Liquid Soul and Ace Ventura talk Psy-Nation Radio

Psy-Nation Radio presents “Progressive Nation” out soon via Iboga Records.

Liquid Soul and Ace Ventura need no introduction.

Whether talking about their solo projects or collaborative projects- including Liquid Ace, their project together- they are at the top of the psychedelic trance game.

Yoni and Capo have been friends for 15 years, sharing the same stage at festivals all over the world, playing music to thousands of revellers as well as producing music together.

But it was a shared thought that brought these master blasters into the world of podcasts, where they host Psy-Nation Radio.

Alive and kicking for close to two years, Psy-Nation Radio has been a beacon for all things psychedelic, including music exclusives, interview, guest mixes and more, amassing a following of over 17K followers on SoundCloud and an average of 50K listeners per monthly show.

Now, they present to you “Progressive Nation,” the first of three compilation albums set to showcase the different flavours within the psychedelic realm.

The album is out now on Iboga Records and features music from Protonica, Ticon, Egorythmia, Ritmo, and more.

Welcome to Psy-Nation Radio…

The biggest challenge is to keep the listeners wanting more and returning each month…”

First obvious question has to be; Why and when did you guys first decide to launch a radio show?

Capo aka Liquid Soul

Capo: I had the idea in my head for a while – To start a psytrance dedicated Podcast but not just a DJ set like everything on SoundCloud or YouTube, but a proper show with hosting, news and the likes.

And when I asked Yoni about it, it turned out he was wanting to do that for a while as well. From that point, it was a really short time until we had the first episode in our hands.

As two of the busiest artists in the scene, how do you even have time? It seems like an awful lot of work that goes into curating each show.

Yoni aka Ace Ventura

Yoni: We don’t!

The show is awfully time-consuming, and it obviously leaves us with less time for our music-making, our daily life and families etc.

But we feel that we are on to something here, and after 24 episodes we feel the fanbase of the show is growing and gathering into a community, so we are pushing through, and will keep on doing the show as long as we can.

What is the process for each show; decide on the tracks, interview and content? How long does it take? Has it gotten easier/quicker over time?

Capo: The main part of the show is collecting the tunes and building a flowing set.

Our usual vibe is starting with slower progressive, climbing up to faster full-on and psychedelic music.

We usually collect the interviews while we are on the road, with a special mic for our mobiles. The recording itself usually takes us around 3 to 5 hours, and this is after two years – It was about double in the beginning!

When we started the podcast we had the idea of a natural evolution into parties – Psy nation events…”

What has surprised you/delighted you most in Psy-Nation’s first two years?

Yoni: The first year was a process of people getting used to a monthly psytrance show, in which the hosts actually talk and not just play the music.

Some people prefer to keep the chat to a minimum and some people love our hosting vibes. You cannot please everyone, but we try to find some way in between.

What delights us are the comments and feedback on our social media. It’s also nice to be approached by artists and labels who want to be in the show, to take part either with tracks, interviews or guest mixes.

About starting the Psy-Nation Radio show you said, “While we feel quite comfortable on stage by now, being a radio DJ is a whole new ballgame.” You guys have really grown into the role though. What’s the biggest challenge and what is the biggest reward?

Capo: At first it was quite awkward indeed as we were not used to that. But we grew into it and by now it flows pretty well.

The biggest challenge is to keep the listeners wanting more and returning each month. The reward is the pleasure of seeing people engaging, enjoying the show, and waiting in anticipation for the next episode.

We get a lot of compliments for the show almost every weekend wherever we go to play.

Yoni: One more reward is seeing another part of our vision come true.

When we started the podcast we had the idea of a natural evolution into parties – Psy nation events – Focusing on psychedelic genres across the board – and in 2019, with the help of Iboga records, FM booking and international promoters – we already had three of those, in Copenhagen, Israel and Switzerland.

The Copenhagen one was especially spectacular, with an amazing visual show by global illumination and hackstage.

You’ve just released the first of a series of three compilations that aim to deliver pure psytrance selections, starting with “Progressive Nation.”

This 10-track compilation is a perfectly crafted progressive selection from the best in the biz, including Gaudium, Ticon, Animato, Protonica and more. I’ve listened to the album 5 times in a row and my list of favourite tracks keeps changing and building as I find more things to love with each listen.

What is your process regarding track selection?

You must be inundated with tracks to choose from…

Yoni: Very true, we were already getting a lot of music from everyone before the show, and that definitely exploded even more since Psy-Nation Radio started.

There are not enough hours in a day so obviously we can’t get to hear everything but we do our best.

Our close circle of producer friends is quite big, so luckily it wasn’t too hard collecting these tunes within that circle. Having support from Iboga records, made it even easier.

In 2020 we have two more compilation releases – PSYCHEDELIC NATION which will focus on full on and psychedelic music, and will be released on future music, followed by CHILLOUT NATION, which will feature all kinds of psychedelic downtempo tunes and will be released on sofa beats.”

“Progressive Nation” brings together all the flavours of progressive, including dance floor bombs, driving daytime, journey trance and everything in between.

Did you decide on this beforehand or did it just evolve in that way?

What is the importance in showcasing the broad spectrum of a sub-genre? (By the way, I love the ‘time’ and ‘alien-ish’ theme in the track names, was it planned?)

Capo: It’s very important for us to indeed show a wide spectrum and not just the one that we are associated with. We already released two compilations which covered the majority of the show, featuring tracks that were played on the show’s episodes.

But we wanted to create a different series with exclusive tunes.

At first, we thought to have a compilation with a few sub-genres inside, but we quickly came to the conclusion that it would be better to launch a concept series instead, with each instalment dedicated to one genre.

Yoni: That’s why we focused on Progressive sound for PROGRESSIVE NATION.

Mind you, nowadays it’s not that easy as progressive music is, how to say gently, not in its peak time. But we did manage to stay true to the idea and kept the range between 135 to 142 BPM.

As for your last question there, Aliens and Time are common themes in Psytrance so we didn’t need to plan anything, especially for this one.

As your combo name suggests, Liquid Ace definitely has ‘soul’ and ‘aces’ everything. ☺ Tell us about the synergy between the two of you and how you make teamwork the dreamwork?

Capo: Our relationship goes way back around 15 years ago.

We have been good friends for many years and good friendship can translate into a good product at the end of the day.

Each time we record we first sit down to have a nice lunch, and since the first episode every time it’s been a great relaxed vibe in the studio.

Everyone knows his job and after a two year run it works really fast and well.

What is the future of Psy-Nation Radio? Maybe Psy-Nation TV?! =D

Yoni: The future is looking good.

In 2020 we have two more compilation releases – PSYCHEDELIC NATION which will focus on full-on and psychedelic music and will be released on future music, followed by CHILLOUT NATION, which will feature all kinds of psychedelic downtempo tunes and will be released on sofa beats.

Capo: We will have several events around the world in 2020, to be announced soon. And there is one more plan, which we cannot discuss at the moment…

Final question: Has getting feedback from fans about the shows influenced your own DJing or music production?

Yoni: We try to read all the comments on every channel and we do get an idea about likes and dislikes – but I’d say the dance floor is a different story and we stay true to our own tastes in most cases.

But hey, don’t stop writing guys, we love your comments and it’s always good to get feedback for the Psy-Nation Radio show!

Liquid Soul and Ace Ventura talk Psy-Nation Radio