Now from Dubai, littlemissbluedress catches up with one of the coolest names in house; of course another South American, Hernan Cerbello.
Brazil or Argentina?
Lisa: Hi Hernan, how are you?
Hernan: Just resting until next week. I will be in Brazil for 5 gigs.
Lisa: You have big week ahead of you then?
Hernan: Yes, it’s like a Brazilian winter vacation.
Lisa: Sounds great. Where are you playing?
Hernan: I will be playing in “Vive la Vie” for a grand opening. There’s one Vive la Vie, in the beach near Sao Paulo, and now they are opening a second club.
Lisa: It’s a popular club then?
Hernan: I played at the original one and it was really awesome. It’s in the best place, with an incredible view of all the sea.
Lisa: That sounds amazing.
Hernan: It really is.
Lisa: How often do you go to Brazil?
Hernan: Well, for the past 2 years I’ve been going to Brazil twice a month at least. I work for an agency based in Sao Paulo.
Lisa: Where do you like to play more, Brazil or Argentina?
Hernan: There’s something special in Argentina. I say that not because I live here but because I love the vibe in the people here. But Brazil is awesome; people love going out and having fun.
Lisa: That is the next place I really want to go. Where are the best places to go?
Hernan: I think Florianopolis and Camboriu are perfect places to visit. Warung is in Camboriu, it’s one of the most respected clubs around the world. It’s incredible because Camboriu doesn’t look like a big city but they have like 3 clubs for 3000 people.
Lisa: Wow, so I guess people from all over go there.
Hernan: Exactly!
Lisa: What’s in Florianopolis?
Hernan: It’s like an island.
Lisa: What do you mean “like” an island?
Hernan: Well, there’s only one way to get into there…funny ’cause I don’t know how to explain that.
Lisa: No problem, this track has a lot of good energy, who is it?
Hernan: Yes this track has a really nice house vibe. This is from Kosmas Epsilon & Somnus Corp.
Lisa: Ah nice, those guys are amazing.
Hernan: Everybody knows about Kosmas, and Somnus are from Mexico,
Lisa: Yes, I spoke with Gabriel in May.
Hernan: Ahhh yes, great guy, this is the sound I usually play but it always depends on the club and the people. I try to see what people like and then I always change a little.
Lisa: Wow this track really picks it up!
Early inspirations
Lisa: When did you start DJing?
Hernan: I started professionally like 5 years ago, but I really started when I was 15, like a game. I started with a college friend of mine buying records of Depeche Mode, Camouflage, Madonna, and so on.
Lisa: I still love Depeche Mode.
Hernan: Yes, I love them too.
Lisa: I went to their concert 2 years ago, it was great!
Hernan: Great! I never saw them; a few of my friends told me that I look like Dave Gaham… jeje!
Too much talent in one country
Lisa: With all the talent over there, it must be very competitive; does this ever create tension with your friends who are also DJs and producers?
Hernan: Sometimes yes, but not exactly with my friends. I hate that, so I prefer to stay away.
Lisa: Yes I can imagine. I was told that it is difficult to get regular gigs in Argentina, is that true?
Hernan: It’s really difficult for me because I’m not working with a booking agency here and there’s no way to get into big clubs. I still work with people and try to do some gigs but it’s really hard. I’m happy with the agency I’m working with in Brazil and now they are also running dates for Latin America. Producing for me always helps to find gigs.
Lisa: This is a really upbeat track as well, my head is bobbing non stop!!
Hernan: Jajajaja, it’s coming out on Sick Watona, Ricky Ryan’s label. It’s from Solila.
Hernan: This mix has 2 new ones from me, a remix and an original. At 30:30 the track is from Yvel & Tristan. After that one is a remix I did for Dusmites (“Stop Bugging Me” – Hernan Cerbello house chunk mix); a rock band from UK. It will be out in 2 months on Beat Code.
Lisa: Very nice! With all the competition down there how do you try to get ahead?
Hernan: Well it’s hard, and I think that my name is best known outside Argentina. I really don’t care too much about Argentina right now.
Lisa: How come?
Hernan: Because club owners do not respect local talent and never want to pay what you deserve.
Lisa: Local talent is so important to any city.
Hernan: I know, but they don’t care very much in Argentina.
Lisa: Where is your favourite club to play?
Hernan: I think Pacha in Argentina and of course Vive la Vie in Brazil.
Hernan: This one is an original I did, really new, unsigned. It’s called “Juniper.” It’s a more linear track than what I usually produce, but I like it anyway.
Lisa: Yes it’s cool.
Chill time
Lisa: What do you enjoy doing when you are not in the studio?
Hernan: I love swimming.
Lisa: Ah me too!
Hernan: Also windsurfing and surfing in the summer.
Lisa: Great avatar, are you a fan of Columbo?
Hernan: Jajaja yep, I like his kind of humor.
Lisa: So you watched all of his TV shows?
Hernan: Yes, I’ve seen a lot of them.
Lisa: This track sounds familiar…
Hernan: This one is Bastard of Funk & Sonic Union, “Sunrise.”
Exploring South America
Lisa: Can you tell me about any other projects you are working on?
Hernan: Well, by the end of this month my first mixed CD will be released.
Lisa: Congratulations! What label is it being released under?
Hernan: It will be out on Baroque records from the UK. It’s really important for me because I think that “mixed CDs” are for clubbers, not DJ’s. The idea was to create a CD with the best talent in South America.
