djmag.com - Hernan Interview

Style: All kinds of house music.
Best known for: Deep and long sets.
Gig of 2009: Family Club, Brisbane, Australia
Tune of 2009: Arno E. Mathieu 'Soil' (DHR)
Breakthrough DJ/Producer of 2009: Henry Saiz, Marc Marzenit and M.O.D.E.
The track that changed your life: Too many to mention only one.
What makes a good DJ great: Taste and personality.
Most underrated DJ: People tend to not pay attention to resident DJs and, in many cases, they play better and care more than the guests.
Biggest challenge this year: I don't know.
Top tech toy: The MacBook Pro is still the best piece of hardware ever made.


Argentinean house DJ Hernan Cattaneo played gigs all over the world in 2009, but he singles out shows in unexpected places as the highlights.

"My Australian tour was very good this year, especially Melbourne and Brisbane, and the Greek gigs in the summer were a highlight," he says.

Despite unrest in the region, he also praises a show in Beirut for "great production and the most enthusiastic dancefloor".

Hernan was also a regular fixture at all the major European festivals and says that Holland's Dance Valley, Tomorrowland in Belgium and Creamfields UK "all rocked big time".

Hernan also compiled and mixed an installment of 'Renaissance: The Masters Series' mix CD, featuring his own material, as well as music from Skylark, Danny Howells and Guy Gerber.

"I don't follow trends, so for me, it's never about what's the current sound," offers Hernan. "Music changes all the time. I like music that is deep, groovy and melodic, not hard or fast. You can find those elements in deep house, tech, prog, any style really. It's not clever to rule out any kind of music since there are good tracks everywhere."

Over the coming months, Hernan is releasing a collaboration with Soundexile on his Sudbeat label, followed by an EP from a French producer called Damabiah, who he claims is "making some amazing melodic stuff".

Words: Richard Brophy


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