20- 20 hearing

OK, so it’s 20-odd years since Roland’s TB-303 bass generator thingy was used incorrectly to great effect by Phuture (with a little help from Marshall Jefferson and Felix Da Housecat, depending on who you believe). Along the way, the little silver box has spawned numerous classics – Phuture’s ‘Acid Trax’, Hardfloor’s ‘Hardtrance Experience’ and, perhaps most famously, Josh Wink’s ‘Higher State Of Consciousness’.

It went off the mainstream radar for a few years, but in recent months, it’s made a welcome return to the world of house and techno. To look at it one way, you could argue that its return to prominence is an attempt to recapture the essence of what made dance music fun in the first place, before the sponsored tours and cocaine habits became de rigueur. To look at it in another, it’s just because that squiggly little noise, combined with a four/four, when played loud in a dark room, does something to even the most jaded of ravers.
It’s still doing something to Philadelphia man Josh Wink. He’s about to release an album 20 To 20 – the names reference “the threshold of human hearing – 20mhrz to 20kh” – that is drenched in the 303’s gurgle. A reasonably simple album it may be, but it sure did something to us.
“I’ve always used the 303 in some way in my productions – it never left my work! Acid house from Chicago was huge for me – it made me want to make this kind of music and I’m glad I did,” says Josh.
Seeing as Wink’s primarily known for his ‘Higher State…’ belter – initially released on NYC house label Strictly Rhythm in 1995 and a subsequent worldwide hit – a neutral observer might be forgiven for thinking he’d be happy to see the back of the 303 for good. It’s become his signature tune – and having such a hit brings both positives and negatives.
“It helped create and open a lot of doors for me to be who I am,” he admits. “It’s cool that it means so much for so many different people. I can tell you crazy stories about people coming up to me and pouring their hearts out, telling me what it means to them... crazy.”
Are you worried about this record pigeonholing you for once and for all in the acid bracket?
“Nope. Not worried. I’m fortunate to be able to make all kinds of electronic music, and have both house, progressive and techno DJs play and support it. I didn’t really make it for one group of people in particular. However, I had the ‘DJ’ in mind, as these were tracks I played out as a DJ.”
As ‘Higher State… proved, Wink is someone who courted the mainstream with great success when it suited him, but never kept his eye off the underground. Has the dance crash hit him?
“Well, yes. The slump lately has been with sales, record companies, magazines, etc. going out of business. The mainstream success was an accident for me, funny how it happened. But, I’m happy to balance my life in between being in the spotlight and out of it. I’m just happy that I’m still making and releasing music. I’ve been doing so since 1989, and I’m still doing it. I love it. I try and continue to push my boundaries and make new exciting music.”

Josh Wink’s 20 To 20 is out in late March on Ovum