Lisa: So you found all of the best produced tracks from South America and used them on the CD?
Hernan: Yes, but it was really really hard.
Lisa: What was the biggest challenge?
Hernan: To find tracks that sound good to me, because I mostly play tracks from European producers when I DJ.
Lisa: How many of your own tracks are on it?
Hernan: There are two of mine. There are tracks from Liluca (Colombia), Phunktastike (Arg) and Fabian Argomedo (Chile), Mr. Gil / Bruno B & Chris Kessler (Brazil) just to name a few.
Lisa: How long did it take you?
Hernan: It took like 4 months.
Lisa: What’s the name of the CD?
Hernan: “Hernan Cerbello Exploring South America”
Lisa: Do you think many people still buy CDs with the availability of everything on the Internet?
Hernan: Well I know that the day after the CD is released it will be ripped onto the net, but its good promotion for me anyways, I think.
Lisa: Yes for sure. Will you be doing a CD release tour?
Hernan: Yes I’m planning to do a tour throughout Latin America promoting this release.
Lisa: Where are you going on tour?
Hernan: I’m planing to Mexico / Colombia / Venezuela / Bolivia & also Brazil.
Lisa: Ah such beautiful countries, have you been to all of those places before?
Hernan: Yes, I’ve played in all those places before, so I have a lot of friends whenever I go there.
Lisa: I can’t wait to hear the CD.
Hernan: Nice! It will also be released with an unmixed second CD, so DJs can play it.
Lisa: That’s a good idea. Will it be available in Canada?
Hernan: I hope so!
Lisa: Is the CD all fresh material?
Hernan: Yes of course, what I needed was unsigned tracks because Baroque wanted to have exclusive tunes to be released.
Lisa: Ah so that made it even harder to find tracks then…
Hernan: Yep!
Lisa: How did you go about finding all of them?
Hernan: I emailed ALL of the producers I know.
Lisa: When is the official release date?
Hernan: The end of August for Europe, maybe September for America.
Lisa: Do you plan to do any touring in Europe?
Hernan: I have had bad experiences trying to sort Europe dates.
Lisa: Oh really, why?
Hernan: I’ve been trying to play there for the last 2 years and something always happens.
Lisa: You mean problems with the booking agents?
Hernan: Yes because of ghost promoters and as I’m not working with a booking agency for Europe it’s hard.
Lisa: What are ghost promoters?
Hernan: Bad promoters. Hopefully this will improve because I want to work there in the near future.
Lisa: When do you start your tour?
Hernan: At the end of September
Lisa: Do you enjoy being on the road?
Hernan: Yes of course, I like to know how people live in other countries. That’s something that I really enjoy learning about.
Lisa: Me too, that’s why I like traveling so much.
Hernan: Of course, then you know you are doing what you love.
Tech Talk
Lisa: I have listened to some of your other sets where you mixed in a lot of older tracks with new ones. Do you like to look back to what was popular in the past?
Hernan: Ah yes. My actual setup is 2 CDJs + Ableton so I like to play old acapellas over what I’m playing, also fxs & loops. So that’s why you hear some older stuff mixed in.
Lisa: I think it’s really cool to do that; there is so much good music from the past that bring back good memories.
Hernan: Yes, I love playing with CDs and Ableton. They allow me to add more fuel to my gigs.
South America Sounds
Lisa: How do you think the sounds from South America differ from what DJs in other countries are playing?
Hernan: In South America, electronic music is still something new, so I think there’s a long way to generate more culture, but I think Argentina is growing in this way. I really don’t like playing hard, and in Argentina I can play deeper and people still like it. That doesn’t happen to me in the rest of the countries I play.
Lisa: You mean people don’t like the deeper stuff in other parts of South America?
Hernan: They are always waiting for you to drop a few well known bombs.
Lisa: That’s what an inexperienced crowd expects.
Hernan: Yes and there’s a lot of great clubs that have this kind of crowd.
Lisa: I think that’s the same in a lot of places.
Lisa: What was the track at 20 mins?
Hernan: Eddie Cabrera, “Palma Nights.” it’s coming out on Dumb Dan records
Lisa: It’s fantastic!
Hernan: Dumb Dan is one of my favourite producers for peak-time tracks.
House without borders
Lisa: How would you describe the set that you have mixed for bringthebeats?
Hernan: I’d describe it as melodic progressive with a little of electro & tech. I never play only one style of music. I love house, with all its influences.
Lisa: Yes its great to have a bit of everything, I love it all. I think it’s great when a DJ can mix in so many different styles and still end up with a smooth set, like this one.
Hernan: Great! Thanks! I’m glad you like it.
Lisa: I love studio mixes more than listening to live mixes most of the time because I know the DJ puts more thought into the tracks. Is that true for you?
Hernan: Sometimes yes, I always make more edits in studio mixes.
Lisa: You said before that a live crowd can influence your set; I would think that a studio mix would be more representative of the DJs’ personal tastes.
Hernan: Yes of course, that’s why live mixes don’t always flow in the same direction.
Lisa: Yes for sure, that’s why I love studio mixes, I know the DJ has put a lot of thought into what goes into it.
Hernan: Are you a DJ too?
Lisa: Haha no, just a lover of the music. I have been listening to this kind of music since 1999, so my taste has grown a lot as my ears have more experience now.
Hernan: I see that you have a great experience of what you talk about.
Lisa says: Thank you!
