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In a scene sometimes too polluted by clout and thirst for instant social media stardom, it's people like Mark Grusane that anchor our minds in truth, a north star that won't budge, operating outside and beyond the standards imposed by “the industry”, he is his own industry. The kind of truth and honesty minimal techno could barely dream of delivering, this is it, the culmination of so much understanding and knowledge in music. Not unlike what Mondrian did for the fine arts, so simple but so powerful. Mark Grusane condenses in sound a feeling for the dancefloor that could never be described in words, and as simple as it may sound, the driving force behind it is the product of a rich scholarship in the underground. In a time where everything has been done and creating a uniqe style of one's own, Mark Grusane achieves it so effortlessly - every single track on this EP can unmistakably only have been produced by Mark Grusane during those off-hours at his Chicago record store, Mr. Peabody.
We hope you understand. For any further inquiries, please direct your calls to the party hotline.

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Mark Grusane's latest offering, A House of My Own is a testament to his long-standing discipleship to the craft of producing hard-hitting house tracks with authenticity and depth. The title-bearing opener on A1 strongly demonstrates this notion with a slew of raw bass stabs and emotive pads leading through a battery of driven percussion in a manner that calls to mind those early 90's Mr. Fingers records. While A2's Essence of Life (Afterhours Mix) takes us further into the darkness with a spiraling timber of percussions lain over distorted vocal arrangements, the "Daytime Mix" of A3 builds on the momentum of its predecessor with a robust uplifting synth lead and sounds of atmospheric ambiance added to the mixture, effectively taking the composition to an entirely new level. B1 kicks off punching and swinging with the track Knock knock, Who's there?, a ferocious gut-puncher of a track that sees classic Chicago "beat-track" style 909 arrangements lay over an intense saturated 303 bassline that relentlessly worms its way throughout the mix with a booming urgency. B2 sees a turn for the naughty on the track Love And Lust with a xxx-rated vocal line slithering its way through the track, sandwiched in between high-pitched keys and a slinky drumline. Finally, Jack Your Ass Off closes out the album and ties it all together on B3 showcasing the full-fledged insanity of the classic trademark Chicago "jack" style that sees the title of the track frantically screamed over and over though a sampler amid hard hitting drums and 303s engineered to make you dance like a freak. A serious 'must have' for any selector or music enthusiast.

(Words by Steve Hoffman) More

Repress!

3 tracks for the club. F***in’ jack it!! More

Thirteen years after his whopping ‘Time and Space’ EP, Chicago 'O.G.' Mark Grusane returns to the Rush Hour imprint with his ‘Dance Intensity’ EP. Combining trademark electro, wave, synth-pop and disco elements into three modern dancefloor cuts. More

"Plastic Love" often comes to mind as the quintessential example of City-Pop, originally written and produced by Japanese power couple Tatsuro Yamashita and Mariya Takeuchi in 1984. Later in 1991 it was covered with new Cantonese lyrics by Anita Mui, and now, over 3 decades later, the pursuit to give this song new aesthetics continues with yet another cover with Anita Mui's Cantonese lyrics but with a completely different feel. What could be interpreted as relatively raw production methods is turned into a refreshing take on this classic Japanese 80's anthem. Originally recorded during golden age of Japanese technology with a highly polished sound, Xiaolin gives it a new twist with a rougher edge established by the drum machines and saturated bass echoing video game soundtracks from a bygone era, beautifully juxtaposed with her dreamy vocals. Also included, a karaoke instrumental version on the B-side. More

"Plastic Love" often comes to mind as the quintessential example of City-Pop, originally written and produced by Japanese power couple Tatsuro Yamashita and Mariya Takeuchi in 1984. Later in 1991 it was covered with new Cantonese lyrics by Anita Mui, and now, over 3 decades later, the pursuit to give this song new aesthetics continues with yet another cover with Anita Mui's Cantonese lyrics but with a completely different feel. What could be interpreted as relatively raw production methods is turned into a refreshing take on this classic Japanese 80's anthem. Originally recorded during golden age of Japanese technology with a highly polished sound, Xiaolin gives it a new twist with a rougher edge established by the drum machines and saturated bass echoing video game soundtracks from a bygone era, beautifully juxtaposed with her dreamy vocals. Also included, a karaoke instrumental version on the B-side. More

