"I Feel Fortunate To Be A Part Of A Lot Of Electronic Cultures" Catching up with Josh Wink

It’s been 10 years now since Josh Wink last graced the cones of our Martin Audio rig here in Farringdon, it’s been too long, so we’re pretty happy that silence will be broken this coming Saturday in Room One. Wink as you all surely know has been a presence in the field of electronic music since rave music as we know it established itself in the late 80's and still based in his home town of Philidelphia in the USA his presence has been a huge factor of the musicality of the international foundations of techno. He’s an artist who has longevity but who's sonic imprint has survived intact, maintaining his position at the top of the game but has also kept that intensity of his acid tinged productions as vibrant as ever, never homogonising his sound. That intense nature of his output is backed up further in our exclusive promo mix ahead of his return to Farringdon this weekend which you can stream below while we get to catch up with his latest goings on and future plans in our interview below. Download: Josh Wink fabric Promo Mix It looks like you’ve been having monumental amounts of fun this summer how have you found the white isle this summer? Have you noticed any shifts in the scene over there? Things are great as usual. Feels super being back for longer periods than the usual 10 hrs that we DJ's tend to stay here. Besides having my bag stolen on the beach with wallet, car keys and iPhone… Yes, things have been great here. There seems to be a lot of DJ's having the opportunity to host their own parties so there’s a lot of great parties to choose from, yet I think that the attendance has gone down for some parties as people don't have the money to go to all of them. It feels like you have this really strong tie to our rave culture over here that came out on the other side of the acid house era, do you feel this is the case too? I feel fortunate to be a part of a lot of electronic cultures over the years! Acid House, NYC House, Rave, European Techno, and UK Hardcore/Jungle. I'm a bit older now… So, yeah. Been around the block. ha! There’s been a bit of a revolution going on in the culture of your USA scene as well but more recently – how’ve you felt the impact yourself as an artist and label head? I take it you mean the EDM thing? If you are thenyYes, it’s popular. I don't really identify with it, however, I understand it. There is still an underground scene that is strong and important. However, there is a lot of mainstream electronic artists out there. And I look at it this way: a small percentage of this mainstream crowd will be turned onto underground music in some way. And I welcome this. You were part of Hawtin’s CTRL tour as well – why did you decide to do that? Rich is an old friend and colleague. It was a great vision and an important thing to do. He and his team seem to always come up with interesting ideas like the CTRL tour. It was a success and I applaud the effort and I was happy to be involved! You yourself have this incredible heritage of tracks yet you have always presented fresh takes on music in your own production of recent years and through your imprint Ovum, how important are your own roots consider the pressure that there can be to keep yourself relevant? I am a product of my history! So, I use this arsenal of knowledge and music to shape who I am now. I find inspiration from all different places, including music from the past and present. I feel blessed to have been around as long as I have and have the wealth of influences and experiences that span back to the 80's. Earlier in the year you released ‘Balls’ your first EP for quite some, those years you took out from producing following your new found fatherhood didn’t seem to mellow you – were you surprised by that yourself? Yeah. The great thing about electronic music to me is that there are no rules. I thought I would get into the studio and make one thing, and it turned out to be something completely different than what I had envisioned. For me, the challenge is getting into the studio. Once there, my creativity takes control and things kind of simply 'happen'. Kind of like in Star Wars where the Jedi or Sith allow themselves to have the flow of the force take over their actions. What’s your priority now for the rest of the year now the summer season is approaching its closing month? We're looking into planning our 2014 schedule. Mainly: 20 years of Ovum Recordings. We’re working on 20 parties in the year with all different artists and line ups involved. Ovum's Release schedule and me getting back into the studio and working on a follow up to the success of "Balls". Along with finishing my summer/fall tour schedule. Happy to be busy!