Born in Buenos Aires, Hernán grew up listening to bands like Simply Red, Level 42, Depeche Mode and New Order whilst carefully studying Billboard magazine, the only source of information that was readily available at the time. In 1987, one of his friends visited Vinylmania in New York and returned with some vinyl –Hernán’s first exposure to Chicago House. In that moment, Frankie Knuckles, who should have a huge influence on Hernán and his blossoming career, broke into the scene and quickly became an icon of the incipient house genre. The way Frankie Knuckles and artists like Inner City and Derrick May brought together the energy of european electronic music with the soul of North American music left an impact on Hernán and set the tracks for his career. His elemental understanding of dance music might be the reason why he could firmly position himself amongst the most respected DJs of the world.
In the middle of the Nineties, Hernán had become the cultural force of the dance music movement that was still in its infancy in his country. As a resident in Clubland Buenos Aires, his talent was quickly recognized and his name soon associated with the most respected figures of dance, such as Paul Oakenfold, turning into one of his closest friends as their relationship evolved-, Sasha, John Digweed and Danny Tenaglia.
Clubland soon grew to be one of the renowned clubs in the world. Hernán’s eclectic deep house, tribal and progressive sets attracted the attention of the superclub Cream who then chose Hernán to become their southamerican resident. His career took off in 1996 and 1997 when both years he won a local award of “DJ of The Year” and, after joining Paul Oakenfold on his European tour, a lot of doors were opening for him. Playing universities and clubs all over Britain and mainland Europe, he managed to stun his receptive audience with his passionate sets and his impeccable mixing techniques. Consequently, he got signed to Oakenfold’s label Perfecto with whom he released his first ever international mix CD South America.
It was again down to Oakenfold that Hernán, in 98 and 99, traveled to the United States and was invited to a row of prestigious events and festivals such as Burning Man, in Nevada and the Red Rocks Amphitheater, in Denver. Immediately after that, he was made resident in Cream Liverpool as well as in Ibiza and started touring all around the globe.
HERNAN_BIOIn summer 2001, Hernán could already look back on an extensive string of important events and festivals, such as the Clapham Common festival in London, where he played in front of 70,000 people, Creamfields, Homelands, as well as the Cream birthday party in Liverpool. By that time, Cattáneo also entered the DJ Mag ranking, firmly positioning himself on number 50 as well as on the cover of the magazine. That same year his track Deep Funk hit the charts on number 50, he was voted “Best Newcomer DJ” at the prestigious Pacha Ibiza Awards, and started his own radio show on the argentinean radio station Metrodance (95.1 FM). Less than a year later, Hernán moved into the Top 25 of the DJ Mag ranking.
Hernán’s career was now accelerating at light speed. He did not only continue to wow the masses in the best clubs and most prestigious festivals of the world, he also continued to leave a mark as a producer, making a stunning remix for Morgan Page which went out on Bedrock, John Digweed’s well-respected label. As well as producing in conjunction with Subliminal -and Yoshitoshi- favorite Dean Coleman, he went into the studio with the prolific John Tonks who would later become his production partner and with whom he also made another noteworthy production such as the remix of the techhouse track Heron Castle.
With the objective to make the most out of his success, Hernán decided it was the perfect moment to put out another mix CD. Luckily enough, he got snapped up by Rennaissance who at that time were looking for an adequate successor for their Masters Series, which focusses on the presentation of the most talented global DJs, such as Sasha, John Digweed, Deep Dish and Danny Howells, among others. With great enthusiasm, Hernán exceeded all expectations.
The year 2004 turned out to be one of the most intense in his burgeoning DJing career. He traveled all over the world promoting his Renaissance mix album; played at the best clubs in Europe, toured five times to the United States and three to Asia. At the same time, he began an active participation on the media, taking on assignments as music reviewer in the North American music publications URB Magazine and BPM and on Rolling Stone’s latin-american edition. At the end of the year, he found himself on position number 6 in DJ Mag’s ranking.
By the beginnings of 2005, Hernán released the anticipated second part of Renasissance’s Master Series –being the first ever DJ asked to do a another volume for the label– which included a track called Warsaw with John Tonks, consequently put on on Bedrock, and a remix on Jeff Bennett’s Strange Items, which hit the number one spot in Mixmag’s Update. The same year, Hernán began another world tour. The highlights of this restless four-cities-per-week tour included shows in the United States where Hernán performed alongside the likes of the Chemical Brothers and New Order, and at Coachella festival with headliners such as Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Prodigy and Kasabian.
HERNAN_BIO_2In May 2006, Hernán launched, again through Renaissance, his own CD series called Sequential which, so far, has earned him only top rankings in the world’s leading music publications: it scored five out of five stars and “Leading Player” in DJ Mag, full rating in UK’s M8, and “4 out of 5 –the best compilation Hernán’s ever made” in IDJ Mag. One of the top tracks is Hernán’s rework of Nick Miur’s I Feel Real. Sirocco, Hernán’s new single, again produced with studio partner John Tonks, turned out # 1 in the Balance Chart and top five downloads of www.djdownloads.com
With an eclectic mix of tracks that includes a whole variety of house rhythms and productions from artists such as Way Out West, Marco Bailey, Paolo Mojo, 16 Bit Lolitas, Dousk, Bushwacka and a remix for Phonique featuring Royksopp’s Erlend Øye, his first installation of Sequential has become essential. The selection of tracks is not only utterly tasteful but also manages to transcend genres with each track having its own distinct sound and feel to it, united by a stimulating bassline and subtle breakdowns.
For the cover artwork, Renaissance managed to win the acclaimed photographer John Ross who has previously worked with Kylie Minogue, The Manic Street Preachers and Deep Dish. This attention t detail as a finishing touch makes Sequential a delight appealing to all senses.
