Hernan Cattaneo Interview

The Beat checked in with Argentina’s progressive house master Hernan Cattaneo before his gig at Jenja Bali, which is on Saturday, February 2. Throughout his 30 years of making music and playing his sounds, Hernan has reached just about every corner of the globe, leading listeners through journeys with grooves and melodies unique to his style. Whether he is performing at festivals like Coachella, for the vast crowds of Tomorrowland or creating new experiences like his show in Buenos Aires featuring a live orchestra, Hernan is constantly pushing the boundaries of the melodic house & techno genre and is an inspiration to watch live.

Hi Hernan, where in the world are you now and what’s going on there?
Hey Beat. On holidays with my family recharging my energy after an incredible 2018.

If you stop to think about last year, what were some of your most cherished moments of 2018?
We did a symphonic concert in Argentina´s Opera House called Connected where 63 musicians (and one DJ 🙂 ) were onstage performing live electronic classics and was the highlight of my year and probably also of my whole career. Right after this I’ve been named in Argentina as an outstanding contributor of the culture in Buenos Aires and later the Best Progressive House DJ at the Ibiza DJ Awards. So after so many years in the industry it was really rewarding to feel so relevant to the scene.

Sounds like an awesome year. Your record label Sudbeat has seen releases from many top international producers. Can you give us any insight into who to look out for on the label in 2019?
We started this year with some great stuff from Muui and Tiefstone and soon to come some tracks from Emi Galvan, Juan Deminicis and the annual WMC Showcrates compilation.

How do you find the balance with all your gigs all over the world? How many gigs do you normally do a year?
I used to do up to 130 a year. Since my daughters were born I’ve been slowing down the schedule to be able to spend more time with them and now I have a really good balance of family and professional life. The good thing about being so long on the scene is that you are already known and you don’t feel the rush or need to do all the gigs possible in order to get visibility because you already did that.

You’ve been to Bali a few times right? How many times is that? Have you had a chance to experience the music scene here?
This will be my 4th time and every single trip it was OFF THE HOOK. Jenja is a great club with a top crowd, really well mixed with locals and tourist and the atmosphere in my opinion is by far the best in the region.

The Beat Pit Stop
Progressive house or techno? HOUSE
Producing or DJing? DJ
Married or single? MARRIED
Beer or wine? NONE
Facebook or Instagram? INSTA

What’s the best piece of advice you have been given?
Life is too short, enjoy the most of it and do not waste your time.

How do you feel about harder techno or slower house? Do you feel like you have found the perfect balance for your sound in among all the sub-genres there are today?
I have always been into the melodies and grooves I liked regardless of the name or the style and always tried hard to avoid the trends. Having your own special music identity is the most precious thing for a DJ/producer.

How would you say your sound has changed or developed over the years?
The style is the same, groovy and melodic, the sounds that build the tracks may have changed with technology, though.

You have been doing live shows with symphony orchestras recently. What do you think the relationship is between classical and electronic music and what do you think of classical music yourself?
Yes, we did a symphonic concert of electronic music and it went extremely well. One of the main reasons we did Connected was to show the non-club music crowd that our music is very rich in melodies and textures and played with a orchestra was the perfect way too do it. I love classical music, even when I don’t hear it a lot.

What is your ideal party location and vibe? Is it day or night? Outdoor or indoor? Are there lots of decorations or does that not matter to you? Are there hundreds of thousands of people or would you rather do intimate gigs?
Tuff question. I like most of the those options because you can play different music, but i could tell you about two of my favorites shows every year. One is Woodstock69 in Bloemendaal, where I play on the beach in the afternoon. Another is Stereo Montreal, a dark old school club where I play from 2am till whenever I want. (usually never less that 10 hrs) and there is no VIP, no decor, and very minimal lighting.

What are you looking forward to most in 2019?
2018 was so so good that having half of that again would be really remarkable. I love what I do, so having the chance to keep traveling the world and sharing the music I like is an enormous privilege

And what can we expect this time around at Jenja?
Well, similar as the past few years I’m coming after a two week holiday so I’m supercharged and excited and really ready to play a lot of new great tracks. As I’ve said, Jenja is one of my fave clubs and I’m always looking forward to this first weekend in Feb when I play in Bali and Jakarta 🙂

Hernan Cattaneo’s Connected live at Teatro Calon, Buenos Aires, Argentina