Various - Next Wave Acid Punx Deux Chapter 3 (Eskimo)

 Title: Next Wave Acid Punx Deux Chapter 3 

Artist: Various

Label: Eclectica

Cat Number: 541416667030D

Genre: Not Categorising

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

These gargantuan collections, three in total, are the result of careful curation courtesy of Curses. These compilations have such breadth and range that it is impossible to do them proper justice in the form of a micro review. So, why bother writing one in the first place? I suppose that if someone send me a release like this for free then I’m obliged to say something. And, after having received the first 2 and said nothing then number 3 demands that I at least give it the time of day. So, for whatever reason music like this is currently enjoying something of a renaissance. I remember going to clubs in the 1980s, like the State and the System in Liverpool, where genre mash ups were the norm and everyone felt the better for it. The range of tuneage temptation was vast and the programming was rarely questioned. I didn’t experience these tunes on a continental dance floor (except at The Dschungel in Berlin, December 1984, where the only record I can remember being played was ‘You Spin Me Round’ by Dead Or Alive. How’s that for coming full circle pop pickers?) Now what comes closest, particularly on these shore is ALFOS and its cohorts. Anyway, we need stuff to dance to which is “Timeless music that can be romantic, dreamlike and ethereal one moment, then veer into dark, industrial sounds the next”. I suppose that many may say that music like this lacks soul, without stopping to think that soul can be defined in multiple ways. The tracks on this compilation speak to me in a visceral way, and have influenced so much. I can hear ‘Step To Enchantment’ loud and clear in the grooves of ‘Repeat Prescription’ for example,  that of ‘Industrial Hope’ is EBM template while the balance of ‘Machina (feat. Mariana Saldaña) (Dark Remix)’ is perfect. This is music that both finishes you off, and leaves you full of hope.