Spread across 3CDs and three 2LPs Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX features a mammoth 49 tracks that join the dots between early industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle, EBM legends like Nitzer Ebb and the post-punk experiments of people like Malcolm McLaren and Big Audio Dynamite with some of the most exciting artists around today, such as Boy Harsher, Nuovo Testamento and Years of Denial.
Where the first Next Wave Acid Punx compilation was a personal journey for Luca, a lockdown inspired exploration of his record collection to find the thread that ran through the music that had soundtracked much of his life, DEUX is a celebration of that music let loose on the world, the thrill of music performed live, the smoke and strobe filled clubs you’ll hear it in and the artists you’ll find on those stages.
New Compilation by Eskimo Recordings
“After our enforced break, getting back out there and playing live again really brought home to me so much of what I love about the scene I’m in but also just how important live music has been and is to club culture over the years,” Luca explains. “Too often we think of club nights and live gigs as these separate things, but throughout the years it’s where the two meet, the friction that can cause, that you’ll find the most vibrant scenes.”
“There’s an energy, an atmosphere that you get with live music, an unpredictability where at any moment something can go wrong or even better right in a way you never expect. I think about a live set we played at a Lebanese festival where our MPC drum machine froze up because of all the dust and sand trapped in the pads. We had to improvise half our set, jamming bass and guitar and pedal FX and vocals, embracing this surreal environment and experience, something that could only happen in the moment.”
Next Wave Acid Punx Deux Chapter I
“With Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX I wanted to celebrate those bands and artists, past and present who, to me, represent that spirit. Both full live bands and makeshift electronic duos alike, the kind of acts that you might have found wedged between DJs back in the day at The Hacienda in the 80s, Trash in the 00s or today at nights like Berlin’s MILK ME, EXBTN in Paris, Night Terrors + SC&P in London, New York City’s Synthicide or Ukraine’s Worn Pop.”
“So I’ve put this compilation together much like my favourite kind of night, going out to see some bands play, hitting up a club where live music and DJs blur together, before the serious business of the after party. On Chapter 1 you’ll find bands like Vicious Pink, DAF and Cabaret Voltaire, some of these acts are more obscure than others, some flirted with pop and even the charts but they were all embracing new ways of working in the late 70s and 80s that both set them apart and set the scene for much of what we think of as club music.
Next Wave Acid Punx Deux chapter iI
“Chapter 2 moves the night on, and this is the sound of the clubs I love to both play and just hang out in these days, clubs where the people involved put a lot more time into digging through the crates than working on their Instagram Reels. These are places where you’re as likely to find a band on stage as you are a DJ, where 80’s German electro pop by a band like Boytronic seamlessly flows into tracks like Silent Servant’s Non Fiction. Timeless music that can be romantic, dreamlike and ethereal one moment, then veer into dark, industrial sounds the next.”
“Then finally we get to that part of the night where you probably should go home but if it’s too late for good decisions there’s still time for good music. Things are a bit wilder here, the drums a bit harder, the synths are more aggressive, tracks like The Hacker’s Monopoly, Zanias’ Tryptamine Palace or EVA’s Industrial Hope that don’t let up, don’t let you go, just subjugate you to the beat and keep you there till you stumble out blinking into a new day.”
