Regan talks Keep It Psychedelic, his blistering 18-track compilation
Owner and co-founder of global psytrance label Nano records, Regan Tacon, has just released a blistering 18-track compilation showcasing both his selection attributes and the depth of quality the label has at its disposal.
Currently, when EPs are favoured over albums and singles preferred to compilations, the task of compiling an 18-track collection seems almost madness.
But not for South African born Regan.
Since relocating to the UK, he has been on a mission to ‘keep it psychedelic,’ and indeed he has.
We chatted…
…let’s Keep It Psychedelic and not pander to those outside influences to dumb it down for them.”
The name of your new compilation. It feels like there’s an intended message to ‘Keep It Psychedelic…’
Regan: ‘Keep It Psychedelic’ is a catch-phrase we have used at NANO for a few years already, and considering the focus of the comp, which is more strictly full-on than the usual mix across the board from most label compilations, it really fits.
And yes, it is an intended message.
There is so much happening musically in Psytrance currently, from the big swing back towards full-on, to some of the progressive sounds going more and more pop and mainstream, brilliant very banging dark styles, twisted deep dark prog, and so much more.
There is [also] a lot of interest in Psytrance outside of the genre at the moment, which I think is great – let’s get more people into it and swell our numbers – but let’s Keep It Psychedelic and not pander to those outside influences to dumb it down for them.
Let’s give them real thing.
I love all kinds of Psychedelic music because it’s so deep and operates on a different level to so much other music out there. That’s what I have spent more than the last twenty years of my life promoting, and will continue to do so till the day I die.
Conceptually the idea has been on my mind ALL year…”
An 18-track compilation seems like a mammoth task to undertake – when did you decide on the concept and was it always going to be a double album’s worth?
Regan: Actually, it was going to be 9 or 10 tracks, just a collection of some the bangers I have been playing all year on one CD, including my three collaborations.
But then I realised there were a bunch more I really should include too, and chatting with some of my mates / artists I work with the few gaps I still had to make it 18 tracks were filled in quickly.
Conceptually the idea has been on my mind ALL year, so it’s nice to finish the year off with it and I’m super happy at how well it has been received.
Your collabs. It’s great to see you back in the studio. What’s been the most significant thing you feel you’ve gained from the three co-written tracks on the album?
Regan: So much!
It has been great getting more stuck into actually making music that is ready for release again.
I’m in an amazing position having spent all this time working so hard on Nano and our events, and now have an amazing group of artists on the label who are all good friends.
So, to have a chance to get in studio with legends like Dickster, Laughing Buddha, Burn in Noise (and I just did a massive track last week with Tristan too), it’s really jump-started me back into it all again.
Each has a different approach, and each opened me up to new ideas and processes, and it was great to get my confidence up and realise I really do have a lot I can offer too.
What a pleasure it is to create with these guys. With my manic schedule running the label it’s hard to make time to write music, so it really helps to collaborate. I feel very privileged and thankful for the chance to work with everyone on the label.
It’s so great to be able to showcase the music I love, and it being the music my mates are making…”
You have a wealth of amazing talent on your label, but I was surprised to see a few new names (not officially NANO artists as far as I know) on there too.
Regan: Yeah, it’s pretty mad how many amazing artists we have on the label right now, it’s almost overwhelming!
If you scratch the surface you will see every track on the comp is related to Nano in some way already, if not on the label per se,’ they are either involved in another project that is on Nano or are on our booking agency, or just old mates 😉 – it’s very much a family affair.
A tricky one…. These 18 tracks are obviously tried and tested by you on the dancefloor; which one has surprised you the most by the response it gets from the floor?
Regan: That’s [actually] easy, it has to be the Imaginarium Remix of Avalon and Dickster.
It’s a super groovy track that doesn’t try too hard.
It’s not trying to smash things apart, it just locks in and then funks out, and I love it for that, placed right in a set it absolutely kills. I drop it whenever I want the floor to ‘sizzle’ and keep grooving, to hold the energy. The Braincell track is great for that too.
In terms of a favourite track on the comp I really could not say, I honestly love them all!! It’s so great to be able to showcase the music I love, and it being the music my mates are making, it’s been the ethos of Nano from when we first started, and it’s great to see it is still the case yet constantly morphing.
Funny ol’ life 🙂
Listen to Regan Keep It Psychedelic
