central processing unit

Microlith – Dance With Me [CPU00011110]

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Sheffield’s Central Processing Unit has been one of the most prolific electro and techno labels over the last few years. Their fifth release of 2016 comes from up-and-coming producer Rhys “Microlith” Celeste, who made his debut on the imprint a few months back. As debut albums go, Dance With Me is a fine effort. Sitting somewhere between the underwater intensity of Drexciya, the melodiousness of Artificial Intelligence-era Warp releases, and the spacey sound of vintage British intelligence techno, the album bristles with gentle acid lines, ambient chords, punchy rhythms and Motor City inspired melodies.

single / album

Microlith – Dance With Me [CPU00011110]

Jensen Interceptor – M EP [CPU00011101]

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Previously half of pseudo-kitsch acid-electro force Light Year, and now gone solo, Mikey Melas aka Jensen Interceptor joins the binary cataloging CPU with a perfectly formed electro cut. Any artist who samples Ghost in the Shell, arguably one of the greatest anime films of all time, are all right by us. Mikey does so to great effect on the big beat / trip hop tempo ‘Model 2029’, which sits alongside three unrelenting electro bass bin destroyers. Mactavis being the toughest cut, utilising a fierce driving 808 with a robotic bassline interjecting throughout. Electro is often overlooked for the club but it’s obvious this E.P. was designed from the ground up to smash a big room.

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Jensen Interceptor – M EP [CPU00011101]

Annie Hall – Tenured Positions [CPU00011100]

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Annie Hall taking a break from co-running Detroit Underground to make an appearance on like minded Sheffield label Central Processing Unit. Annie dedicates this E.P. to women in science (Marie Curie, Lise Meitner, Elizabeth Arden and Caroline Herschel) when tenured positions for women working in the field were extremely rare. Although the tracks appear to be straight from the science lab, don’t let that fool you as each track is brimming with laid back computer funk with subtle melodies that keep you hooked. Annie has deviated from her signature fractured beats and delivered an easy listening electro affair that’s equally at home on the dancefloor as it is chilling in high fidelity.

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Annie Hall – Tenured Positions [CPU00011100]

Mikron – Warning Score [CPU00011011]

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Mikron’s love of melody and pattern are very much at the forefront with every track full of great hooks and rhythms. The album takes you on a journey through various sub genres all delivered with careful execution and enviable studio mastery.

vinyl / CD

Mikron – Warning Score [CPU00011011]

Morphology – Mirror Comparator [CPU00011010]

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Morphology are Finnish electro duo Matti Turunen and Michael Diekmann. Making a welcome return to CPU, a label where their Detroit influenced electro and stark dystopian melodies are very much at home.

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Morphology – Mirror Comparator [CPU00011010]

Cygnus – Radical User Interfaces [CPU00011000]

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Dallas based artist Cygnus returns to Central Processing Unit with his fourth release for the Sheffield based future facing electro imprint with his Radical User Interfaces EP. Invoking scenes from possible intergalactic situations Cygnus runs the four track offering off bit crunched funk, machinic constructs and glistening synth work.

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Cygnus – Radical User Interfaces [CPU00011000]

Scape One – Recombination [CPU00010010]

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SCAPE ONE - Recombination

Scape One’s penchant for Sci-Fi is reflected in Recombination; an electronic adventure through space time, stopping briefly for an atomic war. Kurt Baggaley’s vast experience and collection of analogue synthesizers can be heard to full effect with crushing bass, bubbling leads and arpeggiated sweeps throughout. Strong artistic influences on the EP from John Foxx, Vangelis to Autechre (Incunabula-esque). All in all a cocktail for the perfect electro cut.

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Scape One – Recombination [CPU00010010]

DMX Krew – A New Life [CPU00001010]

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In between the release of album length projects for Mystic & Quantum and Shipwrec, Ed Upton returns for Central Processing Unit duty with this collection for the label’s Binary Series under his universally recognised DMK Krew banner. Upton’s taking no prisoners here with six cuts aimed squarely at the electro purists out there, effortlessly combining neck snapping rhythms with those unique melodies that characterise the DMK Krew electro sound. Tracks like the fluctuating analogue drama of “Not Very”, the Martian boogie of “Spook Show” and EP highlight “Crawlspace” rank this release up there with the best thus far in CPU’s must check discography.

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DMX Krew – A New Life [CPU00001010]

DJ VLR – CPU Mixed [CPU00000111]

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DJ VLR presents a compelling mixtape of the first year of releases from label Central Processing Unit. This limited edition cassette evidences a focused curation which prioritises a return to the tropes of end-of-the-century accelerationist dance music, with the electro staples of machine vocals, hammering bass patterns and blunted drums dominating proceedings. Though the sound palette is tried and tested, there is a precision to the employment of detuned synths and weighty bass squelches here that recommends it beyond mere nostalgia.

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DJ VLR – CPU Mixed [CPU00000111]

Morphology – Intercal [CPU00001000]

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A collaboration from Finland consisting of Michael Diekmann and Matti Turunen. “Intercal” follows a string of sought after electro releases on Abstract Forms, Semantica and Cultivated Electronics, fusing haunting melodies with perfectly executed electronic sounds. The 9th release on the binary cataloging CPU Records.

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Morphology – Intercal [CPU00001000]

CN – Voyages [CPU00000010]

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Norway’s CN aka Stian Gjevik delivers 4 cuts of spatial analogue electro. Overflowing with uber-melodic synthesizers along with CN’s complete mastery of the drum machine, Voyages is Detroit influenced braindance at its best.

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CN – Voyages [CPU00000010]

Fah – Fahzers Set To Earth [CPU00000001D]

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Holland’s FAH (aka Robin de Bekker) presents his album of braindance influenced electro Fahzers Set To Earth. Tight, punchy electrobass riddims, operating on the cusp of Rephlexian electro a la DMX Krew and Drexciyan aqua-funk, Fah cycles from the skating 808 patterns of ‘Not Enough Fahzers’ to the whirring syncopations and jazz chords of ‘Casting The Rod’ on the front, while paying tribute to James Stinson on the flipside’s woozy ‘Glowism’ and the skewed, angular hyperfunk programming of ‘Magnetic Freedom’.

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Fah – Fahzers Set To Earth [CPU00000001D]