Juan Hansen is a leading exponent of one of the signature sounds in Argentinian electronic music – progressive, melodic house filled with emotion, made for moments of dancefloor communion.
He’s not just another DJ/producer, however – Hansen prefers to bring his music to life with his remarkable live show. As seen on his memorable Boiler Room performance in 2019, the talented multi-instrumentalist re-interprets his own material using an array of electronics, instruments, own vocals – and boundless energy.
We jumped on a call with him to get the lowdown on his beloved home city of Buenos Aires, and the people and places that make the scene there so special.
Biggest DJ
One name that is impossible not to drop here is Hernan Cattaneo. He’s not only the biggest name in Argentina, but a super humble and amazing person, who has helped all the young DJs, or at least everyone he can, in their early stages. He’s always pushing the young scene in Argentina, and giving space to younger producers.
He comes from the old days with trance and the first progressive house sounds – he worked with UK artists like Sasha and John Digweed and all these names.
There are a lot of Argentinian artists now doing really good careers. Ezequiel Arias is a good friend of mine. He’s not only doing amazing music, releasing a lot on Anjunadeep, but really breaking the boundaries of Argentina.
He’s really having a breakthrough and playing cool venues all around the world, taking his distinctive imprint of this progressive Argentine sound into the world.
Best festival
This is a special question because electronic music festivals were banned in Argentina [after a number of deaths at one event in 2016] and last year was the first year that we were allowed to do them again.
I played at Ultra Buenos Aires, and it was wild. It was perfectly organised. People wanted so badly to redo this two-day festival in the daytime. It was huge with, like, ten stages. It was needed.
For me, playing, any festival around the world is always nice – short sets, no soundcheck, just go and play in the daytime – but playing in Buenos Aires is a lot more meaningful for me.
There were not so many people when I started, but Argentinian audiences are really, really loyal to their artists. So the stage filled up and the energy, the screaming, it was maybe one of the best gigs ever for me.
Best club
The last show I did in Buenos Aires, presenting a special AV show, was at Palacio Alsina. This is a really, really, really nice venue – professional sound, and all the lights and screens are really amazing. The roof has a huge LED screen.
It’s like a 3000-people capacity so it’s not huge, but not small. It is kind of long and narrow, it looks a lot like [the former London club] Printworks. It’s a super-old building, it must be from the 1800s or something.
Doing these kinds of shows that are big but intimate at the same time, you need this immersive kind of mood. This place is perfect for that.
There’s another one called Crobar. It’s an old school club that’s always been there. It’s amazing, it sounds really good. It’s in the tunnels below a railway station so it has this underground vibe and if the music is off, you can hear the trains.
Favourite bar
Avant Garten, which is a cool bar near Crobar. When I started six or seven years ago, I played there, so it has a special place in my heart. They gave me space to do what I do, and in the early days, I was super experimental and weird.
It looks a lot like a German Biergarten, but maybe a little cooler with a more modern approach to the architecture. And then the terrace is amazing and it’s open to anyone. It’s not closed, so it gives you the feeling that you’re having a little rave in the street, so that makes it so cool.
The DJs playing there are always experimental and playing weird stuff. That’s super cool, that they have this space for experimentation and different music. That’s the point for them, I think.
Best labels
Hernan Cattaneo’s record label is a really big one. It’s called Sudbeat Music in reference to the South American beat, I think. It’s the progressive house sound, and not only Argentinian progressive house, which is different from Israeli or Brazilian progressive house.
There is another label called Rummel with maybe two or three Argentinians involved. I wanted to drop this one because they are doing such nice music and they’re like a small family of young producers and DJs, doing this music that the guys in Innervisions like Dixon and Adriatique are playing? They deserve a listen.
Unsung hero
Instantly, one name pops in my head – Andres Rego. He was a promoter and artist manager and he ran Crew Savage – that was the name of his parties.
There’s a sad story about this because he died in March, but he was so important. He helped so many talented artists to grow, not asking anything in return.
He taught all the rest of the people in the scene that you can be a good guy and you can be a nice guy in the electronic scene in Buenos Aires. He was the unsung hero, for sure.
Biggest tune
There’s a Hot Chip song, Flutes, and Sasha remixed it. When I was a kid going to raves, it was kind of an anthem. It became so big in Argentina, everyone was waiting for that one. I don’t know if it was huge all over the world, but in Argentina it was something else.
When I hear that, I instantly go in my head to the old days when I was going raving at 16, 17 years old.
Best record shop
Exiles Records. I order through them and they can get whatever you want.
Bon Iver just dropped an album – I heard it once, I heard it twice, and I instantly knew I needed it on vinyl. Because if something makes me feel like that, I need it. So, I just called them – ‘Bring this one to me’.
It’s not easy to buy vinyl in Argentina – importing goods and everything is not the same as in Europe, so it’s expensive. That’s why I don’t have thousands – I just really pick the ones I love.
Also to have classics like Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms. Those are things that I need to have, that I play a lot at home.