Anatolian Weapons is back with part two of his remix/studio work for Sound Metaphors, this time a 2 track EP featuring downtempo chuggers high in dubbed out acidity. The A side feels like a perfectly put together composition that grows with a playful industrial beat paving the way for trancey melodies to develop in unison with acid nuances. B-side goes into more percussive directions still with heavy acidity well presented in full Anatolian Weapons effect - a solid investment yielding high returns on any music focused dancefloor. Mastered to perfection at manmade mastering in Berlin. More

After his first album on BLESSYOU "Turquoise", Mogwaa aka Seungyoung Lee from Seoul is back with another stellar contribution this time re-visiting his earlier days of musical appreciation in Reggae music. This album is another entirely instrumental work with 8 tracks, effortlessly displaying his confidence in the studio when it comes to dreamy dubbed out ambient sounds intertwined with heavy digi/stepper and even dancehall influences. A refreshing treat to the ear when it comes to contemporary productions as Mogwaa approaches the Jamaican genre with a refined aesthetic of his own. From Korea with much craft and dedication for the music, a pleasure to have him back. Mastered at Manmade mastering.


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Youcef Debbihi continues to impress and surprise after already his 3rd volume as Sea of Disillusions. This 4 tracker extends what was already started and established in the previous volumes, expanding his studio excellence into more break beat oriented directions, either at high speed in the form of almost Drum'n'Bass with "K2" or slowed down as a more trip-hop tempo with "Break Whale". B-side slows down to upper 90BPM range of driving rhythm under atmospheric dubby hints of humidity "5deF", and, finalizing with a beatless Ambient mix of "Loon River" which sounds like the slow motion intro to an epic trance anthem that never fully takes off, setting the stage for something heavy to be mixed in. Essential for any reasonable DJ record bag.


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Weaponize your DJ record bag again with fresh ammo from the Greek studio machine, Aggelos Baltas does it again with another volume of remixes to the Sound Metaphors re-issue catalogues, an invigorating contemporary club touch to a wide range of dance floor material that was originally produced in the early 90s and late 80s. A new patina layer formed by the aging acid baths and chemical reactions of the experienced studio magician. Aggelos' signature atmospheric grandiosity and big room sound once again delivered with precision and high efficiency for the caring modern dancefloor. Can't go wrong.

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Adinda Dwimadasari and Dea Barandana take you on another dancefloor oriented voyage (to the Moon?) of originally written and produced contemporary disco wellness. Precious Bloom continues to carve out a sound of their own with 4 beautifully executed tracks. A selection of hand picked instrumentalists in addition to Dea's multi-instrumental studio prowess, the scene is set for Adinda's vocals to unravel in dreamy cosmic nuances from mysterious soft spoken word style voices to romantically sung lyrics in astrophysics. Truly refreshing in today's dance floor sound dominated by synthetic/digital convenience. Recorded in Jakarta and mastered in Berlin.


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Sound Metaphors gives they keys of the label's catalogue vaults to Aggelos Baltas aka Anatolian Weapons and this is the result. 5 tracks previously released on our labels now submitted to the studio prowess of the Greek machine. Dubbed out, tripped out, slowed down, sped up, mind blown. Aggelos brings his distinctive flavor to the table and re-constructs some of our dacefloor oriented favorites from the early 90's. From California's Exist Dance label to Italian underground tracks and even a Disciples' number, Aggelos cherry picks his weapons for the most spaced out of dance floors, sounding big and effective, can't go wrong.

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Trent is back on BLESSYOU with another EP. 3 new tracks further deepening his explorations in masterful sample collages borrowing heavy percussive elements from his refined library of sounds juxtaposed with patterns of wild vocals, trippy sound effects and offset sax solos. Taking you to unforeseeable places with this rhythmic whirlwind of force much in tune with the artwork featuring a 17th century wind chart for aiding sailors in nautical explorations. Powerfully mastered for grandiose club adventures.

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In a scene sometimes too polluted by clout and thirst for instant social media stardom, it's people like Mark Grusane that anchor our minds in truth, a north star that won't budge, operating outside and beyond the standards imposed by “the industry”, he is his own industry. The kind of truth and honesty minimal techno could barely dream of delivering, this is it, the culmination of so much understanding and knowledge in music. Not unlike what Mondrian did for the fine arts, so simple but so powerful. Mark Grusane condenses in sound a feeling for the dancefloor that could never be described in words, and as simple as it may sound, the driving force behind it is the product of a rich scholarship in the underground. In a time where everything has been done and creating a uniqe style of one's own, Mark Grusane achieves it so effortlessly - every single track on this EP can unmistakably only have been produced by Mark Grusane during those off-hours at his Chicago record store, Mr. Peabody.
We hope you understand. For any further inquiries, please direct your calls to the party hotline.

