As Cream’s international resident since the 90′s, Hernan Cattaneo’s twenty year journey through music shows no sign of slowing down. From Bahrain to Belfast, Singapore to San Diego, Hernan’s travels know no bounds with the Argentinean on a round-the-clock mission to spread his love for electronic music. Constantly absorbing new sounds, cultures and influences from the most varied outposts possible, Hernan bleeds them into as many projects as he can – be they production work, his masterpiece mix CDs, his radio shows or new music label Sud Beat.
Here he takes time to talk about his upcoming performance at Creamfields and his new Renaissance Master Series compilation ‘Parallel’.
What can we expect from your set at Creamfields this year?
Well I normally try to get things going quite quickly at festivals as my sets are usually shorter than normal especially in the afternoon so I like to get people going. I’m currently touring around my new Renaissance compilation album so I’m going to be playing some music from that and I’m also going to be playing some new music from my brand new label Sud Beat so expect a lot of house, melodic and progressive stuff.
You’re not a stranger to Creamfields and have been a part of the Cream family for years, what have been your standout Creamfields UK and Creamfields BA memories?
I have so many! I think I’ve played every Creamfields UK festival since it began and I’ve played all of the Argentinean ones including some of the other International shows. The UK and Buenos Aires festivals are the ones that mean the most to me though, in England because its one of the number one festivals in the World and Argentina obviously because its my home country.
I remember every Creamfields I’ve played in the UK but the first one is the most memorable because it was the first time I’d played a big festival in the UK and I was playing in a huge tent with my biggest idols like Paul Oakenfold and Sasha. It was an amazing time for me and I’m always going to remember that.
Talking of Sasha you’re going to be playing alongside him in the Cream Arena, will you be checking his set and any of the other artists?
Of course! I normally try to arrive early and leave as late as possible. As Creamfields is at the end of the Summer there’s always a great mood, it’s usually one of the last few times to catch some good weather and it’s a great chance to see my friends and there’s always an amazing line up to choose from so I like to check out some of the new DJs and bands. It’s going to be a great festival.
And what is your favourite memory your time as a Cream resident?
Cream was my first big residency in the UK after being the club’s resident in South America, I was there week in week out in Liverpool and also had a residency in Ibiza so it was a dream come true for me. It was also a big push for my career internationally and it’s always something I cherish as one of the best things that ever happened to me. Nation is one of the best clubs worldwide, the Soundsystem and the crowd in Liverpool is such an energetic and up for it crowd. The people from Liverpool are so friendly and as a newcomer during the first two or three Saturdays I was made to feel so welcome, considering they didn’t know who I was!
Also the people working for Cream and the production team we’re so helpful and during my first gigs they must have guessed I was a little bit nervous and they all helped me get through it. It’s something I’ll never forget.
You’ve just released your new Renaissance Masters Album, can you tell us a little bit about it?
Well it’s my sixth Renaissance Album and my fourth Masters Series so it’s such a privilege to be able to continue to release these albums, plus it’s had a great reaction already. I’m now touring around with it and have already visited America and Australia and now I’m focusing on Europe. The first CD is slower than your general club CD but then the second is definitely a night one so I’m very happy with it and the response it’s been getting.
You travel across the world a lot, how do you survive the travelling?
Sometimes it’s a bit tiring or a bit long and you spend a lot of time travelling to your destination just to play a few hours and then fly straight back, but as an International DJ you’re getting to travel the world, see different cultures, different places and you’re doing what you love so there’s not really any room for complaint. You can get tired at times but you can always sleep on the plane, you need to have a downside to things otherwise they would be too perfect to be real!
Is there a particular country you prefer to play in?
I really like the places where there’s a great atmosphere in the crowd like Liverpool. Also, Eastern Europe has a really great energy and of course South America, not just because it’s my home country but if you ask any DJ who has played in a Latin country the people have such a love of festivals and celebrations and they’re really supportive of the music. This is why, apart from Creamfields UK, one of the best festivals to go to is Creamfields Buenos Aires because the people go crazy there.
Do you feel dance music has changed since the days when your toured with Paul Oakenfold?
Everything is different! The only thing that has remained the same is that everyone, young or old, likes to go out and have a good time and listen to music but on the other side DJ’ing has changed completely from being a very central European thing to being appreciated on a completely global scale. DJs that used to only be known in say London, New York or Liverpool are now known worldwide. Technology and the way DJs play has also changed completely in the way a DJ used to spend months making music now a computer can make a track. It also used to be difficult to get music and you would pay a lot of money for it but now you can download it. Also now you can get so much music in one week you have to spend time to filter the good tracks from the bad. It’s almost as if the whole world is seen before and after the internet. People across the world can watch Cream from You Tube when before the internet, they would have to visit the club to see what it was like. I remember in 1997/98 I used to travel from Argentina to Cream in Liverpool just to see Paul Oakenfold but now he travels around the world or I can watch his sets on the internet which has made dance music much more global.
Do you think the introduction of computer software, CDJs etc. has made it easier for people to DJ or is there still a great deal of technicality behind it?
It’s a difficult question because in a way yes it can make it easier to become a DJ but not necessarily a good one! Even if you have the software which can help you on beat matching etc. it doesn’t teach you how to read a crowd or what record to play to keep the crowd happy and it still doesn’t stop you being nervous when you’re about to play in front of 20,000 people! So in answer to the question in a way technically yes but not in other ways.
What DJs are on your radar at the moment?
Well within the sound I play there’s a lot of great new DJs especially from Argentina like Martin Garcia. The good thing about globalisation of dance music is that every corner of the world now has people making music and being heard.
What advice do you have for aspiring DJs?
There’s so much more competition out there because of the introduction of new software so the best advice is to practice and get as much experience as you can.
Do you prefer clubs or festival shows?
I like both! I love festivals when you get that big rush of energy from a crowd of 10-20,000 but in a club you can have eye contact with everybody and the music you play is different. Both are such amazing experiences you should always do both.
We’re already 7 months into 2010, how has the year faired up for you so far? What has been your highlight? What are you looking forward to in the rest of the year?
One of the highlights was playing a festival recently in Hungary with John Digweed on the day of the world cup, that was amazing and even though we were in Hungary there was still a great atmosphere. I also recently did an Australian tour playing Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and I had a great time – the Australian crowd is unbelievable.
Coming up, one of the highlights of my year is Creamfields in Argentina every year its been a highlight for me and the Argentinean people always like to show that they are very proud of you and they always support people from the country who have been successful. They make me feel so welcome and are such a passionate crowd I love to play for them.
Hernan Cattaneo performs in the Cream & Vandit 10th Anniversary Arena in association with Bench at Creamfields on Sunday 29th August Bank Holiday weekend. Tickets on sale now: www.creamfields.com/tickets / Tel: 0844 888 4401