out for a while: S.I. Futures - The Mission Statement [NovaMute]

Artist:
S.I. Futures

Title:
The Mission Statement

Label:
NovaMute

Cat#:
NOMU85

Release Date:
03rd September 2001

Format:
CD, vinyl, download & streaming

Tracklist:
01.
S.I. Futures Intro

02.
This Is The Way

03.
I Like That

04.
All Terrain Aspects

05.
Eurostar

06.
Assault On Precinct 14

07.
Freestyle Disco

08.
Ionic Funk

09.
Vending Machine

10.
The News

11.
I’m The Bomb

12.
We Are Not A Rock Band

Press Info:
Si Begg, under the guise of S.I. Futures, is set to release his first long player for the novamute label on September 3rd.

“The Mission Statement” features twelve brand new tracks, including the single ‘We Are Not A Rock Band’ and is the follow up to the brilliant 38 track cut ’n’ paste compilation Noodles: ‘The Complete Death Of Cool’ released earlier this year on the Noodles/Leaf label.

Operating under an alarming array of monikers (Si Begg, Bigfoot, CabbageBoy, Buckfunk 3000) and recording for a number of labels (Tresor, N-Tone, Language) Begg has set a far reaching musical agenda that has refused to be constrained by style, form or expectation. Always keen to question, Begg has seldom stuck to one style, preferring to pilfer, magpie-like, from genres across the electronic spectrum.

Born and raised in the midlands, Begg’s initial inspiration came from noise collage terrorists such as SST’s Negativland and the hugely influential Cabaret Voltaire. With Acid House as the catalyst, by the late ‘80s Begg had begun to explore his fascination with electronic music further. Drip fed new and alien sounds by the likes of John Peel, Begg soon amassed a rudimentary armoury of studio equipment and began to produce tracks at an astonishing rate. By the late 90’s Begg had amassed a mountainous body of work including three critically acclaimed albums. Equally at home DJing as in the studio, Begg took his unique style to clubs as diverse as Tresor in Berlin, the legendary Boutique in Brighton and The Kitchen in Dublin.

By the start of the new millennium Begg had settled in North London and began work on his next project, the epic and panoramic “The Mission Statement”, a humorous dig at a world where Ford Mondeos rule the road and carriage clocks sit smugly on polished mantle pieces. The cover, a pastiche of the classic corporate catalogue, furthers Begg’s intent to call into question the sham of the corporate do-gooder.

Within its pages (if you like), the album is a masterful work. Opening with ‘S.I Futures Intro’, a welcome message as false and worthless as that of any airline hostess, the corporate world is further ridiculed by the excellent ‘Vending Machine’, a sideways swipe at coffee cup culture. The tremendous ‘Eurostar’ is as good a Kraftwerk pastiche as you’ll find anywhere. T Power helps out on the abstract and haunting ‘I Like That (Brand New)’ while ‘Freestyle Disco’ is a devastatingly effective slice of hard funk. By its close, the vocoder fuelled first single ‘We Are Not A Rock Band’, you’re left gasping for breath and holding your sides. It’s a brilliant mix that effortlessly glides from style to style with grace and humour and is set to consolidate Begg’s already considerable reputation.

Snippets: