{"id":370122,"date":"2026-06-05T19:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T17:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germany.10magazine.com\/?p=370122"},"modified":"2026-06-10T19:06:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:06:17","slug":"curses-reconnects-with-new-yorks-rave-underground-on-next-wave-acid-punx-trois","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/germany.10magazine.com\/en_gb\/curses-reconnects-with-new-yorks-rave-underground-on-next-wave-acid-punx-trois\/","title":{"rendered":"Curses reconnects with New York\u2019s rave underground on \u2018Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Across three editions of\u00a0Next Wave Acid Punx<\/em>, Luca Venezia, better known as Curses, has traced an alternative lineage through electronic music. Beginning with the collision of post-punk and industrial sounds with club culture, the series has explored the threads connecting underground scenes across decades, revealing how ideas, attitudes and aesthetics continue to resurface in new forms.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS<\/em>, the trilogy arrives back at its point of origin. Returning to the records and experiences that first pulled him into New York\u2019s early rave scene, Venezia revisits a brief but transformative period when genre boundaries felt largely irrelevant. Techno, acid house, EBM, breakbeats and trance coexisted on the same dancefloors, while punks, skaters, goths and ravers found common ground through a shared desire for escape, discovery and self-expression.<\/p>\n

That sense of openness runs throughout\u00a0TROIS<\/em>. Moving between overlooked classics, cult favourites and contemporary productions, the compilation captures a moment when electronic music was still actively inventing itself, while drawing connections to artists carrying that spirit forward today. Reflecting on the project as a whole, Venezia discusses curiosity, counterculture, DIY ethos and the formative experiences that continue to shape both his music and the way he approaches club culture…<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Throughout the trilogy, you’ve mapped a lineage that stretches from post-punk and industrial music through rave culture and into the sounds shaping dance floors today. With Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS<\/em>\u00a0returning to the records and experiences that first pulled you into electronic music, what did revisiting that period reveal about the artist you’ve become?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Taking my headspace back to my youth as a raver really reminded me how fresh and na\u00efve you are in your teenage years. You\u2019re taking everything in like a sponge because everything is so brand new. You haven\u2019t decided what your favorite subgenre of electronic music is yet. You\u2019re in this moment of innocent discovery. Reigniting that curious nature translates into the way I\u2019m DJing now. I\u2019m not sticking solely to any specific niche genre like Italo or new beat or post-punk. I\u2019m expanding my track selections back to the first vibes I experienced at raves: progressive, proto-techno, and acid house. Coming back full circle to that early moment of discovery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One of the most striking things about the early rave era is how little regard it seemed to have for genre boundaries. Do you think we’re experiencing a similar moment of openness today, or does it just look different now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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There you go! Ha, seems I didn\u2019t look at the second question before answering the first one. But that\u2019s exactly how I feel. There was this openness within a close-knit community in those early days of going to raves. You felt like you were part of a secret movement. No judgement. The skaters, the punks, the goths, the graffiti and breakdance kids were all hanging together at these raves. As clich\u00e9 as it sounds, even if we weren\u2019t hanging out at school or outside of it, we could all share that feeling of escape together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

You often speak about discovering rave through a punk lens. Looking back, what connected those two worlds for you beyond the obvious sense of rebellion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Growing up in New York City, you\u2019re exposed to so many different countercultures: hip-hop, punk, ravers, goths. It\u2019s only natural to soak it all in and be inspired by your surroundings.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been drawn to counterculture, partly because both my parents are artists. My father especially, an abstract artist, always told me: don\u2019t limit yourself to what\u2019s popular, don\u2019t make money the motive, do what fulfils you personally, and that passion will be contagious to others. Coming from a band background and pairing that with his advice, I\u2019ve always had this punk DIY approach to electronic music. So yes, it\u2019s a rebellion against commercial music, but more than that, it\u2019s about doing everything yourself and never compromising your vision.<\/p>\n

Many of the records featured here emerged from moments of cultural and musical friction. Why do you think the most exciting scenes often come from people breaking rules rather than following them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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People are drawn to chaos, and to figuring out how to fix it. Struggle and hardship lead to reflection, which leads to expression, which leads to creating music and art. Right now especially, there\u2019s so much friction and tension in the world, and I feel like these songs really resonate because of that. New and old alike.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There\u2019s a thread running through the compilation that balances intensity with optimism, even in its darker moments. What is it about that push and pull between euphoria and tension that continues to inspire you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve always approached writing music in a cinematic way. Derek Jarman, Kurosawa, Lynch; They all had a huge impact on me when I first saw their films. There\u2019s tension and release, mystery and resolve, romance in the unknown. I\u2019ve always translated that into the music I write. It keeps things playful and human, which adds a real touch to a genre that is heavily machine-driven.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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