BANGALORE: Calling upon the sentinels of truth, when euphoria of the trip splits the vortex of your mind into a spectrum of timeless revelations activating every neural and genetic concoction, where time progresses in a spiral, and the phantom of the skies has conquered your spirit. That is how one could truly describe their journey with every Ace Ventura set.
With an overwhelming musical background, this Israeli trance maestro’s achievements are extraordinary. Creating pure dynamite on the dance floor, Yoni Oshrat has played a big part in establishing Israel as one of the most important trance countries on the globe. Encompassing a fusion of the hard, pumping dance floor-oriented style from Psysex (his earlier project) and the deeper, groovier influences of progressive trance, his Ace Ventura project was born.
Ace Ventura...that’s an interesting name. Could you tell us that story?
Most people think it is just a reference to the famous movie from Jim Carrey. But the truth is, there is another main reason. My father is a composer in Israel, and his original last name was Ventura. When he started working, he decided to change the name to a more commercial name in Israel, but the Ventura name stayed in my mind.
Israel has always welcomed psytrance and electronic dance music with open arms. What are your thoughts on music in Israel?
Psytrance is well rooted in Israel since the beginning of the 90’s and is still very strong in 2011. There are many reasons why this style of music caught on so strong. But the main reason is, Israel has always been a country with security and terror problems, which caused a lot of tension to most citizens. When you are 18 you must join the army for three years, and this has an effect on you. Trance music is a way to release this pressure and that is why it is so popular.
Tell us about your other solo project SCHATSI?
Schatsi was a project I produced. It was mostly electro and tech house but also more freestyle experiments like downbeat, IDM and chillout. I will definitely keep producing under that title in the future, but for now all my effort and time are focused on ACE VENTURA.
n How was it playing at Shiva Palace in Goa?
It was fantastic. Shiva Palace is a cool place with very nice food. I didn’t know what to expect as it was my first experience in Goa. But Emok (from iboga) and Gossip entertainment pulled off a sweet free day party, the sound and light were good (not to mention fireworks in the sky) and the crowd was awesome — really enjoyed playing there. I heard its not everyday that you hear so much progressive music in a party in Goa. So it felt good to do that. I certainly hope to be back there soon.
n How educated do you think the Indian crowd is, in terms of electronic dance music?
I have played in three parties this tour, in Goa, Mumbai and New Delhi, and got great reactions from the crowd in each of them. Today, it doesn’t matter where you live. With internet, music knows no borders or boundaries. So I am sure people can listen to whatever they want in India. They know their stuff.
When did you decide to choose music as your career? What inspired you to be a musician?
My father is a musician. So, it was always in the air during my life. Although my first path was actually in cinema and post production. During my army service, I served as a sound recorder and technician at the Air force’s video unit. After the army I worked in post production in the TV industry in Israel, while also starting to produce psy trance with DJ Goblin. Inspiration came from everything in life, but a lot came from cinema and movies.
When and why did you switch from full-on to progressive?
After eight years in the full-on scene, I just got tired and bored of it. The progressive scene, especially from Scandinavia, was growing and producing a lot of very interesting music. Slowly my tastes moved to that direction, and change was inevitable.
Where do you see progressive trance in five years?
It is hard to tell, I believe it will still stay strong — many styles, such as dark psy for example, have come and gone, but full-on and progressive trance are going strong for years. So, I believe they will both keep on kicking many years from now.
akshatha@expressbuzz.com