Josh Wink's Ovum Recordings is 20 years old, and to celebrate properly he's taking Ovum on a world tour. Over the past two decades, the label's output has included releases by the likes of Josh Wink, Loco Dice, Davide Squillace, Ambivalent, Steve Bug, and many more. In less than a month, Josh will take the decks at the inaugural Mysteryland USA, set to take place on the historic Woodstock 1969 festival grounds. We had a chance to catch up with Josh ahead of the highly anticipated festival to chat a little about the label's 20th anniversary, the future of Ovum Recordings, why he's excited to play at Mysteryland USA, his experiences playing in America, and what else he has in store in the coming months.
Firstly, congratulations on 20 years of Ovum Recordings! To kick off the year, Ovum released a special remix by Ben Klock of your 1996 classic, ‘Are You There’, in March. Can you give us a hint as to whom else we can expect releases and remixes from on Ovum this year? We're still looking into our vast catalog of artists and songs and figuring out which legacy songs we'd like to re-release and remix. However, the next track we're thinking of is DJ Dozia's "Pop Culture." This was an early release on the label that fetches big money on Discogs as we have never released it digitally. So far we have remixes from Ambivalent and Joris Voorn on board and there may be additional remixers. It will be an amazing package for sure! And thanks for the kind words on the 20 years!
How has your process for selecting tracks and remixes changed over the years? Would you say you’re pickier these days? No. I don't think we're pickier. We've always kept our integrity on what we sign, and that still continues to this day. We feel that if the music is right, it's right. We try not to sign tracks on whether it is trendy or popular, but how it makes us feel. We strive to find things that we think are timeless.
Your sound has remained consistent throughout your career and we love you for that. Have you ever felt tempted to experiment withdifferent genres (either within electronic music or outside of it)? Thanks for your words. I am happy that I have been able to create my own sound and stay with it over all these years. I have recorded drum and bass, ambient, trip hop etc… yet, I haven't worked outside of electronic music. I look forward to moving into producing other people and other styles of music in the future.
You don’t collaborate often but is there anyone in particular you’d like to do so with this year? You're right. I haven't. We have tossed around ideas over the years, but nobody that I can 100% say in particular. This year I have been focusing on making music myself, as I have recorded four new singles since February, and we look forward to releasing them. There is one track that I have a collaboration in mind for, but it is still in the works. Everyone will have to wait and see.
You’ve stated that ‘Higher State of Consciousness’ is your biggest regret. Why, if you don’t mind us asking? It really helped open doors but it also helped close a lot too. That's what I was talking about. But in the end… The positive out weighed the regrets and negative!
You’re playing in the Vinyl Only tent at Mysteryland next month. In regards to the festival, what are you most looking forward to? I've really enjoyed the process of looking through all my older vinyl and preparing for the festival. I am really looking forward to playing vinyl. I am also looking forward to being a part of such a great festival in an amazing location.
What do you love about playing in America? It is exciting for me to see the growth in America and how these festivals and the music are exploding here. I am an American DJ, but for many years I have been more focused on playing overseas as that was where the best gigs were. I have been playing more in the States recently and the crowds have been amazing. I am looking forward to playing more in America again, as I miss it.
What else is on the horizon for Josh Wink and Ovum Recordings? We're focusing this year on doing Ovum stages at festivals, and Ovum parties at clubs and venues all over the world to help celebrate 20 years of Ovum.
We're going to continue on releasing great music and decide on which tracks we want to re-release from our catalog. And lastly we are going to release more of my own music, which I can't wait to share with everyone!
