McWhinney makes Beatport bestsellers

February 9, 2010

Craig McWhinney, a music lover from the age of 5 is no stranger to complex rhythms, the concept of harmony and the will of a musician. In the past couple of years Craig has rapidly climbed the Melbourne techno ranks, from being an up and comer one year to earning himself support time slots at major events. His drive to succeed and stand tall in the competitive world of DJing is what has made him quickly become a “favourite local” to many a punter. By the age of 12 Craig had picked up the guitar and in his early teen years Craig’s musical curiosity guided him to learn the flute, clarinet and saxophone, which meant he was a prominent member of the school band. From there he discovered the beauty of the drums. Not unlike many techno DJs, learning to play the drums was just the tip of the iceberg, a platform for which they appreciate with greater understanding the power of the bass and where it can lead to musically. 5 years of bashing at the drums and being involved in a metal band and a Latin jazz outfit, again resulted in Craig exploring different sounds, sounds that weren’t necessarily all drum based but heading in the electronic direction… Portishead, Massive Attack, and Tricky. The more Craig got into electronic music the deeper he delved into the gamut of sound. He bought turntables at the end of December 2001, and since then he has been playing gigs for about 2 years. His DJing debut being in August of 2002 at Melbourne techno institution Fokus. Craig’s “style” is hard to describe, his eclectic tastes and influences make him one of those DJs that can adapt to his surroundings with graceful ease. His groove is aggressive but smooth, from the hardest of the hard techno, Detroit techno, house right through to dark electro and minimalesque beats. Drawing DJing influences from his (now) peers Mike Callander, Ben Cromack, Disko Pussy, Dave Pham, Dallas Raft and Dave Rankine. “Watching these guys every week taught me how to play.” These DJs along with the records that find themselves flying out the door and into his record box are forever changing Craig’s musical direction/mood and aesthetic. Continuously evolving and open to learning new things. This open minded attitude and covet for wanting to move forward and play music to the people is why Craig has played on the same bill as the likes of Speedy J, Miss Kittin & the Hacker, Thomas Schumacher, Tiga, CJ Bolland, Misstress Barbara, Samuel L Session, Green Velvet, Renato Cohen, Joel Mull and Adam Beyer. 2004 has also seen Craig play his first interstate gig in Adelaide at Winter Enchanter Festival.

The Melbourne Techno Collective’s Craig McWhinney has rocketed into the Beatport bestsellers charts with his remix of local icon Christian Vance’s Chase the Night. The track which was featured on Carl Cox’s new Global Underground mix is – at the time of writing – number 42 on
Beatport’s Techno Top 100 Downloads. Chase the Night was originally released on Haul Music in 2009 and has received strong international support, with McWhinney’s mix adding extra punch to what was already an epic track.

McWhinney has a string of releases and remixes planned for early 2010; and with support from the likes of Carl Cox and many other big name jocks, 2010 could be a very big year of our Craig.

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