|
 Argentine house legend HERNAN CATTANEO talks ALASDAIR DUNCAN through the inspirations and influences he has had through his long DJ career.
Argentina’s Hernan Cattaneo discovered house music in the late ‘80s, when a friend brought back a clutch of 12-inch records from Chicago – he fell in love instantly, and began playing parties and clubs around his native Buenos Aries. Superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold was an early admirer of Cattaneo’s style, and it wasn’t long before the plucky argentine was himself spinning records around the world. By his own estimate, Cattaneo now spends half of every year on the road, but as busy as the lifestyle is, he wouldn’t have it any other way. “Playing is fun,” he says, “it never feels like a job. Being in a club and sharing music with other people could never be a job. The travelling is the most tiring and the most boring part, because it seems like such a waste spending hours in taxis and hotel rooms and on planes. Being a DJ though, that side of it never feels like working.”
Cattaneo is struck by how much things have changed in the world of club music, while simultaneously remaining the same. “When I started out 20 years ago, people used to go to a club to hear a DJ playing music that was specifically made for clubs, and they still do that today,” he says. “In that sense, nothing has changed. However, 20 years ago, the DJ was not necessarily someone who was popular – people wouldn’t choose the club they went to based just on who was playing. That has changed completely, as has technology. You can do things in five minutes that in the past would have taken you five days, and you can carry a collection of tens of thousands of songs with you everywhere you go. That would have been just a crazy dream when I was starting out.”
There’s an openness and a generosity to Catteneo, and he speaks about his friends and the people who have inspired him over two decades in music much more readily than he does his own achievements. “I’ve met a big variety of people throughout my career as a DJ, from Jon Digweed to Danny Howells and Sasha and especially Paul Oakenfold, who discovered me and helped launch my career worldwide. In each one, there are elements I learn from. Then there are the original masters, people like Frankie Knuckles and Laurent Garnier, who have been around forever but who are still amazing.”
Given his devotion to house, the big question I have is whether or not Cattaneo still goes out dancing in clubs? “Going out and dancing?”, he says with a hearty laugh. “I don’t have much time for that, because I play every weekend of the year, apart from one month when I take a holiday. Whenever I get the chance, I’ll go and see a DJ I like, but it’s not very often. I try to. But I don’t go out to dance. I’ve never been good at it – I wish I was, because it’s something that I like, but I’d rather stand there quietly. Maybe that’s why I became a DJ!”
HERNAN CATTANEO plays an intimate afternoon set at BarSoma on Sunday Oct 30; doors at 1pm. See www.hernancattaneo.com and www.facebook.com/auditree for more.
|
| Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged. |
|
Be first to comment on this article