TRACKLIST
Chapter 1
1. Throbbing Gristle - Distant Dreams, Pt. 2
2. Mary Möör - Pretty Day
3. Sad Lovers & Giants - Things We Never Did
4. Malcolm McLaren - Madam Butterfly (Un Bel Di Vedremo)
5. Big Audio Dynamite - The Big V
6. Cabaret Voltaire - Blue Heat (12" Mix)
7. Nitzer Ebb - Hearts and Minds (Mix Hypersonic)
8. Clan Of Xymox - Obsession
9. In Sotto Voce - In Sotto Voce
10. Psyche - Prisoner To Desire (Single Mix)
11. Propaganda - The Murder Of Love
12. DAF - Brothers (Gabi Mix)
13. Vicious Pink - Cccan’t You See
14. Book Of Love - Modigliani (Lost In Your Eyes) (I Dream Of Jeanne Mix)
15. Absolute Body Control - Total Control
Chapter 2
1. Boytronic - Voloczny *
2. The KVB - Still Warm (2023 version)
3. Cardinal & Nun - Freak And Weak *
4. Jennifer Touch - Altars *
5. Matrixxman - Assembly Line *
6. Years Of Denial - It Sucks *
7. Silver Tears - Always Shine (Wait For The Rain) *
8. Essaie Pas - Retox
9. Aili x Transistorcake - Dansu
10. Dina Summer - Darkness *
11. Patriarchy - Suffer
12. Maelstrom & Louisahhh - Hate Machine *
13. Dame Area - Buon Cittadino *
14. Kris Baha - Into The Dark
15. Desire - Love Races On *
16. Blind Delon feat. I Hate Models - Flashback *
17. Poison Point - Altered Beats *
18. Roe Deers - Muscles *
Chapter 3
1. Boy Harsher - Machina (feat. Mariana Saldaña) (Dark Remix) *
2. Silent Servant - Non Fiction *
3. J.W.B. Hits The Beat - Body On Body (Curses Revamp) *
4. Hungry Boys - Toi *
5. Autumns - Repeat Prescription *
6. Nuovo Testamento - Heartbeat (Curses Remix - Edit) *
7. Buzz Kull - A Place (That’s Meant To Be) *
8. Soft Crash - Dolce Morte *
9. Dame Bonnet & Mufti - Pleasure Dreams *
10. Ultra Sunn - Night Is Mine
11. Neu-Romancer - Burning Eyes *
12. EVA - Industrial Hope *
13. Andi vs Randolph & Mortimer - Formidable Truths *
14. Zanias - Tryptamine Palace *
15. The Hacker - Monopoly *
16. Paradox Obscur - Evo-Devo
release date: October 20th, 2023
label: Eskimo Recordings
catalog no: 541416667030D
Find the latest compilation Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX – Chapter 3 here.
RELEASE DATES SINGLES (streaming)
25/08
NUOVO TESTAMENTO – HEARTBEAT (CURSES REMIX – EDIT) – STREAMING
Released later this year Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX is the second compilation of dark electronic club music compiled and curated by Luca Venezia, aka Curses for Eskimo Recordings. A decades spanning collection – featuring a mammoth 49 tracks, spread across 3CDs and three 2LPs – its release is preceded by this exclusive 12″ remix of Los Angeles and Bologna based Nuovo Testamento’s Heartbeat by Curses himself.
Taken from the band’s 2023 album Love Lines, Heartbeat – in its original form a shimmering italo synth pop number, part Danceteria-era Madonna, part Yazoo – has been ruthlessly retooled here by Luca for strobe lit sweatboxes. Shifting the emphasis from its sparkling synths and pop melody towards the rhythm section, the track’s synth bass now dominates the track just as its martial kick drums and gated snares push us deeper into EBM territory.
Joining the dots between early industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle, EBM legends like Nitzer Ebb and the post-punk experiments of people like Malcolm McLaren with some of the most exciting artists working now, such as Boy Harsher and Years of Denial, Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX is a worthy follow-up to its acclaimed predecessor and celebration of a sound that continues to soundtrack some of the most vibrant clubs around the world today.
15/09
Soft Crash – Dolce Morte
A collaboration between two of today’s leading industrial techno and EBM artists, Imperial Black Unit’s Pablo Bozzi & Berghain resident Phase Fatale, Soft Crash sees the duo explore the increasingly blurred line between technology and humanity. On Dolce Morte, their exclusive contribution to Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX, that remit translates to an exhilarating rush of relentless kick drums, pulsating synths and chant like vocals sure to get anyone dancing, man or machine.
22/09
J.W.B. HITS THE BEAT – BODY ON BODY (CURSES REVAMP) – STREAMING + BEATPORT
Taking us on a sleazy, strobe lit tour of the darker corners of clubland Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX is the second compilation curated for Eskimo Recordings by Luca Venezia, aka Curses. Threading the needle between early industrial, EBM, post-punk experiments and some of the most exciting music being made today, the 49 track compilation also features some of Luca’s own exclusive remixes such as his ‘Revamp’ of New Beat classic J.W.B. Hits The Beat’s Body On Body.
Originally released back in 1987, Curses’ remix brings the track right up date, pushing the tempo and toughening up the drums whilst stripping it back down to focus on the portentous choral synth pads and teasing us with its ecstatic vocal samples before the effervescent Italo melody brings it all together. A perfect synthesis of past and present, much like the compilation it’s taken from.
29/09
Zanias – Tryptamine Palace
Formerly one half of minimal/dark wave duo Linea Aspera, Berlin based Zoè Zanias has been soundtracking the darker corners of clubland for over a decade now with both her own productions and those released on her label, Fleisch Records. For Curses’ new compilation Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX Zanias has contributed Tryptamine Palace, a propulsive and mesmerising mix of hard-edged pulsing synths, ethereal pads and pounding kick drums that captures the illicit thrill of the Berlin club scene.
