JOSH WINK – Talks about Ibiza, his Ovum label, and more… www.beatportal.com

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Written by: Josh Glazer

When it comes to names that have stood the test of techno time, few stand out as much as Josh Wink. From his seminal tunes such as ”Higher State of Consciousness,” ”Superfreak” and ”How’s Your Evening So Far,” to classic releases from King Britt, Steve Bug, Ian Pooley, and dozens of others on his Ovum Recordings label, Wink’s name has been synonymous with quality techno and house for almost 20 years. And like his veteran techno peers Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin, andSven Vath, Wink knows there’s no place in the world like Ibiza to showcase his, and his label’s, beloved sound. That’s why Ovum is touching down at Space on June 26th for its annual label party, this time around enlisting Chris Coco, Alix Alvarez andGregor Tresher to join Wink for a once-a-season soiree.

Beatportal recently took the opportunity to ask Josh about his Ibiza history, his long-standing imprint, and much, much, more.

When did you start going to Ibiza? Do you recall anything specific about the first experience?
I think it was for Wobble at Es Paradis in 1993 or 1994. It was mostly memorable because it was my first time. Even the club being in San Antonio was okay because it was the early ‘90s and it wasn’t so commercial then.

The island seems to have really embraced techno more than ever. It obviously started with Cocoon 10+ years ago, but now you drive from the airport and over half the billboards are for techno parties. Is that an unexpected surprise?
For me, the change was noticeable once the minimal sound became popular. Dance music of all genres have billboards now—thatt’s how it should be in Ibiza, not just one style, but all. However, it was refreshing to see other ads and clubs joining techno and tech house, rather than only the commercial house sound and trance.

On an island that is so chocked full of high-quality events, do you worry about making the Ovum night stand out?
For the last three years, the night has stood out due to Ovum itself and the great promotion by Space. They have always been supportive of me and Ovum and it’s a pleasure. Ovum prides itself on diversity and I believe fans have come to except this with our line-ups, they’re not just coming for the “hands-in-the-air” experience.

You’re scheduled to play Richie Hawtin’s ENTER night later this summer. Does seeing events like that make you want to do something similar—larger and more encompassing?
I’ve been asked over the years to do something for an Ovum night at clubs, but I’ve realized how complicated, tricky, and expensive these things are, so I’m happy being asked to play other parties for friends. Rich has a great crew of people who he works with and he’s also an amazing artist/DJ, so he’ll be able to make it work with his crew, his line-ups, and Space. I am happy to be part of it and to get to play several parties with him at Space this season, as well as playing once again for Carl Cox’s massive night!

Ovum is putting out the new Dirty Channels & Bugsy feat. Amina track, which features your edi of a Pezzner remix (originally produced for your DJ sets). Is that a common practice for you?
If I get inspired by a work of music then anything is possible. I liked Pezzner’s remix so much that I did my own little interpretation, and what makes me happiest of all is that it’s all coming out on Ovum! And the promo looks amazing to date—sexy right for the summer!

Is doing custom edits essential in these days when everyone can get every release instantly?
I usually do edits of tracks live on-the-fly at gigs. I don’t seem to have the time to make edits anymore, unless I have the parts of the original and get to release it on Ovum. However, in the past I loved doing them. Creativity is always welcomed in our field, and doing edits is great as long as it’s interesting for me. So many people are doing “edits” of things by just putting some standard loop from a sample CD over a track in Ableton and calling it an edit; that’s not for me.

I remember Nigel Richards played my old club in Detroit in 2000—the day you handed him a CD-R of “How’s Your Evening So Far?” and it tore the roof off. What was the last track you were handed like that?
I seem to get a lot of demos, links on Facebook and Soundcloud for “BOMBS,” but it’s hard to listen to everything. I remember having a demo sent from Technasia for Ovum and I downloaded and played it. It tore the roof off then, and it tears it off now. And it’s coming out soon on Ovum, too!