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After the recent Experiments re-issue with 90's off-style unclassifiable tracks composed by the legendary Dub producer - The Disciples - Androo (NS Kroo) sets out to re-create and freely adapt this material. The fact that Sound Metaphors chose Androo to re-construct these works in to new material is not random. Androo has been producing Dub since he was a teenager but he quickly turned to all kinds of musical experiences, mixing styles and influences. Once past the intimidation of working with material from one of his favorite and revered producers, Androo tried to pay homage to the free spirit that this Disciples album contains. Between reference and irreverence, the album is woven with a playful, DIY, and also serious weave. As you listen, a sometimes very harmonious and controlled landscape takes shape, then suddenly steep slopes and raw ridges appear. Almost like an art of sound drawing. A line in permanent oscillation between supposedly antagonistic registers. Danceable pieces cut for dancefloor brush against strange, problematic, and voluntarily irrecoverable elements. Consensual pop chords rub shoulders with sizzling blurred contours and sounds that are sometimes too loud. 4/4 rhythms get jackhammered out of the tempo with opulent delay effects. The “Dubmix” is here, constantly at work. It is, above all, an art of the hands, fingers handling the console which from then on becomes an instrument in its own right - for Androo Dub is experimental music.

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A 3 track EP from Anatolian Weapons diving deep into downtempo atmospheric techno productions never surpassing the 110bpm mark. A-side starts off with a 16 minute oeuvre that gently grows from a beatless 4 minute opening into a full on acid tinted percussive oasis that will make you question your sobriety. The B side offers similar generosities with two even slower excursions in synthetic dubbed out atmospheric downtempo. Vocal samples in mysterious dialects over driving bass synth energies – the perfect soundtrack to deepest psychedelic affair. Mastered by Manmade Mastering in Berlin. More

Precious Bloom are a music group formed in 2022 in Jakarta, Indonesia by Aradea Barandana and Adinda Dwimadasari. Aradea Barandana is better known as a global record digger and an exploratory dance music producer. He has recorded under the name of Dea or as the group “Zatua”. Adinda Dwimadasari, on the other hand, is a singer-songwriter from Jakarta who dreams of recreating the glory days of 80s Indonesian city pop music which adapted western popular music compositions to Latin jazz influences as well as the repetitive hypnotic beats of Indonesian traditional music. Her expertise in writing unique vocal melodies, cultivating harmonies and prepossessing lyrics has earned her a nomination for the Indonesian AMI awards for the best dance music category through the song “Bersinar Bersama” made in collaboration with the infamous Indonesian musical duo Diskoria and produced by Aradea Barandana. In unison they decided to form the band “Precious Bloom” with a dualistic sonic world steeped in both nostalgia and experimental bliss. Consequences is a collection of beautifully crafted tracks that could be heard playing from the radio of a taxi stuck in Jakarta's rush hour traffic or a sunset dancefloor in Ibiza. Ranging from New-Beat and Proto House to HiNRG and even bossa nova influences, the multitude of styles explored by their compositional and studio prowess is cohesively tied together by the beautiful vocal presence of Adinda. Produced in Jakarta and mastered in Berlin. More

A Cocktail D'Amore resident - Trent - also a busy producer and mixing engineer based in Berlin, brings us some of his latest creations fresh from the studio. Heavy on the percussive side, the A-side distills a collage of disco samples overlayed with tripped out synth effects and bass lines under trance inducing vocals. At just under 130BPM Trent takes the foundations of dancefloor music and re-constructs a highly effective DJ tool that will set the tone for new things to happen on any dancefloor. On the B-side “Equinox” at 110BPM brings things down a notch with a darker tripped out chugger that might serve as a mild DMT trip soundtrack or a Monday morning session in the Cosmic Hole. Mastered by Man Made Mastering. More

Shakaman on the drums, is all the credits you will find on this solo release of his, previously unreleased material he recorded deep in the unknown of his home studio. A pure honesty is expressed in the rawness of the recordings. Bypassing most conventions, “Coronation Binghi” is just drums and vocals pumped through time-travel inducing delays bringing you unprecedented levels of low end – highly percussive yet beautifully minimalist. “Chain Reaction” features a vocal and instrumental version with multi instrumental presence featuring bass lines, guitars and synths over Shakaman's iconic unprocessed drumming patterns. More

