Craig Mcwhinney At Juno Download

Review: Craig McWhinney's reputation has largely been built on releases that blur the boundaries between stripped-back techno and melodic tech-house. Here, he pops up on Melbourne Deepcast with something altogether deeper. "Heavy Stemmed" is as hypnotic and bewitching as his previous work, but the action revolves around a stuccato deep house rhythm and tumbling vocal samples that are pure late night deep house. The fluid, driving "Flow"moves back towards pure techno territory, retaining an air of deep house wooziness thanks to some drowsy chords. Weekend Express go all Lone-meets-Medlar on their cheery remix of "Heavy Stemmed", while the ever-impressive Mic Newman caps an all Australian affair by delivering another excellent remix in his inimitable nu-disco-meets-deep house style.

Review: The eighth release on Project Squared comes from Craig McWhinney - and it lives up to its name. The underlying sound is dense and gloopy, with the Australian producer favouring murkiness over precision. On the title track this manifests itself in the form of a swampy bass and distorted beats underscoring dank acid lines. "Disengage" features a more stepping rhythm and the ominous tones of a foghorn in the background, but the highlight is "Provocation is an Excuse". McWhinney has taken inspiration from Shed's Equalized project, but the way that the filters screech and the spiky percussion stabs intermittently is all his own doing.