We’re not sure if the techno world has stalwarts but Craig McWhinney’s involvement in the Australian and Melbourne techno scene is of a Harold Bishop-like dedication.

As a founding member of the long running Melbourne Techno Collective and as label honcho of Atrophic Society, McWhinney knows about tekkers more than most.

As Vohkinne, he steps up with the Wind Shadows a new three-track EP to be released on Kynant, a UK label that is currently being run out of Berlin.

Drawing upon his wealth of DJing experience and an ear for sound design, McWhinney crosses over techno and house for a record that is quality.

Have a listen to the EP below and read a quick chat we had with Craig.

THUMP: The title track is fairly experimental with stop-start drums. What approach did you take?

Craig McWhinney: I originally had a lot more drums filling up the spaces making it fairly industrial sounding. It just started as a machinedrum, Octatrack and MFB522 jam, with lots of drum patterns being sequenced. But as I added the synths and atmospheres, I felt they needed to get more of the attention so I stripped the drums back to the barer skeleton that is in the final track. It ended up being this broken, weird experimental thing which the label was incredibly enthusiastic about.

Melbourne has a long affiliation with techno. What styles have you seen coming through recently?

There’s definitely a lot more DJs banging it than there used to be. Once upon a time this was a very frowned upon thing, but it’s become the norm over time. There’s a darker edge in the underground than has been around for a long time, and I like it. Of course, as I’m getting older I’m starting to strip things back more, but music moves in cycles so I’m sure it will all change again soon.

You also run the label Atrophic Society and are part of Melbourne Techno Collective. You also have a family. How do you juggle all this?

Well, I just make sure that I prioritise correctly. Family, work, music and sleep. It can be tricky sometimes, there’s a lot of juggling and planning. It also helps that my partner is very supportive and understanding. Somehow, thus far, I’ve managed to keep all the balls in the air, so let’s hope it continues this way.

Follow Craig on Soundcloud.