- With his recent mix for Balance, Deetron set out to prove that whether you're mixing digitally or with vinyl, the end result is much the same. Here, John Mitchell has something similar to say, presenting three tracks which combine digital and analogue synthesis. However, given that producers have been doing that very thing for years, who can say what the statement is? Or more to the point, does anyone care as long as the music's good?
Like all the cuts, "The Digital Demise" puts a lot of faith in repetition. It may seem simplistic at first, but headphones reveal small details struggling to creep out from beneath the weightier core elements. Dissonance plays a large part too; the track's main motif is a simple set of detuned bells. Treated with a delay effect, they bounce around the spectrum wildly and pair with amphetamine synths for a rather manic feel. "Digital Plus Analogue" is a more straight-forward stomper. It sounds very much like the kind of thing Perc would make in fact. It's not just the walloping breakbeat which evokes this comparison; the dull metallic tings arranged in a regular pattern also seem very much in character. Lastly, a mosquito-like buzzing lurks below these two louder elements, bobbing in and out of earshot to make a savage patina. "The Digital Dilemma" kind of splits the difference between them. It has the same throbbing back synths from "The Digital Demise," but its distorted scrapes and machine groans follow the more industrial feel of "Digital Plus Analogue."
Tracklist 01. The Digital Demise
02. Digital Plus Analogue
03. The Digital Dilemma