The Argentinian Dj and producer highlights as one of the most relevant figures in the worldwide electronic music scene.

Recently, Hernán Cattaneo received an award as a respected personality of the Buenos Aires culture, which means a very notable recognition for him and for electronic music. The artist took a few minutes to chat with us about this award, recent news, upcoming events and to remember some of his personal and professional achievements.

Cover Photo: Kiraly.hu

Electronic Groove: Hi, Hernan, we really appreciate you are chatting with us today. Where are you right now?

Hernan Cattaneo: Thanks for the invitation. Right now, I’m flying from Greece, where I performed yesterday at the Bloque Festival, now I’m on my way to Belgium’s Tomorrowland.

EG: You’re on your European tour. What can you tell us about your experience performing at Woodstock 69 in Holland?

Hernan Cattaneo: Woodstock has become one of the greatest shows of the European summer season. The venue, the people and the atmosphere are just unbeatable. We started it 8 years ago with 400 attendees, and in 2018 we did two dates because of the high demand on tickets, and fans traveling all around the world to come to the shows, something that has made everyone very happy. It seems that every year it can’t get better, but it’s always more amazing than the last one, moreover, the weather was something special in this edition.

EG: On the next countries that you’re about to visit, is there a special one because of your relationship with the audience?

Hernan Cattaneo: Fortunately, this type of music has very loyal fans around the world, and because of that you can feel like home in many places, such as W69, Hungary, Mexico and Brazil. On the upcoming shows, my favorite ones are Burning Man and Stereo Montreal.

“In order to do a great back-to-back, you need to be with someone who can make you feel comfortable in a musical and personal level”

EG: One of the worldwide known back-to-backs is the one that you do with Nick Warren. How do you feel playing by his side? Do you have a special memory that you can share with our readers? 

Hernan Cattaneo: In order to do a great back-to-back, you need to be with someone who can make you feel comfortable in a musical and personal level. Nick is a great friend and one of my Dj idols, so sharing the decks with him is a pleasure, an honor, and a pride for me. Maybe this will surprise some people, but Nick and I never plan anything, we never talk about music before playing. The only rule is we play three tracks each one based on our criteria, it is the best to have a good flow in a long set.

EG: Tell us a little bit about your label Sudbeat. The goals that you set when you created the label were accomplished or there have been changes in the way based on opportunities and experiences? 

Hernan Cattaneo: We began Sudbeat with the idea of pushing artists that we like, and then we were guiding young producers through the scene. The first year was a little bit slow because I was doing everything by myself, and between the tours and the family I didn’t have much time, but with the inclusion of Graziano Raffa to the process made the dynamic ideal to put everything together, releasing numerous singles every year. The label’s spirit didn’t change, and it is the same when we play music, featuring the sounds that we consider interesting, and support upcoming talents as others supported me in the past.

EG: Are you preparing a new material for the next months that we have to be aware of? 

Hernan Cattaneo: Sure, my new single ‘Soundexile’ will be edited this week with a great remix of DAVI. Later this year other singles are prepared from artists such as Paul Deep, Sebastian Busto, Memory, and the ADE edition of our series ‘Showcrates’.

EG: Recently you received an award in Buenos Aires. What was the reason for the award and what does it mean to you? 

Hernan Cattaneo: The legislature of Buenos Aires gave me the award of the distinguished personality of culture, something that surprised me because they had never done something like this before, and of course it makes me feel happy and honored. It means a lot, not because they gave it to me, but because it is the first time that the electronic music and the club culture are recognized, especially because they don’t have a good image in my country. I believe it is a very important award for all the Argentinian Djs.

EG: Your symphonic show ‘Connected’ was a big success in Argentina. It was inspiring for you? Have you thought on doing it in other countries? 

Hernan Cattaneo: That was another great surprise. We wanted to show to the Argentinian audience that is not familiarized with the electronic music (and full of prejudice) that we have quality in our world. We believed that presenting a proper show of classics and contemporaries with symphonic arrangements for an orchestra of 50 musicians in a proper opera room was a very good way to show them other perspectives.

We were convinced that it could work, but of course, we never expected such a success. It turned into immediate sold-outs, and a free outdoor show for 40.000 people. This was the same case as the award, the thing that made me most happy was to see the electronic music being recognized and celebrated for so many people and on the front cover of every Argentinian newspaper.

Photo by @estebansalinotardittiph

EG:  Southamerica is full of talent, experimented and new. Do you see a noticeable difference between the Southamerican scene in contrast with the rest of the world?

Hernan Cattaneo: Southamerica, as we all know, is still part of the third world in many aspects and we are far away from the possibilities of other Djs and producers around the world. Everything here is more difficult, expensive and without support. However, we Latin people have a strong passion which makes up for what it lacks, and we always give an extra that helps to go through the hard times. In Argentina, a basic studio set up costs a lot more than in the USA, and there is no chance to buy it on credit, but here I’ve seen producers who work with an old Mac doing more interesting things than others with a fully-equipped European studio. There is an important number of talents being developed in every music genre, and the results are more noticeable.

EG: Which upcoming artists do you recommend? 

Hernan Cattaneo: Hard question, I don’t want to let anyone behind, but fortunately, there are a lot of new artists to pay attention in Southamerica like Mariano Mellino, Kevin Di Serna, Memory, Golan Zocher, Kamilo Sanclemente, Giddyhead, Ditian, Antrim, Simon Vuarambon, Ezequiel Arias, John Cosani and many more.

“I believe that a long and succesful career is based on 4 foundations: talent, a lot of work, being surounded by good people and be lucky in some special moments”

EG: Numerous artists have come to public light revealing difficulties with the Dj’s work and depression. Have you ever went through those difficult phases? What advice would you give to those who are going through a hard time? 

Hernan Cattaneo: Luckily I have never experienced something like that, and I believe that it is directly related to the people around you. I have the most valuable thing in the world: a  family, my wife, my daughters are my main motivation to be good, take care of myself and my happiness.

In my youth, before them, I was always surrounded by good friends who always told me what to do and what to avoid in the “night-world”. If you take the example of Avicci, you can see in the documentary that no one worried about him for real, and no one said to him “stop”. I believe that a long and successful career is based on 4 foundations: talent, a lot of work, being surrounded by good people and be lucky in special moments. If you don’t have all of them, things won’t work. As they always said, the hardest thing is not getting there but staying there, so many people will have a fleeting success, but it won’t last, I guarantee that.

EG: After have traveled around the world, which one would be one of your favorite places to eat? 

Hernan Cattaneo: I love to eat, it is my biggest pleasure and addiction. Japanese, Greek, Italian and of course, Argentinian food.

EG: What is the hardest thing of being Hernán Cattaneo?

Hernan Cattaneo: Hardest thing? When I was 12 years old, I started to share the music which I loved with my friends, now I have 53 years old and I’m still doing the same. I have a dreamy family, I travel the world, meet people, visit incredible places and I received the karma of bringing happiness every weekend. There is no reason to complain.

Follow Hernan Cattaneo: Facebook I Soundcloud I Instagram