Josh Wink Keeps Championing Timeless Dance Music

When heralded producer, DJ, and label owner Josh Wink first started coming to Miami for the annual dance music bacchanal, it was still called Winter Music Conference, and the masses were still calling everything techno.

"I have grand memories of those golden years," he says, remembering passing out promos on vinyl, hanging around South Beach pools with European friends who only came to the States once or twice a year, and enjoying the camaraderie of like-minded artists and fans.

The scene at large has changed immeasurably since those halcyon days. South Beach rooftops have been replaced with downtown super lineups. And while Wink doesn't want to be the elder statesman in the room yelling at a cloud, he does admit that it's a different game than when he released hits like "Higher State of Consciousness" and "Don't Laugh."

"Technology has made it very easy for people just to entertain and not have to think about their artistry or their talent. Their talent may just be wielding TikTok and Instagram videos," he says about the change to music as content. "You'll get booked by metadata and how much content you give out rather than other things."

Not that any of this has stopped him from continuing to perfect his craft and release genre-expansive music. Over the years, he's maintained a steady stream of releases across house, techno, and breakbeat. "I'm not relying on old music to have me continue my bookings," he adds.

While he doesn't rely on his legendary status and catalogue of dance music anthems to pay the bills, he does recognize his concerted talent for remaining true to his sound while staying relevant despite what's in vogue. "It's just something I do. I don't think about it. I've always just kind of made records of how I feel, and then success comes to me rather than me trying to get it. Yeah, and it's a cool thing, but it's just so weird now because music is so. It's not music anymore, it's content."

2023 was a banner year for Wink, who says he released more music than in recent memory. Much of it was released on his label, Ovum Recordings.

Ovum is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, a mammoth feat for anyone, much less a dance music label, especially at a time when 120,000 new tracks are released daily. In its time, he's released music from Loco Dice, KiNK, Steve Bug, and Nic Fanciulli, as well as classics like "How's Your Evening So Far."
How has he kept a cultural institution alive for three decades throughout a boom in commercial dance music and amidst an industry that puts numbers before talent? "We take a lot of pride in trying to sign music that we think stands the test of time and will mark a period of your life," Wink says.

Josh Wink has an ear for timeless records. Records, he explains, "you'll carry with you. You could listen to [them] then, and it sounds relevant now. I guess by following that ethos and guideline, it kind of made it last a longer period of time. A lot of the music that we put out, and I'm happy about that, is still relevant. I could play most of my roster of artists on our label, and people would come up and ask, 'What is this?' And I was like, 'Well, this came out in 2009 on Ovum,' and they're like, "This is 2009? What?'"

He admits that it doesn't always lead to massive financial windfalls. The tallest trees catch the most wind, but having a lane that's been so clearly defined by genre-breaking music has its positives. "The cool thing about it is that when a release of ours comes out, people, regardless of who they are, will listen to it because they're intrigued to find out what it is," he says.

Forty years into his career, Wink says that being a DJ hasn't lost its luster in the least bit. And that's because he holds on to some founding truths of real DJing. "I still love DJing," he adds. "I still love making people dance, and I still love being the disc jockey who's able to entertain and educate."

Beyond the dance floor, he's been putting fans on his radio show, Profound Sounds, on Sirius XM's Diplo's Revolution. He says being sandwiched between more commercial EDM offerings is a sweet spot. He gets the chance to open up the ears of younger listeners to the more expansive worlds of house and techno.

"It's able to bring them further than just standard music and what's being played on the Beatport top 15 or the top festivals. Someone may find out about Jeff Mills or Apex Twin or someone like that by listening to my show," Wink explains. "What I love about it is that it can be a way for people to go and dig deeper and be more open-minded towards music that they may not know of. And musically, when I DJ, I try to do the same thing, still mixing it up and blurring the lines between house and techno and electronic."

Josh Wink. With Wolf Story and Ben Finx. 10 p.m. Monday, March 18, at Paraiso Estereo, 1306 N. Miami Ave., Miami. Tickets cost $25 to $45 via ra.co.

Check out New Times' full listing of Miami Music Week 2024 events.