Profound Sounds, Vol. 1

by John BushWink's first volume in a projected series of mix albums, Profound Sounds isn't your average collection. Unlike genre-spanning grooves of the past, where DJs attempt to dazzle listeners with a seemingly endless parade of artists given a minute or two at the most, Wink here sounds more like a stadium DJ, with only 14 tracks over an hour of music. The sound progresses from Basic Channel-style dub-techno (courtesy of Johannes Heil and Heiko Laux) into harder tech-house (from a Mood II Swing remix of "When the Funk Hits the Fan" by Wink compatriot King Britt's Sylk 130 project) into repetitious acid lines (tracks by Blaze, Stacey Pullen, LFO's Gez Varley, John Selway), and never lets up until the end of the album. It's a pummeling mix that aligns Wink more with techno purists like Jeff Mills or Dave Angel than late-'90s electronica poster boys like the Chemical Brothers or Prodigy's Liam Howlett, and repositions him away from the mainstream he'd seemed to be courting with his previous full-length, Herehear.