Josh Wink makes music that pushes people out of their psychic ruts whether they're grooving on a crowded dance floor or meditating in private. Wink's innate spirit of adventure has always attracted him to the most ambitious musical challenges whether he's DJing at a massive party or crafting tracks in his home studio. On HEREHEAR, his full-length debut album on Ovum/RuffHouse/Columbia Records, he's risen to the occasion with his most audacious, most masterfully-realized effort to date.

Wink's eclectic style incorporates house, techno, drum 'n' bass and avant-garde experimentation and has earned him a rabid following around the world as evidenced by European (world-wide) chart-toppers such as "Higher State Of Consciousness," "Don't Laugh," and "I'm Ready." HEREHEAR-- his second full length album and first for his own Ovum Recordings imprint (distributed by RuffHouse/Columbia) -- finds Wink pursuing more daring aesthetic goals while exploring an exotic aural terrain.

Featuring erstwhile This Mortal Coil/Shelleyann Orphan singer Caroline Crawley, "I'm On Fire" is a lush, utterly divine organic composition. Wink's smooth, ebullient production creates a plush psychedelic cloud bank for Crawley's heartfelt vocalese to wind through. "6th Sense," the first single released from HEREHEAR, was cut with noted Philadelphia poet Ursula Rucker (who's contributed to the albums of King Britt's Sylk 130, The Roots and Bahamadia). This is a frenzied, relentless techno banger, wherein Wink kneads Rucker's voice like a sculptor passionately molding and remolding clay into wildly abstracted shapes similar to the audio collages of Laurie Anderson. Wink also worked with long time friend Herschel Gaer, of the Philly-based rock trio The Interpreters, on the album's closing cut and second single, "Simple Man." Anchored by huge, rolling bass lines 'n' jungle style beats and caterwauling vocals by Herschel, the track shows another fresh, previously unheard aspect of Wink's musical vision.

Wink got his start in music working for a mobile DJ service in his hometown of Philadelphia, beginning to learn the basics of the business at the age of 13. The precocious Wink soon began spinning at small parties around town. The gigs weren't glamorous, but he used the opportunity to learn how to make the temperature of a party soar past the boiling point.

Raised in an open-minded environment by parents who encouraged him to explore the arts and sounds of his native Philadelphia, the clean-living Wink was weaned on a disparate musical diet. Having been exposed to everything from Depeche Mode to Run-DMC, his ears were constantly open. Then in 1988, Wink met up with a kindred spirit and fellow Philadelphian: King Britt. Their interests were extremely similar. Pooling these common interests and blending their differences, the duo waxed E-Culture's "Tribal Confusion." The record was a underground classic. Wink quickly hit the burgeoning U.S. rave circuit, driving for days on end with his record boxes in tow to play packed one-off parties from coast to coast.

Though his DJ career was taking off, Wink's restless spirit led him into cutting records of his own. After forming Ovum Recordings as an independent label with Britt in October 1994, Wink recorded the cult classic "Liquid Summer." He went on to release singles for a wide variety of revered European labels. He also began remixing for Moby and others. Invitations to spin at prestigious nightspots all over the world soon poured in but as his career progressed, he stayed true to his roots, always maintaining his integrity, always coming home to his beloved Philadelphia.