Editing Hernán Cattáneo (section)

=== Early Life and Musical Formation ===

Cattáneo grew up in Caballito, a middle-class neighbourhood in the heart of Buenos Aires. His older sisters introduced him to progressive rock albums by [[Pink Floyd]] and [[Yes (band)|Yes]] — extended, conceptual recordings that familiarised him with the idea of music as a long-form journey rather than a sequence of short songs. From there he developed a fascination with European synth-pop, particularly [[Depeche Mode]] and [[New Order]], whose combination of electronic production and emotional directness would remain a touchstone throughout his career.

In 1987, a friend returned from New York carrying 12-inch records purchased at [[Vinylmania]], one of the city's key import record stores, and the young Cattáneo heard Chicago house music for the first time. He has cited [[Frankie Knuckles]] as the DJ and producer who first drew him into house music, a revelation he described at the 20th anniversary party for Knuckles' Def Mix label. He also absorbed the early Detroit techno output of [[Derrick May]], [[Kevin Saunderson]], and [[Juan Atkins]], all of which fed into a musical sensibility that was rooted equally in European melody and American rhythm.

He began DJing at the age of 12, playing long, unbroken solo sets at local parties and events — the standard format in Buenos Aires clubs of the 1980s, where a single DJ would often play an entire night from first record to last. This early training instilled in him a deeply progressive approach to DJ sets — building slowly over hours, managing energy and dynamics across a long arc — years before he encountered the term "progressive house" from British DJs in the early 1990s.