Josh Wink
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{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| Name = Josh Wink
| Img = Josh Wink 2007-05-13 DSCF4134.jpg
| Img_capt = Josh Wink at work, 13 May 2007.
| Img_size =
| Landscape =
| Background = khaki
| Birth_name = Joshua Winkelman
| Alias = Accent, The Crusher, Dinky Dog, Size 9, Wink
| Born = 1970
| Origin = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], [[United States]]
| Genre = [[Electronica]]<br>[[Acid House]]<br>[[Techno music|Techno]]
| Occupation = [[Disc Jockey]]<br>[[Record producer]]<br>Label Owner
| Years_active = 1992–present
| Label = [[Ovum Recordings]]
| Associated_acts = E-Culture, Jack Jones, Elite Music Management
| URL = [http://www.joshwink.com Josh Wink.com] & [http://www.elitemm.co.uk Elite Music Management]}}
'''Josh Wink''' (born '''Joshua Winkelman''' in 1970) is an [[electronic music]] [[disc jockey|DJ]], label owner, [[music producer|producer]], [[remix]]er, and artist. He is a native of [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], [[United States]]. A pioneering DJ in the American rave scene during the early 1990s, Wink was the most prominent exponent of the tribal forms of techno and house in the U.S. In 1995, he released several hits, including "Don't Laugh," "I'm Ready" (which hit number one on the U.S. [[Hot Dance Club Play]] chart) and "[[Higher State of Consciousness (song)|Higher State of Consciousness]]," which topped the dance charts in [[Europe]]. He has had many recent club hits such as "How's Your Evening So Far?" (with [[Lil Louis]]) and "Superfreak (Freak)" and has also gained a lot of attention for his remixes of [[FC Kahuna]], [[Paul Oakenfold]], [[Moby]], [[Towa Tei]], [[Ladytron]] and [[Depeche Mode]], among others.
==Early life==
As a youth, Wink studied the [[piano]] for three years and took [[clarinet]] lessons as a teenager. His interest in [[disc jockey|DJing]] began as a 13-year-old, when he became apprentice to a friend, a radio station and mobile [[disc jockey|DJ]] in [[Philadelphia]]. It was at this time that Wink also became a [[vegetarianism|vegetarian]], following in the footsteps of his mother and brother. As a teen, he quickly gained familiarity with [[disc jockey|DJing]] equipment and taught himself how to [[DJ mix|mix beats]] in 1986. By 1988, Wink had met fellow [[disc jockey|DJ]] [[King Britt]], and the two began creating original tracks together. The year 1988 was also momentous for Wink in that he turned eighteen, and was then able to work as a [[disc jockey|DJ]] in [[nightclub]]s.
==Style==
Wink's current style is a mixture of [[techno music|techno]], [[acid house|acid]], [[house music|house]], [[drum and bass]], and [[experimental music]]. In interviews, he has stated that his music is "built around tension"<ref name="rule">Rule, Greg. ''Josh Wink.'' '''Keyboard''' Vol. 24, Iss. 10 (October 1998)</ref>, and that his work is often influenced by "mistake theory, which is: I use a lot of things that you and I might consider mistakes....by (experimenting) with effects, with filters, with percentages in my sampler, and just doing stuff that you wouldn't ordinarily do."<ref name="rule" />
In 1996, [[Rolling Stone]] writer Frank Broughton observed that "a Josh Wink record takes a series of sampled noises, then twists and warps them through a barrage of sound processors, resulting in a spiraling blend of acidic bass lines and trippy break beats."<ref>Broughton, Frank. ''Josh Wink lands techno at a major label.'' '''Rolling Stone''' Iss. 746 (October 31 1996): p. 32.</ref> Another reviewer referred to Wink's ''Profound Sounds'' album series as "sensual techno, rendered as a whole composition rather than a collection of individual, flavor-of-the-month tracks."<ref name="mason">Mason, Kerri. ''Wink with a nod to compilations.'' '''Billboard''' Vol. 18 Iss. 24 (June 17 2006): p. 62.</ref>
Wink has acknowledged the music of [[Kraftwerk]], 1980s [[synthpop]] and late 1980s [[Chicago]] [[house music]] as major influences on his style. He is a strong supporter of new DJing technology, most specifically utilizing, demonstrating and advocating the [[Final Scratch]] application.
==Recordings==
[[Image:Josh Wink 2006-02-10 DSCF3222.jpg|thumb|250px|Josh Wink at work, 10 February 2006.]]
In 1996 Wink released two albums: ''A Higher State Of Wink's Work'', which is a compilation of Wink's early [[12 inch single]]s, and ''Left Above the Clouds,'' under the name '''Winx'''. In 1998, he released the ''Herehear'' album and the ''20 To 20'' [[extended play|EP]] appeared in 2003. In addition to his artist albums, Wink has released many DJ mix albums, three of his most well-known being Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of the ''Profound Sounds'' series. ''Profound Sounds Volume 3'' is notable in that it contains Wink's popular [[remix]] of the [[Radiohead]] song Everything in Its Right Place," which despite becoming a favorite of [[Disc jockey|DJs]] as a [[bootleg recording|bootlegged]] [[mp3]], Wink was able to license exclusively for his album through negotiations with [[Radiohead]] themselves, their publisher and management team."<ref name="mason" />
In 1990, Wink founded his own successful [[record label]] called [[Ovum Recordings]] with [[King Britt]]. He also has worked with [[Ursula Rucker]] and [[Trent Reznor]] of [[Nine Inch Nails]]. All of the above albums were released on his Ovum imprint with the exception of the first two. Josh Wink has also recorded some releases as '''Wink''', '''Winc''', '''Winks''', '''Winx''', '''The Crusher''', '''E-Culture''', and '''Size 9'''. His song "Higher State of Consciousness" is featured on the popular video game [[Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories]].
==See also==
* [[List of number-one dance hits (United States)]]
* [[List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Josh+Wink Josh Wink on discogs.com]
* [http://ravearchive.com/index.php/component/option,com_musicbox/Itemid,64/id,45/task,viewAuth/ Josh Wink Mixtapes]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=R1uOpkNqR2c "Don't Laugh" Music Video]
* [http://www.ovum-rec.com/ Ovum Recordings]
* [http://www.elitemm.co.uk/josh_wink.php Elite Music Management - Josh Wink's booking agents]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wink, Josh}}
[[Category:American house musicians]]
[[Category:American dance musicians]]
[[Category:American electronic musicians]]
[[Category:American techno musicians]]
[[Category:Club DJs]]
[[Category:Jewish American musicians]]
[[Category:Musicians from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:People from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Remixers]]
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