Next Wave Acid Punx Trois: DJ Sampler

Luca Venezia aka Curses grabs a clutch of tracks from the latest in his favourite Eskimo compilation series Next Wave Acid Punx, accomplishing his mission to «ride the next wave acid halo into the sun-shattered dusk.» Brilliant imagery held firmly in mind, it’s billed as both a musical memoir and a love letter to the act of panning for near-impossible-to-find musical gold, with the two A-side tracks as yet unreleased. His own ‘Crown of Ruin’ ties in electro, Nine Inch Nails-style industrial edges, synth pop and Fairlight stabbing, before French producer Mala Ika & Tutto Vero team up on the ‘E-ternal’, walking a tightrope between 80s hi-NRG pumping and more sonorous, intertwining melodies. On the flip, ‘Time of War’ by Metropolis echoes the kind of ‘pure trance’ hypnoitism that The KLF made their name with, then Interactive close things down with the more thumping ‘No Control’ (Razor mix). Punx not dead!