Josh Wink at Rex Club in Paris

Thursday, February 19th

I awake today early in anticipation of a great day, which is a wonderful feeling! I’ve enjoyed two days off visiting friends, shops, art galleries, having memorable meals and feeling like a local in a foreign city. It has been nice, and as usual time catches up and bring me back to reality and responsibilities at hand.

I am greeted by sunlight in the living room, similar to rays coming through a church cathedral window when I navigate down the spiral staircase. Straight for the rice milk and muesli I go, a big bowl this morning for energy. I get on the computer and do some interviews and emails - work that I’ve been neglecting. D’Julz is sleeping late today and explains at 1:30 that he’s working this whole weekend and needs as much sleep as possible. The muesli has worn away and I told D’Julz I would love to eat lunch at a really cool bio/organic bakery called the Rose Bakery, he happily obliged and we we’re quick on the Metro whizzing around Paris. Lunchtime is a sacred period for the French, where work stops (unless you work in a restaurant/café) and you take an hour or two for yourself.

I noticed it’s important to eat in the allowed period, as if you try after 3PM, it’s very, very limiting, as most restaurants and cafés don’t serve the meal menu till dinnertime (which isn’t the way for Americans). The smells of fresh, local produce and bakery goods blanket us as we push open the door, careful not to hit the numerous patrons waiting for tables to vacant or placing orders at the counter for take away.

Everybody seems happy and smiling today as it appears to be spring with the vibrant sun, absence of clouds, brisk air, and warmer than usual temperature, and it’s agreeable and catchy. After filling our bodies with great food and our minds with conversations, we depart and agree to walk the journey home, relishing the day, instead of utilizing the public transit underground. We both have work to do at the apartment, and easily settle down after an invigorating walk.

A schedule is set for the evening and we contact Benny Rodrigues, who arrived from Rotterdam by train earlier in the day to DJ at the Rex with us tonight. I get picked up at 7PM and escorted to France Inter, the largest French national radio station.  Once again we are met with the bottleneck of traffic, as it’s still rush hour, and this time, I am happy to have a moment to enjoy the Paris streets by car.

We have to get from the 3rd district to the 15th in 25 minutes as the studio time is locked and booked, however, I feel confident and comfortable that all will work out.  There’s some weird feeling I have, a kind of embarrassing guilty pleasure felt when looking at the Eiffel tower, especially up close. It’s very trite or cliché to want to see this magnificent tourist icon, and I guess as I don’t see it often, makes me feel like a schoolboy on a tourist trip. But it’s as spectacular during the day or lit up at night. A must see.

A pleasant unexpected encounter at the radio station was my old friend Tiga, who just happens to be in the adjoining studio. We’ve been friends since the early 90s and have managed to keep in touch over the years. I’m very happy for all his success! It’s nice to know that he’s still successful and happy doing what he likes. I kind of met him when he was a stylish raver and DJ, and I always felt that when we talked or met up, even after a year of not doing so, we connect as if we were in consistent communication. And for some reason I remember his birthday every year. 

Each year he says ‘I always know you’ll contact me somehow,” and I do.  Anyway, we caught up for a brief moment before he embarks on his mix in promotion for his new LP, then we conclude our conversation about how we’ll see each other Saturday, in London at Matter.  I had no idea how big France Inter was, and am happy to have this opportunity for this national radio press. The interview lasted 30 minutes and the questions were thoughtful and interesting. We talked about the album, politics, and views on the music and industry scene. We had to wrap up as I was going to be late for dinner, and we all know already how important a good meal is for me before a gig.

Before I departed for the radio station, we all planned to meet up at traditional Japanese restaurant at 9PM for the pre-club feast. Remmy from the Rex had suggested this tiny place, where reservations were needed as it fits 3 tables of 5 people. If you ever want a unique dinning experience in Paris, check out Momoka, and get the chef’s surprise menu. Also, check out the bathroom - the smallest ever! Our dinner was an absolute delight and I was in my nirvana - great food, great friends and great conversation.

This is definitely one of the blessings of my job, meeting friends around the world for incredible food and heart-to-heart dialog.

We are all content in 90 minutes, and can’t imagine swallowing one morsel more so we get underway and pile on to our ultimate days destination, Le Rex. We stroll in and D’Julz immediately sets up his computer and gets ready for opening the evening and creating the most important and skilled warm up. This is so important as it really sets the mood for an evening, and D’Julz is wonderful in building a warm, deep and funky ambiance with his music. He’s also talented in being able to rock the party at peak time or afterhours parties.

