URB has the exclusive streams of three tracks off Josh Wink’s new album, When A Banana Was Just A Banana, out today on his own Ovum label. The songs filter classic Wink grooves through the new minimalism he’s been jocking the past few years.
JOSH WINK INTERVIEW
by Dennis Sebayan
I heard the new album and I love it. What was your biggest challenge in completing the album?
It was choosing the tracks. I originally thought about this album as a compilation. For some reasons, I have some vision in my mind that an album is supposed to sound a certain way. It should be a little bit of everything—have downtempo, dance stuff, experimental, vocalists and musicians. The reason why I thought that is every time I listened to an electronic dance, techno or house album, I got a little bored because they had the full 10 to 12 minute songs, which were intended for a DJ to play.
DJs…don’ t play the full songs; they play four or six minutes of the song. That’ s why I never thought about having an album that was solely dance music, except for my last album, 20 to 20. The hardest part for me was compiling these songs that I’ ve never released, while wanting to do all different kinds of house music – tech-house, techno, acid house, deeper house—and then segue way it together in a CD so that it sounds right.
You achieved different moods and levels by combining these sounds. But there were no screaming vocals, bells and whistles telling you ‘things are getting exciting now’ but somehow, it comes through.
Thank you, it’ s nice to hear. We wanted to release it in a couple of different formats. Of course, digitally, where someone can go online and buy the tracks individually. Or you can buy the CD, which is the one that you got. I edited the tracks in full-form and left some intros and outros, keeping it true to the original DJ thought concept.
I presented the CD in a way so that people know I am a DJ as well [as a producer]; I took a journey with the listener. You can start out playing tech-y house or New York-inspired house, then [transition to other genres] and be like, ‘I don’ t know how I got here, but it’ s kind of cool and I like it.’ We are also going to release it as a double, limited edition vinyl set.
Is that why you presented the long, 10 minute tracks?
Every track on the CD you heard—which is mixed—is actually edited down. I didn’ t want to bore listeners – or myself – with a one-minute intro, which was only meant for a DJ to use at a club or venue. Some of the tracks on the album, I think, are just right. For example, the longest track on the album was a little bit over 10 minutes – that was originally more than 17 minutes long. I really wanted to go with grooves. For me, I didn’ t want that groove to end. It had a sexy, electronic, organic house feel to it. I remember playing it out and always seeing the women with their hips going crazy. It had this ethereal, electronic, but deep house feel to it. I was on this interview with a journalist from Poland today, and he said, ‘What’ s interesting about this album is I hear all different genres of music, but it sounds like your production.’
It does all sorts of different things to all sorts of different people.
I dig that. It sounds like it could be a Josh Wink production. To me, it’ s neat to hear that I have a signature sound in my production.
What are you doing with your live set?
I play solely with CDs. I was fortunate to be one of the first to use the digital platform, such as Final Scratch, when it first came out – alongside Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva. I used that for three years and I wanted something new and different again.
I wasn’ t having any problems. I just didn’ t necessarily like how I was DJing so much. I was looking too much on the computer; I had to set up and, at that time, it was so difficult – no one knew about the new configuration. I had to go to a club, unscrew this and that – the sound guys were freaking out.
Not to mention what actually comes through the speakers.
Well, at the time, I wasn’ t using MP3s; I was still using WAV files, AIFFS and pure digital files. [Sound quality] wasn’ t necessarily the issue. It’ s funny, Dennis, because I talk to more and more of my colleagues; we have discussions about the constant debate –vinyl versus digital.
Now I run Ovum Recordings. We still sell a lot of vinyl and I want the vinyl market to be here. I love the culture: being able to go shopping, to go into a record store and listen to music with people, to hear someone play a record and go, ‘What’ s that?! I gotta get it!’ I still love it and I want that to continue.
What I find hard to believe is that everybody says, ‘Well, 120 gram vinyl – nothing can beat it in a nightclub. With the 320 kbps MP3, it sounds like shit.’ When I talk to people, I tell them, ‘You’ ve got to understand guys; most of the systems that we are playing on are shit. Every now and then, you will get a club with a really good sound system. You’ ll get a club such as Avalon or Vanguard; or you can get a party where Doc Marten plays and he will bring in perfect sound. But that’ s very rare. You’ re usually playing on a shitty sound system that has a mixer that every DJ has spilled a drink in; two of the faders are broken; half the people are drunk or high and they have no idea what a 128 kbps MP3 or WAV file sounds like. What they will know is when a vinyl record skips. So they will boo at you. ‘BOO!’
I still buy a lot of vinyl and get a lot of vinyl promo-wise, so I found out: I can take the time and put everything to CD, and make a backup copy for my computer so I can use it digitally if I want to go. But CDs have been the best consistent way for me to perform the best I can. I can always travel with them; I never get them lost in luggage; they won’ t skip; they won’ t get feedback. I have a lot of things to choose from, rather than being limited by a record case, which can only carry 100 records; or having too much to choose from, with a 300 gigabyte hard drive. For me, I’ m able to connect with people. I don’ t have to do sound checks; I just show up and I do what I do.
Exactly, and nobody does what you do.
But everything works for everybody. I’ m not one to say, ‘I’ m going to be a purist and it has to be this.’ You can still have the passion there, whoever you are and with whatever platform you use.
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