It's no small feat achieving the ultimate accolade in your chosen industry and for Hernan Cattaneo, that accolade was simply to live and breathe his passion in life. Hailing from Buenos Aires, Hernans worked his way through the ranks and forged himself not only a unique sound but a global reputation as one of the true masters of the industry today.

Little wonder then that Renaissance have asked him to come back and have another crack at the Renaissance whip in the form of The Masters Series. Parallel tells the story of Hernans dedication to the industry and his take on what makes a good compilation CD in an already soaked market.

365Mag's Craig Neeld caught up with Hernan for 10 questions we felt would give you a better understanding of the man, the machine, the legend that is Hernan Cattaneo.

1: Hernan, what is your earliest memory of dance music?

Of course it was long time ago, but it's still very clear for me: Giorgio Moroder's 'From here to Eternity'.

Since I was only 12 years old I didn't know what kind of music it was. But I got hooked up instantly with those futuristic sequenced arpeggios and endless pads and I remember perfectly how obsessed I became about it.

I used to invite friends to my house, play them that album and see if they would feel the same as I did. Such a fantastic record, still sounds amazing.

2: When did you buy your first decks and what do you think has propelled you from bedroom DJ into the phenomenon you've become?

I got my first decks when I was 11 and, in a way, I've been DJing since then. First in my house which then slowly progressed into local clubs and then finally real dance clubs. I have never ever had another job. What a privilege!

Music always drove me crazy since I very very young, so I guess that passion was really important in getting me to where I am now.

Then, of course, there are very important things that happen to you that change your future. For example, getting the best manager or working with the right agents, or, for example, that day in 1998 when I opened for Paul Oakenfold in Buenos Aires and that set earned me a worldwide tour warming up for him. That tour opened a lot of doors internationally at a time when South American DJs were almost non existent.

Cream was a big part of that process too, and of course, Renaissance…

3: You've also done an interview for 365Live Radio, have you done much radio yourself?

Yes, I did my own radio show every single Saturday for eight years until 2008, that is a lot of radio!

4: We see your name on a lot of productions, tell us about your studio set up.

I travel constantly so it's difficult to spend a lot of time in the studio. I spend enormous amounts of time in planes, hotels and airports.

Luckily, these days, with Logic Pro and a good Macbook Pro you can do a lot before stepping in the studio, and normally this is where my partners take over and they spend most of their time there until each project is finished.

We been doing it this way for a long time and it really worked for us.

5: Outside of DJing and the production stuff, where do you think you are the most creative and why?

Cooking. Yes, definitely cooking.

I like that a lot. From going to the market to choosing the ingredients to the whole kitchen work at home.

I plan to get myself some proper chef lessons someday.

I'm also doing very well with “asado”, which is the traditional Argentinean way to cook meat.

Many many DJs like to cook, so there is definitely a connection between both worlds.Maybe because of the fact that we both mix different things and as a result, we give people a good time. Or maybe it's because the spirit of sharing with others what we most like.

6: What is the next thing to hit the scene that will keep the industry fresh?

The industry IS fresh, it only depends on who you ask or where you put your ears.

I travel the world every week and I know an enormous amount of young, fresh and new talented producers and DJs that keep things interesting in the years to come.

Club music changes all the time, and bring new elements to the table.

It's about all of us to work hard and not get lazy.

7: If you could be any artist in the dance music industry, who would it be and why?

I'm very happy with who I am really. I started very young in Argentina and back then it would have been impossible even to dreamthe things that happened to me later on in my career, so I woud not ask more that that.

At the same time, and for many reasons, I admire a lot of artists in the scene.

Especially those ones that have a strong musical personality, and their own names represent a sound in itself.

8: How did you first became involved with the Renaissance machine?

It was ten years ago or so, when I was still resident at Clubland at Pacha in Buenos Aires.

My manager Martin made a Renaissance night with Andry Nalin, Marcus James and myself and it was a blast. I guess they liked what I did and since then, we have been doing compilations, singles, and nights around the world for all these years.

9: Tell us about your track selection for this new Renaissance Series Masters Collection.

This is my sixth CD for them and my fourth Masters Series so we decided to look for something a bit different. iended up making a slow but not chilled mix for one CD, a house mix that runs at 105 bpm. The grooves at that speed got so phat that it's amazing. Its like the difference between funky and funk.

I'm very very pleased with the results.

Track-list includes a lot of my favourite producers around like Sigur Ros, WOW, Mum,Henry Saiz, Guy J, Quivver, Kowalski, and a good amount of southamerican talent, like Martin Garcia, Mercurio, Manuel Sofia and more plus, many collaborations with Soundexile and one track with John Tonks.

10: Give us a rundown of the coming year for Hernan Cattaneo…

Every year starts for me in South America.

I live in Barcelona, but I run away from the European weather, and have got to be based in Buenos Aires for a few months doing all the summer shows in places like Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Mexico and of course Argentina.

Then it's the start of the European season during the spring and summer with the exception of a few tours overseas including America for WMC and an Australian tour.

After that comes all the main summer dates, festivals and holiday destinations like Ibiza, Greece, the Mediterranean beaches etc, and end up with Asian and Japan tours before coming back to Europe.

So its non stop touring for me all the year around and also running Sudbeat my record label, producing and remixing.