COSMIC DRAMA (2LP) | VINYL RECORD (LP)

Blackploid, In recent years, Blackploid has come to be one of Central Processing Unit's signature artists. The German producer has averaged more than a record a year for the Sheffield imprint since he first landed on CPU in 2021. This prolific run continues with 'Cosmic Drama', Blackploid's second LP for the label. The album takes the baton from it's predecessor 'Enter Universe' in style, delivering twelve tracks of top-quality machine-funk that draw down from electro's classic artists while also imbuing proceedings with a playfulness that very much gives things a signature Blackploid-ish flavor. 'Cosmic Drama' sets it's stall out from the off. The opening run of 'Alien', 'World Construction' and 'Virtual State' all deliver piston-snapping beats which anchor pleasing melanges of B-movie synth lines. Alongside this, Blackploid adds little flourishes which add buoyancy to each joint - a syncopated bassline reminiscent of I-F's late-90s classic 'Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass', crackling robo-voiced commands, skittering synth chords which wash across the mix and so on. It's the work of someone completely at ease with their craft, comfortable enough to take risks without upsetting the apple cart of their sound's core appeal. Blackploid's idiosyncratic approach to synth work is something which distinguishes 'Cosmic Drama' from the pack. Electro has long been a genre which prides itself on innovation on the keys, but few producers are willing to push their sonics as far as Blackploid does - take the seasick churn of pads and processors on 'Multiverse', for instance, or the way John Carpenter-esque single-note lines dovetail with gurgling synthetic pulses and eerie, spacious chords on 'The Lab', a highlight of 'Cosmic Drama's midsection. 'Cosmic Drama' skips along at club tempo throughout - every one of these joints will get bodies moving in dark rooms across the galaxy. However, even when tracks maintain their single-minded pursuit of machine-funk perfection, they never forget to deliver on the hooks. Blackploid has lead lines (and counter-melodies) to burn here, and each track knots them together in ever-more intriguing ways as they plough onwards. Drexciyan heads will be thrilled by the sci-fi delights of 'Species', for instance, while Blackploid brings melodies as cold as they are catchy on the aptly-named 'Polar Dunes'. By the time 'Cosmic Drama' hits upon the vroom-vrooming bassline line of closer 'Contact', you're fully enthralled to the album's combination of broken-beat heft and synthetic melodiousness. Tracklisting: A1. Alien (5:06) A2. World Construction (5:01) A3. Virtual State (4:58) B1. Universal Research (5:13) B2. The Lab (5:10) B3. Species (5:11) C1. Shadow (5:00) C2. Polar Dunes (5:06) C3. Multiverse (5:21) D1. Lift Off (5:15) D2. Cosmonaut (5:06) D3. Contact (5:04)