2023-06-19 00:21:29
“I am a DJ from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm, but people prefer the night”, says Hernán Cattáneo. It never ceases to surprise him that in every interview in the country the drug issue is linked to electronic music. “I don’t drink beer, neither before nor during the show,” says the DJ who has lived in Montevideo since the pandemic.
Cattáneo is one of the greatest artists we have in the country. He is number one in Europe and a world reference. Prior to his concerts in Forja, one of the largest venues left in the Cordoba capital after the closure of the Orfeo, he sits down to share some toast and a soft drink with the people in charge of Buenas Noches Producciones and the Perfil journalist.
“I am a DJ from Monday to Friday from 9 to 18, but people prefer the night”
Córdoba always received him with open arms. His shows are already sold out before he goes on stage. For about five years he has started awareness work with various businessmen in the field. “We realized that we are the ones who have to raise awareness, talk about the night and care,” reflects Cattáneo. The interview takes place minutes before giving a master class to elementary school kids and, later, a master class to the students of the 21st Century University, on their campus on the outskirts of the city.
“I don’t drink beer, neither before nor during the show”
How long are you going to battle with the issue of drugs at electronic parties?
Let me tell you that this is an Argentine problem. I lived 15 years in Europe, never ever, in any interview, did they ask me about drugs or problems. They consulted me about music, because you like it. You talk to a DJ you talk about music. Here there is no interview that you do and the drug issue is not present. It is an Argentine problem. Fortunately, in the last five years, with BNP, Vampi (Iban Aballay) and Tori (Héctor Baistrochi) and other production companies that I work with, we started to take action against that. I lived in Europe and when I came to Argentina I found all that. They think a little less that we are criminals. Why? I don’t drink beer. It annoyed me a lot that the focus was on that. I can understand that you don’t like the night, you don’t like going out, you don’t like the volume. But the music is something else. In fact, I am happy playing music during the day. In fact, I am a DJ from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and I enjoy it just the same. But it turns out that most people prefer to dance it at night, in a place full of smoke… well let’s go. But I want to tell you, it is quite basic that the perception of many is: you like soccer, oh so you’re a barrabrava, what does that have to do with it?
What do you see from Uruguay? I think why don’t we apply some of their recipes and surely we would do much better.
Could that be changed?
Fortunately in recent years, with the Colón event, with the level of BNP events, we have won the Gardel twice, before there was not even a shortlist of electronic music, and now there is and luckily we won it twice. We did the big Rex. So, I don’t have any problem with a nightclub full of smoke, but obviously public opinion does. We had to get out of there a bit to show that music doesn’t have any kind of problems. From there it was more or less accepted, there is the one who does not want to listen. In general terms, a lot of progress has been made and it is clear that we had to do it ourselves. We are the ones with the most backs in this, a new DJ cannot. They pay attention to us when we speak. It’s still missing, obviously. Something similar must happen to an honest politician, because you say politician and the first thing they think is how much you took away and not all politicians are corrupt. The same thing happens in this, there is a lot of hypocrisy, and there is a lot of prejudice.
In fact, I am happy playing music during the day. In fact, I am a DJ from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and I enjoy it just the same.
Uruguay, your new home with your family
You are living in Montevideo. What is it like to live in Uruguay? You have already visited many cities, and especially European ones?
I lived in many parts of the world. And I plan to continue living in other parts of the world. Now it is Uruguay, we left because during the pandemic we were locked up in Buenos Aires and our friends told us that in Montevideo, as long as you put on a mask, everything was open. Then you could live, go out to the square. And we left and we stayed. To put it simply, Uruguay is slower than us. In Argentina we want to solve tomorrow’s problems, there is less political division, everything is more like common sense.
“You say political and the first thing they think is how much you took and not all politicians are corrupt.”
What do you see from there? From a distance not so far.
I think why don’t we apply some of their recipes and surely we would do much better. For example, the right and the left are not enemies like here, they are not extremes. I think they are going to change more slowly, but in a good way. Without looking for magical solutions. When we went, Lacalle Pou entered and did not undo everything that was from the previous government. Here there is never continuity, everyone is always fighting. He obviously has problems, some say they handle it better because there are fewer of them. I am not so convinced that it is because of that, there are a lot of big countries that have problems and the small ones too. They without the Falls, without Bariloche, without Favaloro, without Messi, without Maradona, it is still a team that works better than ours, because they have a clearer place, their objective.
Messi He earned the chance to have fun.
Messi fan and idol who went to Miami
You lived in Barcelona, you were a person who went to the pitch to see Messi. How did you like Messi’s decision to go to Inter Miami?
Look, Messi before winning the World Cup could do whatever he wanted. I am a big fan of Messi and for me he has already given a lot. On top of that, he came out world champion, which some claimed of him. It was the same for me before. Now let him choose what makes him happy. At Barça they were probably always going to compare it to Pep’s team and it was never going to be Pep’s Barça. There was always going to be that comparison. I would have loved him to go, but he earned the right to go wherever he wants and he’s going to be fine there. He earned the chance to have fun. He gave us much more than we gave him.
Bizarrap, urban music and melodies
What is your opinion of Bizarrap? I ask you as an artist and producer, is that the way, is it the sound of the next generations?
I have a musical identity that I will not change. I try to make people happy with what I like. I spent many years trying to find what makes people happy and failing, until one day I found a formula. Maybe if I thought commercially I should start making music like that. I think what they do is great. Commercially it is a boom. Very successful in a very short time. I find it spectacular. It is not what artistically I like. It’s okay, it’s super valuable, I’m not going to question it from any artistic point of view. It bothered me that others underestimate what I liked, I’m not going to underestimate others. I would become one of them. My dad didn’t like what I heard. If my daughters hear that, I’m not going to question it, I suffered it. And it seems to me that it is not right.
Fito Páez, in an interview said that it was music that lacks melodies
It turns out that the music that is heard now does not need a melody. Mine is full of melodies. Although, musically, I’m not similar to Fito Páez, but we both come from the time of melodies and it seems to us that music should have melody. But evidently today’s kids don’t think like that. In turn, people older than me thought that music without a guitar was not music. I thought it could be done without a guitar and with a machine. And I ended up getting away with it. You have to live and let live.
What attracts the boys to that music?
Obviously they are much more attracted to rhythm than musical depth, that’s for sure. But it works. Afterwards, whether you like it or not is very subjective. Urban music has a very catchy rhythm, if you ask me, very monotonous. But there are others who say that electronic music is monotonous and for me it is not like that, no two songs are the same. But since I already came from that, and they hit me with sticks for 20 years for that, I’m not going to hit those who come, it’s not fair.
They are going to copy Bizarrap, for sure. But he was the first to think of doing commercial EDM (electronic music) with a Latino artist, like Shakira. He pushed all the right buttons to make the smashing success that he was.
Future
You have 3 daughters, would you decide where to live? Or would you let them choose.
I would like them to form outside. I would worry that they find their passion. After health, I think it is the most important. To all the people I know, who have found a passion since they were a child, as I did, have lived… I don’t know if they were happier, but the most important thing is already solved and the sacrifice costs less. I have the son of a friend who is a megacapo in science and he is studying all day… I tell the father: uhh that’s crazy, and he answers me… naa he is happy between books, he prefers to study before going to play soccer. And you have to leave it, if it’s his passion, you have to leave it. It’s good to go away for a while, but Latinos will always feel our friends, family and be here. But traveling abroad allows you to understand that there are things that can be done much better than what we do here.
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