Tagliabue’s impeccable groove and sound design combines avant-garde techno and trance aural textures. He arrives on Sound Metaphors’ Bless You label with four new pieces which mark once again his out-of-the-box music approach. A mix of ancestral weaves of Profonda Pulsione, unsettling atmospherics of Plasma and dense hypnotism of Medusa, Onda Sotto’s dominated by enveloping rhythms and transcendental atmosphere. Layered tracks that flowing over alternating cycles, theEP forms a collection of heavy sounds programmed for releasing deep unconscious pulsions and responding to the violence of the world, though not necessarily rationally. More

Yousef Debbihi does it again, another perfect collection of tracks, mandatory for any tasteful DJ bag roaming in the fields of contemporary produced dancefloor business. A crafty display of his mastery in the studio, this EP gives full perspective on Yousef's oeuvre and capabilities. If you got part I, this is mandatory, another tasting in the downtempo cosmic domaine - no regrets guaranteed. More

2LP including insert with liner notes. Chapter 2 out of 3. Including 13 unreleased tracks! With music from Boytronic, Years of Denial, Patriarchy, The KVB...'Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX' is a return to the dark romantic of the past, present and future. An undying passion for all things post-punk/wave/body music and beyond.


TRACKLISTING

A1. Boytronic - Voloczny *
A2. The KVB - Still Warm (2023 version)
A3. Cardinal & Nun - Freak And Weak *
A4. Jennifer Touch - Altars *
A5. Matrixxman - Assembly Line *

B1. Silver Tears - Always Shine (Wait For The Rain) *
B2. Essaie Pas - Retox
B3. Aili x Transistorcake - Dansu
B4. Years Of Denial - It Sucks



C1. Dina Summer - Darkness *
C2. Patriarchy - Suffer
C3. Maelstrom & Louisahhh - Hate Machine *
C4. Dame Area - Buon Cittadino *
C5. Kris Baha - Into The Dark

D1. Desire - Love Races On *
D2. Blind Delon feat. I Hate Models - Flashback *
D3. Poison Point - Altered Beats *
D4. Roe Deers - Muscles *



*previously unreleased


INFO

Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX is the second compilation for Eskimo Recordings compiled and curated by Berlin-based Musician and DJ Luca Venezia, aka Curses, to explore the darker side of club music. 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.

"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."

"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.

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." More

2LP including insert with liner notes. Chapter 3 out of 3. Including 14 unreleased tracks! With music from The Hacker, Boy Harsher, Nuovo Testamento, Buzz Kull...'Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX' is a return to the dark romantic of the past, present and future. An undying passion for all things post-punk/wave/body music and beyond.

TRACKLISTING

A1. Boy Harsher - Machina (feat. Mariana Saldaña) (Dark Remix) *
A2. Silent Servant - Non Fiction *
A3. J.W.B. Hits The Beat - Body On Body (Curses Revamp) *
A4. Hungry Boys - Toi *
B1. Nuovo Testamento - Heartbeat (Curses Remix - Edit) *
B2. Autumns - Repeat Prescription *
B3. Buzz Kull - A Place (That’s Meant To Be) *
B4. Soft Crash - Dolce Morte *



C1. Dame Bonnet & Mufti - Pleasure Dreams *
C2. Ultra Sunn - Night Is Mine
C3. Neu-Romancer - Burning Eyes *
C4. EVA - Industrial Hope *
D1. Andi vs Randolph & Mortimer - Formidable Truths *
D2. Zanias - Tryptamine Palace *
D3. The Hacker - Monopoly *
D4. Paradox Obscur - Evo-Devo



*previously unreleased


INFO

Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX is the second compilation for Eskimo Recordings compiled and curated by Berlin-based Musician and DJ Luca Venezia, aka Curses, to explore the darker side of club music. 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.

"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."

"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.

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." More

2LP including insert with liner notes. Chapter 1 out of 3. Including classic tracks with music from DAF, Throbbing Gristle, Nitzer Ebb, Mary Möör...'Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX' is a return to the dark romantic of the past, present and future. An undying passion for all things post-punk/wave/body music and beyond.


