It was perhaps only a matter of time before Si Begg rocked up on Central Processing Unit. Now an esteemed veteran of British beat tracks, Begg's name has become synonymous with quality club productions ever since he burst onto the scene three decades ago. In the years since, Begg has released scores of records on some of the most prestigious labels in the business - Tresor, NovaMute, his own Mosquito. As such, his debut on the Sheffield imprint whose name has become a sign of quality since it launched in 2012 seems like a wholly logical progression for one of electro's most consistently excellent producers.
Begg's casual mastery of his sound is shown off by the fact that he doesn't over-egg the pudding of the Energie Electrique EP. Rather than doing sonic cartwheels to get people's attention, Energie Electrique is characterised by the way Begg adds or subtracts elements to sturdy grooves. It's an approach which makes for a collection of tunes that manage to bring the boogie from the off while they also hide all sorts of aural Easter eggs amidst the mix.
On opening cut 'Energy', a droning start full of crisp drum programming soon develops into a head spinning electro groove reminiscent of Kraftwerk's Computer World. An acid-laced bassline waxes and wanes, modulating in intensity across several minutes as Begg sprinkles in percussion, synth blurts and vocoder vocals. It's a slyly insistent rump-shaker, and the - ahem - energy that the track provides carries through into following number 'Buckfunk Beatz'. This joint begins with a gnarly, chattering synth sound before the sizzle and snap of a broken-beat kick-hat loop locks into place. While still very Kraftwerkian, 'Buckfunk Beatz' also has the playful grizzle of contemporary practitioners like Cardopusher and Begg's fellow CPU operator Silicon Scally.
Things switch up at the start of Energie Electrique's second side. Rather than rolling out a high-octane groove, Begg delivers a low-slung mid-tempo roller called 'MS10 Machine Funk'. The programming on the kick drum here could almost pass for a dirty south hip-hop production if Begg didn't lace it with such a strangely compelling use of the oscillator - sometimes squealing, sometimes squawking, sometimes wobbling, always thrilling. The mix flecked with chordal stabs, 'MS10 Machine Funk' is a masterclass in combining danceable beats with the quest for thrilling sounds that is so often the mark of a truly musical mind.
To round things out, Begg brings us back to the beginning. 'Electro P1 B' is a delightfully dystopian bit of Drexciyanism. Piston-hiss drum programming, nervy atonal synth nodules, some cavernous reverb deployment - this is a body-mover if ever you heard one, and one executed with all the style, aplomb and panache you'd expect of Begg.
Si Begg takes his Central Processing Unit bow with the Energie Electrique EP, a quartet of club tracks to rival anything in his vast and vaunted discography.
RIYL: Kraftwerk, Silicon Scally, Drexciya, Cardopusher, Annie Hall
