Oh, the flashbacks are coming again. The flashing lights, the scent of sweat and marijuana, the pounding, pounding music, the endless dancing and sniffing of Vicks Inhalers. Weekends with my old rave buddy Steaky were both incredible and punishing, often beginning Thursday night and ending Sunday morning, fueled by drugs and an endless stream of parties. It was both fun and lonely, Steaky looking into the distance as she ruminated endlessly in a coke or crystal- driven rant on the various DJs she'd seen or heard, her eyes flickering back and forth like candles in a light breeze. One such DJ that she would speak about all too often was Josh Wink.

I think Josh held a special power for Steaky. First of all, it was obvious she was wet for him. Whenever she'd start talking about him, she'd talk about his dreads, and how she'd seen him at Evolution, but that he DJ'd there on Wednesdays and she couldn't make the drive from Steaky Central to Philadelphia in mid- week. Steaky had a highbrow corporate job that she was desperate to hold down in the four- day spells between drug binges. It made her sad that she was kept from Josh by something as trivial as a job with a corporate giant, and I could see the idealism and materialism doing battle in her eyes when she spoke of it. She wanted Josh, and, with him would come the redemption of her plastic raver soul.

It never came, and Steaky disappeared from my life, leaving me to wonder about her again. Then, just as I prepared to delete her forever from the memory banks, Wink's Profound Sounds Vol. 1 falls into my lap. Ostensibly the first in what is sure to be lauded as the "last word" in techno series', Josh proves to us that even if Herehear sucked, he can still spin with the best of 'em. I can feel Steaky's panties moistening right now... out there... somewhere.

As you may recall, MTV's first Amp compilation from 1997 included Wink's almost- mainstream breakout "Are You There." After its success, many Philadelphians were asking, "May I have cheez whiz on that delicious Philly cheesesteak?" and "Could our beloved DJ Josh Wink have a shot at breaking out, making it to Chemical Brothers and Prodigy status?" Well, the short answer was no. Herehear fell flat, surely prompting a sigh of relief from Steaky, knowing that her star-cross'd lover may still be within her reach.

So, now we have Profound Sounds, Vol. 1. A continuous remix from start to finish (as all good discs are), Profound Sounds displays a Josh that is both patient and clever on the production board. Running well over an hour, the record spans acid house, dub- techno and hard house, the mix becoming gradually harder and more intense the longer it plays on. Josh teases, he plays, he gently flitters our ariolas with the tongue of his turntables, starting the mix with some moderately hard tracks like labelmates Sylk 130's "When the Funk Hits the Fan" and Care Company's "Vol. 1". But the real meat on Profound Sounds is to be found from tracks 6 through 14, when Josh takes us on a hard- house journey that, well... is even moistening my panties a bit. Call me old-skool, call me Shirley, or all me Al, but this is good stuff that swallows your brain up with rhythms falling over one another in a cascade appropriate for both booty shakin' and abstract chillin'.

My conclusion: Josh has proven himself a top- notch DJ, but like fellow DJs Kruder and Dorfmeister, his own songs leave something to be desired. Of course, that's okay-- Profound Sounds makes the cut and keeps me squiggly... oh so squiggly.

-James P. Wisdom