06/10
EVA – Industrial Hope
For his second compilation to explore the darker side of club music, Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX, Luca Venezia, aka Curses, has dug deep into his very black book to secure exclusive tracks from some of the biggest and most exciting names on today’s EBM/dark disco scene such as Industrial Hope by EVA, a brand new project from Berlin legend Boys Noize. Aptly named, Industrial Hope is an urgent assault of distorted synth arpeggios, bitcrushed kick drums and distressed snares destined to pummel its way out of club speakers and electrify the writhing mass of bodies on the dancefloor.
Buzz Kull – A Place (That’s Meant To Be)
Australian artist musician Marc Dwyer aka Buzz Kull has been a prominent figure on the darkwave & minimal synth scene for over a decade now with acclaimed albums on labels such as Italy’s Avant! For Curses new compilation Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX, Dwyer has offered up an exclusive unreleased cut, A Place That’s Meant To Be, that perfectly captures the spectral landscape his music inhabits where distanced vocals glide over ice cold synth pads, oscillating arpeggios and a metronomic beat to deadly effect.
Silent Servant – Non Fiction
It wouldn’t make much sense to produce a compilation showcasing the darker side of electronic club music and not feature Silent Servant. Californian Juan Mendez has been a mainstay of the techno scene since the mid 90s, playing a key role in the likes of Regis’ Sandwell District collective and Non Fiction, his exclusive contribution to Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX, shows just why as thunderous drums, and electro stabs compete with echo drenched synths and bass line to dramatic, floor destroying effect.
13/10
Neu-Romancer – Burning Eyes
Australian musician Laura Bailey only made her debut as Neu-Romancer in 2022 but already the Berlin resident has made a name for herself with an acclaimed EP and collaborations with the likes of Randolph & Mortimer. Burning Eyes, taken from Curses new Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX compilation, is a solid indication of why she is one to watch, a dark yet simultaneously uplifting track that sounds like the best black laced marriage of 80s gothic sounds and today’s club beats you’ll here this week.
Andi vs Randolph & Mortimer – Formidable Truths
Having released a split EP in 2021 on Polish label Macanica, Andi and Randolph & Mortimer team up once again for this new, and exclusive, track Formidable Truths. Channelling the New Beat and EBM greats Formidable Truths is a full on Dancefloor assault, jack hammer kick drums, gated snares, a repeating synth riff that burrows its way into your head and the kind of spoken word samples that would have done any Wax Trax release proud and is sure to electrify dancefloors from Chicago to Berlin today.
20/10
The Hacker – Monopoly
Few producers can claim to have done as much to keep the spirit of EBM alive in the club scene over the past 30 years than The Hacker with his acclaimed collaborations with Miss Kittin and releases on labels like International DJ Gigolo, Turbo and his own ZONE Records. So naturally he was sure to turn up on Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX, Curses’ new compilation exploring the darker side of club music, and with Monopoly he comes fully correct with 5 minutes of midnight black, electro fuelled techno that laces a barrage of synth stabs over hoover bass, portentous Carpenter’esque synth strings and the sound of tortured machines.
Dame Area – Buon Cittadino
With their fusion of industrial percussion, tribal rhythms, EBM synths, post-punk vocals and furious live performances, Barcelona’s Dame Area quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting bands on the club scene. Taken from Curses’ new Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX compilation, Buon Cittadino is the perfect introduction to the band’s sound, a riotous cacophony of metallic sounds beaten and shaped into a powerful rhythm, a pummelling synth bass and increasingly urgent rave stabs over which singer, Silvia Konstance, chants in furious, ecstatic abandon.
Hungry Boys – Toi
Originally members of Ukrainian post-punk band Gil’otina, Kyiv based Ivan Kotsyubinsky and Dmitry Shevtsov launched their Hungry Boys side-project in 2020 to experiment with Italo and synth wave sounds. On Toi, their contribution to Curses’ new Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX compilation, those influences are on full display, as they mix razor sharp disco beats with mesmerising synth arpeggios, ominous EBM like stabs and vocals that echo off into space.
Autumns – Repeat Prescription
The wildly prolific Autumns has long been a mainstay of the industrial, post-punk, EBM scene with releases on labels like Power Station and Opal Tapes. Repeat Prescription, taken from Curses’ new Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX compilation, sees the Irish producer on typically aggressive form, as whiplash snares, a jackhammer kick drum, snake like acidic squelches and distorted vocals all coalesce into an irresistible call to action.
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