Renowned breakbeat producer Si Begg has teamed up with the 'Slabovia 8-Bit Orchestra' to make an exclusive soundtrack to Guts, the twisted new iPhone game from Slabovia, the last remaining communist state in Europe.

Taking time out from the futuristic funk that has made him one of dance music's most respected producers, Si has been lured into making The Sounds Of Guts the game's bespoke soundtrack by the simple promise of as many potatoes as he can carry.
 
Guts follows the adventures of Slabovian citizens Kierky and Nietschze from Channel 4's KNTV Show, who are shrunken to microscopic size and injected into ailing Slabovian despot General Schmerdiakov on a mission to cure him from the inside out.

Like the 11-level game, which takes its lead from retro-classics like Lunar Lander, Asteroids and Space Invaders, Si Begg has gone back to the old skool on The Sounds of Guts, pitting his wits against the 'Slabovia 8-Bit Orchestra' to create a meisterwork of epic chiptune proportions.

Featuring all the classic bitpop tricks that made game music so addictive and unique, including lightening-speed arpeggios and white noise percussion, The Sounds of Guts sets itself apart from mere pastiche with some typically maverick manoeuvres from Si, who adds a large dose of 21st Century savvy to proceedings. We spoke to Si to find out more...

How did you come to be involved in this project?
I had done some previous sound design and composition work for the production company, Tern TV. I was sent a bunch of 8 bit computer music and was asked if I could make something like it and I said yes... in fact, hell yes!

Have you done anything like this before?
Not exactly, though I have done a lot of audio work for TV etc.  Check it out here: http://uk.youtube.com/user/sibeggsynch

How many tracks did you write, how long did it take to do and how did it compare to working on your own material?
About eight I think? It didn't take too long, a few weeks i guess. It was very different to the usual process as I had to 'downgrade' all my equipment and get back to basics with simple harsh square waves and white noise. It's interesting though as it forces you to be more creative in a way.

What's the game like to play?
Ahhh... ermmm... don't know! Don't even have an iPhone to be honest.

Do you have any singles coming out soon?
Yup... the remixes of this very project and also soon come a huge remix project of my early Buckfunk 3000 releases: three labels, 15 remixes, it's going to be rather large

Anything else you'd like to tell us about?
There's a free release by myself available right now at www.sibegg.com/24bit - help yourselves!

Guts will be available to iPhone users from October 20th and Si Begg Vs The Slabovia 8-Bit Orchestra – The Sounds of Guts will be released on 23rd November.

• Si Begg
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• iPhone

Related Links:

• Krafty Kuts DJ Tools iPhone App
• Cinematic Orchestra @ The Royal Albert Hall
• Krafty Kuts DJ Tools iPhone App
• Issue 40
• Si Begg - The Bleeps video

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