
musical diet. Having been exposed to everything from Depeche Mode to Run-DMC,
his ears were constantly open. "People always look to New York, Chicago and
Detroit as the epicenters," he points out, "but there's always been a lot
going on here in Philadelphia. Back in the early days of hip-hop,
all the DJs -- like Jazzy Jeff and Cash Money -- came from Philly.
And there's a great tradition which stretches back to the disco days
in the '70s with Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes and T.S.O.P."After working for a local mobile DJ service at the age of 13 and learning
the basics of the business, the precocious Josh Wink soon began spinning at
small parties around America's fifth largest city. The gigs weren't glamorous,
but he used the opportunity to learn how to make the temperature of a party
soar past the boiling point. In 1990, Josh met up with a kindred spirit,
a fellow Philly jock named King Britt whose interests also included rap
and acid jazz. Pooling their interests and blending their differences,
the duo waxed E-Culture's "Tribal Confusion" for the respected New York-based
indie label, Strictly Rhythm.Following the release of that record, Josh quickly hit the
burgeoning U.S. rave circuit, driving for days on end with his record boxes
in tow to play parties from coast to coast. More learning,
more growing. Paying his dues and building his reputation. Though his DJ career was taking off,
Josh starting recording his own music as well.
After forming Ovum Recordings as an independent label in October 1994 with
partner King Britt, Josh recorded "Liquid Summer."He went on to release singles for a variety of European
labels ranging from Belgium's R&S to England's XL. He also began remixing
for Moby and others. Invitations to spin all over
the world soon poured in but as his career progressed, he stayed rooted inn his beloved Philadelphia.1995 was an especially good year for
Josh Wink. He scored three consecutive European smashes -- all produced
out of his modest 16-track bedroom studio -- which unquestionably took dance
music to a dizzying plateau. First came "Don't Laugh" -- recorded as "Winx"
and issued via Nervous Records -- where Josh took a minimal techno beat and
looped an incessant sample of a wacko laughing his head off. The single broke down international language barriers and
eventually sold more than 500,000 units. Then came "I'm Ready," released under
the name "Size 9" on Virgin Underground. "I'm Ready" was a precedent-breaking
cut, one of the first house records to incorporate a hip-hop
breakdown following a drum roll. Josh's hat trick
came with "Higher State Of Consciousness"; a gritty electro romp initially
cut as a B-side, the track soared to the top of the European charts."During all of that success, which was totally unexpected, I got a chance
to read more and I spent a lot of time thinking, writing and focusing,"
Josh recalls. "I was basically living in an airplane, hotel and an airport
all of the time since I was in a different country every weekend due to my
DJing schedule. But I used my time to decide what I truly wanted out of life."
Instead of capitalizing on his popularity, Josh decided to trim down his
DJing commitments and spent 1996 solidifying a distribution deal between
Ovum Recordings and Ruffhouse/Columbia Records. During that time, he also
released his eclectic full-length debut album, Left Above The Clouds
(which included his hits up to that point in time) on the independent
Nervous label. Mirroring his highly challenging DJ sets, the album was
a potpourri of styles ranging from drum 'n' bass to electro with dashes
of spoken-word poetry interspersed between the tracks.
In fact, the club music bible Mixmag went so far as to dub Josh Wink
"the poster child for musical eclecticism."
"I'm not trying to make hit records - they've just come to me," Josh says.
"The whole idea with Ovum Recordings is to be an artist's label where I'm
going to give artists the support that I never had before, where I'm going
to look out for all of their interests. I'll be using local graphic designers
and artists of all sorts from right here in Philly."His newest release (linked below) will shatter your mind.New CD Profound Sounds V2!
