Hernan Cattaneo is without doubt one of the most successful DJs of our time. His rapid rise to the top appears to be the result of a winning mix of talent, hard work and old fashioned good manners and approachability in an industry not generally known for its ‘come gimme a hug’ attitude.

He began his career in his native Argentina and had his first break in 1993 when he established a residency at Pacha in Buenos Aires. In '98 Hernan was propelled into the international scene through his friendship with Paul Oakenfold and his subsequent work on Paul’s Perfecto Records. From this came a spate of requests to play for, amongst others, Cream and Creamfields, Bedrock, Pacha, Homelands, Fabric, Perfecto in Ibiza, and Renaissance. For the past six years Hernan’s popularity has compelled him to be constantly on tour bringing his unique sound to the world.

2003 cemented Hernan's place as a top international DJ, ranking 22nd in DJ Mag's highly regarded Top 100, playing at a majority of the big festivals and touring continually throughout the year. His Renaissance Masters CD that hit shelves world wide earlier in February is currently taking him on the biggest tour of his career, and with his Australian tour fast approaching it is high time that we sat down with Hernan to find out about the man behind the fast-growing legend.

For those of you yet to experience one of Hernan's sets, he describes his sound as "...a little bit of everything really. Usually I like to start with house and then build with a more diverse style of things like tech, progressive, breaks, etc. I've always tried not to play just one style and mix things up."

Hernan is, as you would expect, very much looking forward to touring Australia as he is to play his debut Sydney gig under the stars at The Greenwood, North Sydney. "I have never been there before, but all my friends say Sydney is a great city so I'm really anxious about playing there for the first time."

The Friday before will see Hernan return to Melbourne. Hernan says "I am really looking forward to this. I've only once been in Melbourne before and it was a festival, so I'm really excited to check out the real clubs and am able to do a longer set this time."

He speaks highly of the talented producers coming out of Australia and his expectations of the upcoming Renaissance Masters Tour are high: "There are so many great names in Australia's dance music so I'm expecting a very well educated crowd."

When Hernan is not on a plane traveling to play at a club in some far-flung corner of the globe, he manages to spend some time in the studio (or on his laptop) putting together compilations and working on new tracks and remixes.

The first in the new Renaissance Masters CD series that was mixed by Hernan and released in early February 2004 recently broke BBC Radio1's UK Top 10 album chart. Hernan talks about the compilation saying "I'm very happy about the CD. The reviews have been excellent and almost everybody liked it a lot so it could have hardly done better for me. I'm really pleased with the reactions."

Regarding his influences with his latest compilation Hernan says "I travel a lot so influence comes from all over the world, plus it comes from the DJs that I like - but there are too many to name."

Does Hernan have any other compilations planned for the rest of 2004?
"I may do something in South America later this year but that's not yet confirmed. But the next Renaissance Masters CD is already planned for next year".

He also has some other tracks in the studio. "I'm working with Randall Jones at the moment on a new track called 'Cash'. It hasn't been easy as my schedule is crazy but it will be ready soon." says Hernan.

"Not including Argentina... " Hernan comments, as we talk about his favourite place around the world to Tour, "...it would have to be Japan. Yellow and Womb are fantastic clubs, they are really different from each other but they both rock!" He mentions other places and venues with high regard. This includes "Zouk in Singapore which is great, as are many clubs in the eastern block and also Cyprus, Greece." he says.

Hernan continues his Renaissance Master Tour in Melbourne at Room 680 on March 27 and then outdoors under the stars at Sounds on Sunday at The Greenwood Hotel in Sydney on March 28.

You can read the review of Hernan's Renaissance CD, view the event details, read his latest RA Column, or check out his official website by clicking below.