- Bold, rough-and-tumble techno channeling the '90s.
- I've been wondering if it's possible to describe Si Begg's new EP as antiquated and intend it as a compliment. Along with the likes of Neil Landstrumm and Cristian Vogel, both of whom are former collaborators, Begg belongs to a long-serving breed of UK artists who have a truly unruly attitude to making and releasing club music. You could nominally describe them as techno artists, but that would undersell both how wayward their techno actually is (and all the styles and aliases they've worked under). Begg apparently writes for film and TV these days, but 400 Million Pieces Of You shows that this hasn't dampened his rough-and-tumble spirit that feels so synonymous with the '90s.
Indeed, it seems that Begg is looking backwards on "When We Were Young," for me the highlight. There isn't anything here that Jeff Mills didn't do hundreds of times in the '90s, but the fact that there are so few producers out there making this kind of warped percussive techno gives the track a fresh, if nostalgic, edge. Colossal synth lines and electro influences define the other three cuts. These tracks flirt with madness at their peak, Begg pushing his synth's parameters further than most others would dare. "P1 Tek 2 Neu Anfang" perhaps goes too far, but "P1 Voltage 2 Repeater" and, in particular, "Elektronisch For Pleasure" expertly find balance. Taking the hits along with the misses is the way one should roll with Begg and his type.
Lista de títulosA1 P1 Tek 2 Neu Anfang
A2 When We Were Young
B1 Elektronisch For Pleasure
B2 P1 Voltage 2 Repeater