Josh Wink
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
After being turned on by punk rock in the 70s, Josh Winkelman was inspired by a diverse group of dance-styled artists during the 1980s -- ranging from Depeche Mode to Kraftwerk to Run-D.M.C. -- and began working with a Philadelphia-based mobile DJ service from the age of 13. After he met up with a fellow DJ, King Britt, at one party, the duo began recording. One of their first productions, 1990s Tribal Confusion by E-Culture, was released on New Yorks Strictly Rhythm Records and became a success in Americas exploding club/
ave scene, which Wink and Britt soundtracked by DJing at events around the country. Wink had also recorded for Nervous, another vaunted East Coast dance label, before forming Ovum Records in late 1994 with Britt.
Ovum and Wink had an international club hit right out of the box with 1995s Liquid Summer; the single led to Wink recording for a maze of European labels. During 1995, he recorded Dont Laugh by Winx, Im Ready by Size 9, and Higher State of Consciousness by Winks, all of which topped European dance charts and even made several pop charts despite their debt to hard-edged acid rance. The singles were collected along with new material for his 1996 debut album, Left Above the Clouds, and released as Winx. The major labels came calling in 1997, and Wink decided to sign not only himself but the entire Ovum Recordings label to a deal with Columbia. After recording with King Britt, Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor, poet Ursula Rucker, and Philly mod punks the Interpreters, Wink released his proper album debut, Herehear, in 1998; the mix album Profound Sounds, Vol. 1 followed the next year. He spent much of his time contributing to Ovum acts King Britt and Jamie Myerson, but by 2003 he had released both a second volume in Profound Sounds as well as his second production album, 20 to 20. Profound Sounds, Vol. 3 appeared in 2006.
