josh wink – balls

Four years since his last EP release and Josh Wink is back with Balls on Ovum.

You definitely need balls to play these tracks, not because they are difficult to play but they are different. And not. Not if you love his music, the way he likes to build up something that is at all times highly interesting. But through his long experience Josh knows exactly how and when to place the ingredients for this retro-futuristic techno track with elements of many other genres, blended together to a hypnotic hymn hard o resist.

Here is more info about this release:

Since his acclaimed album release in 2009 with ‘When A Banana Was Just A Banana’, Josh Wink has been heavily touring and working on building a new studio. Last year he produced his greatest creation to date, a beautiful baby son. After taking some time out to enjoy his newly found fatherhood, he finally got into his brand new studio towards the end of 2012. The outcome was ‘Balls’ – a ten-minute drive of pulsing intensity bating towards a huge breakdown, unlike any of Wink’s work to date…

“I am always surprised with what happens when I go into the studio after not being in there for a while. I feel heavily inspired to make music by all the great things I hear and from personal experiences that have occurred over the past year. I didn’t expect to make a techno track. However, the grooves came quickly and naturally along with the hypnotic analog pulses. Originally I came up with the foundation of my grooves using a beta version of Ableton’s Live 9. And after I constructed the fundamentals of the track- I hit record, tweaked and grooved the components live for 20 minutes, and then tightened up and edited the best parts into a sequence. Then I played out, got some new ideas from crowd interaction, and re-tweaked and made improvement. When describing the track to Matt (Ovum label manager) I was saying that I think that you really have to have balls to play this track, as it’s a little different from most of the music out there right now. The track’s time couldn’t be edited down any further as the story and journey wouldn’t be conveyed. So, the ten minutes is DJ friendly and I’m happy that I can express my tale. The track, usual of my work, is based on aural textures and tension. The breakdowns have changed through several attempts, and are now adjusted to drive the crowds, whether in clubs or festivals.” – Josh Wink

Laurent Garnier: Definitely like this a lot. very triply indeed. Love the Strings mix.

Erol Alkan: That Big mix is huge!!!

Boys Noize: I like the oldschool tribe vibe in it! Thanks so much!

John Digweed: Hammering this. Has been one of my biggest tracks.

Sven Väth: Hammering this!

Richie Hawtin: They are great! FULL FULL ON!… Happy to play them and destroy some dance floors!!!!

Joris Voorn: Thats some crazy stuff Josh has been making! I can only imagine this will go off on the floor..

Nic Fanciulli: Love the groove mix. Works really well on the floor!!

Tiga: So, I love the track…… I mean I REALLY like the groove, kinda slight break, slight hip house undertones…… I think it all builds great!

When you’re as iconic a figure as Josh Wink, it’s not so easy to sum up a career in a few words—but there are a couple of terms that might serve to get a handle on the seminal electronic-music producer’s lifework. One of the most apt, certainly, would be longevity. A brief scan of Wink’s mammoth résumé reveals the following: Early-’80 days as an underage mobile DJ; a major role in fostering his native Philadelphia’s burgeoning warehouse scene during the house-music explosion later that decade; name-making ’90s club hits like “Don’t Laugh,” “Higher State of Consciousness” and “I’m Ready”; a label, Ovum Recordings, that’s undisputedly one of the most essential dance-music imprints; and his current position, after all these years, as one of the scene’s most vibrant and creative DJs and producers (witness the critical success of his 2009 long-player When A Banana Was Just A Banana).

 more info:

read our interview with Josh Wink here.

joshwink

facebook/joshwink

twitter/joshwink