TRACKLISTING

A1. Throbbing Gristle - Distant Dreams, Pt. 2
A2. Mary Möör - Pretty Day
A3. Sad Lovers & Giants - Things We Never Did
A4. Malcolm McLaren - Madam Butterfly (Un Bel Di Vedremo)
B1. Big Audio Dynamite - The Big V
B2. Cabaret Voltaire - Blue Heat
B3. Nitzer Ebb - Hearts and Minds (Mix Hypersonic)
B4. Clan Of Xymox - Obsession

C1. In Sotto Voce - In Sotto Voce
C2. Psyche - Prisoner To Desire (Single Mix)
C3. Propaganda - The Murder Of Love
C4. DAF - Brothers (Gabi Mix)
D1. Book Of Love - Modigliani (Lost In Your Eyes) (I Dream Of Jeanne Mix)
D2. Vicious Pink - Cccan't You See
D3. Absolute Body Control - Total Control

INFO

Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX is the second compilation for Eskimo Recordings compiled and curated by Berlin-based Musician and DJ Luca Venezia, aka Curses, to explore the darker side of club music. 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.

"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."

"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.

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." More

Chicago has always been a place that had talented musicians. It has been a hub for soul, funk, blues, and jazz for generations. The significance of the Real Sound of Chicago release in disco compilation terms is that many Chicago private disco labels never made it out of the city. Just like Chicago house music. That is why in many cases the records here are higher priced on a collectors market generally. Some Chicago artists never had the resources to have their music distributed properly on a global scale.
The contribution of Chicago to popular black American music has always been immense from accomplished soul, blues, hip hop, house and jazz musicians from Herbie Hancock, Larry Heard, Benny Goodman, Sam Cooke, Quincy Jones, Curtis Mayfield, Common, Minnie Ripperton, Marshall Jefferson and many more who no doubt shaped The Real Sound of Chicago.

TRACKLISTING
A1 Premonition - Your Love Is In The Pocket [Mr. Peabody's Edit]
A2 Fantasie - The Composer [Mr. Peabody's Edit]
B1 Carmen Amez - Never Gonna Fall In Love Again [Mr. Peabody's Edit]
B2 LaJohn and Sheela - Too far gone [Mr. Peabody's Edit]
C1 Pick Of The Litter - Running To A Disco [Mr. Peabody's Edit]
C2 Billy Hinton - The Challenge [Mr. Peabody's Edit]
D1 Brighter Side Of Darkness - Disco Ball [Mr. Peabody's Edit]
D2 The Moore Brothers - Bass Come Back


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Mark Grusane's latest offering, A House of My Own is a testament to his long-standing discipleship to the craft of producing hard-hitting house tracks with authenticity and depth. The title-bearing opener on A1 strongly demonstrates this notion with a slew of raw bass stabs and emotive pads leading through a battery of driven percussion in a manner that calls to mind those early 90's Mr. Fingers records. While A2's Essence of Life (Afterhours Mix) takes us further into the darkness with a spiraling timber of percussions lain over distorted vocal arrangements, the "Daytime Mix" of A3 builds on the momentum of its predecessor with a robust uplifting synth lead and sounds of atmospheric ambiance added to the mixture, effectively taking the composition to an entirely new level. B1 kicks off punching and swinging with the track Knock knock, Who's there?, a ferocious gut-puncher of a track that sees classic Chicago "beat-track" style 909 arrangements lay over an intense saturated 303 bassline that relentlessly worms its way throughout the mix with a booming urgency. B2 sees a turn for the naughty on the track Love And Lust with a xxx-rated vocal line slithering its way through the track, sandwiched in between high-pitched keys and a slinky drumline. Finally, Jack Your Ass Off closes out the album and ties it all together on B3 showcasing the full-fledged insanity of the classic trademark Chicago "jack" style that sees the title of the track frantically screamed over and over though a sampler amid hard hitting drums and 303s engineered to make you dance like a freak. A serious 'must have' for any selector or music enthusiast.

(Words by Steve Hoffman) More

Having originally featured on RNTR034 Elia y Elizabeth Remixes De Oro / Alegría RAZOR-N-TAPE RESERVE release.

Elia y Elizabeth were a sister duo who in a brief yet dazzling career during 1972 and 1973 achieved great success in their native Colombia. Their concise and natural mix of styles sways between soft-pop with a touch of tropical-pastoral funk, singer-songwriter sweetened by the subtle perfume of Caribbean music and gentle psychedelia.

This 7-inch release features ‘Alegría’, one of the highlights from their back catalogue.

On the other side, the original much sort after Elia y Elizabeth song ‘Soy una nube’ is given the light of day. More

Thirteen years after his whopping ‘Time and Space’ EP, Chicago 'O.G.' Mark Grusane returns to the Rush Hour imprint with his ‘Dance Intensity’ EP. Combining trademark electro, wave, synth-pop and disco elements into three modern dancefloor cuts. More