I’m happy to hear that the Rex is prepared for DJs using all types of mixers, gear and vinyl or CDs. They have two interfaces hooked up for DJs using Traktor or Serato, so all you need to do is attach your USB cable from your computer and viola! A real pleasure to be without the stress of set up this evening, and I hope in the future, clubs are willing and able to have these options.

The club is now full at 1:30 and D’Julz is rocking it! His freshly completed (that day) remix of the Slam classic, ‘Positive Education’ is causing havoc on the floor and he asks if at 2AM I am ready to take over. It’s still taking me a bit of time to settle into using a computer whilst DJing, and I realize more and more how important it is to make proficient ‘record boxes’ or playlists when using Traktor. Organization of music, especially when you have 120 GB is imperative, and creates an easier flow of locating your imported songs.

I settle into a comfortable groove in about 25 minutes, after a brief surprise of noticing I didn’t disable the Bluetooth function, as my computer is trying to pair with several mobile phones! HA! Nothing but laughter is heard in the booth as D’Julz is cracking up! “Man, you have to turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off!” he yells. I continue to learn.  My smiles turn into laughter as more and more people show up in front of the (glassed in) DJ booth holding up bananas in celebration and support of the LP. How amazing!  Later, I was told that the Rex mentioned that if you bring a banana, you will automatically be granted admission, and get to march to the front of the cue. It’s quite a sight to see a dancefloor full of people holding up bananas when I’m playing (I still didn’t get a proper camera so no photos could be used).

I seemed to be in a deeper techno vibe tonight and play more of my older catalog. Songs that rocked the night:

1) Damon Wild ‘Cenote’

2) Jeff Mills ‘Every Dog Has Its Day 2’
3) Slice 12 ‘Sliced Behavior’
4) Jeroen ‘65’
5) Laurent Garnier ‘Flashback’

Along with some newer things:

1) Staffan Linzatti ‘The World Ends With You’
2) John Tejada ‘The Open’

3) Gregor Thresher ‘Kraft (Paco Osuna edit)’
4) Mindz Kontrol ‘Fubu’ (Just given to me that day by DJ Yellow)
5) Josh Wink ‘Minimum 23’

So, by 4AM the crowd is ready for the sounds of Benny Rodrigues and I happily step down for Benny to begin his magic, which he immediately launches into. Going from energetic Detroit techno to deep tech house seamlessly, which gets me out to shake my groove thing on the floor as well! My hypnotic state is interrupted by the reminder that I have an interview to do with an English journalist from Data Transmission, who has made the journey from London for a ‘one night in Paris’ interview, as he solely arrive several hours ago and then is hopping on the 7AM return to ol’ Blighty. We get the manager to get us into the back room, which is a keyed entrance, confirming that the interview will only take 10 minutes and to please unlock the door and let us back into the club. Well, as it turns out, this is the same area where Troy Pierce got locked in the bathroom the previous week, and as fate would have it, were left there for over 20 minutes, waiting like a dog by the front door eagerly anticipating the door to unlock. Text messages to D’Julz didn’t help either, so patience and life conversations made the period of time and anxiety pass. But a warning to all DJ/artists: Use the usual toilet that the public uses unless you desire a little drama.  The night continues until 6AM where the faithful are found still grooving and swaying to the music, most likely with alcohol overtaking their blood.

I get to dance with friends a bit more, and then the last song arrives. I am tired, yet extremely happy with all aspects of the night and feel a grateful and content feeling begin to wash over me, as I know sleep in the Anne Frank suite is near. We all exit the club and are smacked with fresh crisp air at 6:20 AM, where the morning magic is starting to occur. People awaking, driving to work, trash trucks rush to finish their evening routes before the early traffic overtakes the sleepy streets and the sky is beginning to show signs of light in its daily conquer over darkness at this hour.  Now, I’m a morning person, even though I tend to work mostly night hours, but I love the enchantment of the early day. When the sun adds its color to the tar black sky, the world is setting up for its new stories, and the excitement is felt in even the birds who welcome us. We do everything in our power to hail a cab, trying to catch the hurried yellow blurred automobiles, as if they are vampires fleeting the day. We get two, say our goodbyes to friends, put Benny in a cab to his hotel, and D’Julz and I are finally on our way.  I look forward to sleep before the responsibilities of travel raise their control over me. Earplugs in, eye mask on - I’m out!