SMILETRON - Control (Page 1 of 2)

Vestige: 8-bit worked seamlessly into the more polished and modern Live and Logic combo. As epic as it gets. The tempo changes throughout the whole EP are really well done, giving the listener a chance to rest before the ever present thick-as-a-log kick and baseline bruisers come back to knock your socks off once more. There is a really sweet section in the middle with not only key, tempo and percussive rhythm changes, but actually feels as if one is travelling free-flow in a garden of tranquility—a brief pause and reminder of "the quiet" before being thrown back, lacklustre into a battle of bass and beats.

Viral: The transition from the previous track is well engineered. Here we seem to find ourselves in another bass-driven romp, filled with fluttery, floaty crashes and rides in the distance, but with the ever-pressing bass, kicks and rhythm pushing along the fore-front. The drop in this track is again ethereal and blissful, however, I have a bit of a problem with the way it all kicks back in. There seems to be an inconsistency with the delay on the glockenspiel which spoils the overall tranquil mood for me.

Technical difficulty: Excellent melodies, kick and overall mood. The LSDJ percussion is very technical, precise and well thought out. Very impressive. The small drop coming in after the one minute mark is full of energy, but in particular the chord-structure is very uplifting providing a feeling of hope and perseverance. The track also features some excellent pitch-shifting through notes, pitch-shifting and a real display of control over both 8-bit handhelds and more "professional" DAWs. According to the official story of the EP by Smiletron himself:

"A few people escape the chaos and prepare to fight back, but they only have the simplest of tools. So they march back on up there to that city. Do they win? You tell me."

The end of the final track on the EP leaves us with a cryptic clue as to the fate of the Earth: finishing with only a Morse coded message and a laugh. Was it human though? Excellent finish to the EP!

All tracks show a finesse for creating phat, hard, and rolling basslines that you into the groove while the battle is fought out with chip-like melody leads. Leads which sound—at times—exactly how he introduces the idea behind the EP: like the battle for the future of a computer-virus threatened Earth.