The early hours of Sunday morning at club Womb in Tokyo and a tall, weary-looking guy with shoulder-length hair and sporting a dull grey cardigan is lingering around the flyer table. To the Japanese clubbers who pass by on their way out it looks like just another foreigner, not the night's main DJ and rising star, Hernan Cattaneo, recently seen gracing the cover of DJ magazine and responsible for ripping up Tokyo's dance floors in another monster outing for Renaissance.

For Hernan, DJing has never been about ego, image or demanding superstar treatment. "There are a lot of egos in this business which sometimes ruins it" he says. What is important is doing a good job and making sure people are having fun.

In a time when DJs are revered for their post-party exploits as much as for their DJing skills (think legendary tales of Sasha disappearing in Ibiza in summers past) Hernan brings a refreshing element to the equation. Having flown 30 hours and been awake for nearly two and a half days he describes how in the booth at Womb the locals gave him a "genki" energy drink. "I wanted a Red Bull but they didn't have it so they gave me this little thing and after I finished playing I was shaking. It was really strong. I just drink orange juice and water so those kinds of things affect me more than other people."

It's this kind of level-headed approach which has brought about his international success holding down Cream residencies in the UK, Ibiza and South America, a residency at Clubland, Pacha in his hometown Buenos Aires and more recently touring with Renaissance. His DJing philosophy, born early on in his career is, not surprisingly, simple but obvious. "It's important to play a variety of music. You have to keep the energy and keep the crowd entertained".

Cultivating his mixing skills in Buenos Aires when the clubbing scene in South America was still in its infancy Hernan says "We didn't have the records to choose from. We just played anything we could get. If you played the same kind of music people would get bored, so we had to play a variety of music."

What is a surprise is that Hernan has been DJing all his life playing weddings and small bars before landing a residency at Pacha in Buenos Aires in 1993. His is not the story of the struggling worker by day DJ by night but rather, the result of what can happen if you have the drive to succeed combined with talent, skill and of course, luck.

For a long time the clubbing scene in South America was something only enjoyed by the wealthy upper social classes but the scene started to flourish when DJs like Graeme Park started swinging by in the early nineties. These days Pacha in Buenos Aires is touted as one of the best clubs in the world with the likes of Paul Oakenfold, Sasha and Dave Seaman dropping in and events like Uruguay's annual Punta Del Este, have become as important as Ibiza on the global clubbing calendar. Colombia has a thriving techno scene and even in places like Peru things are going off - witness 4000 folks totally up for it, when Hernan played there with Sasha. In addition, other South American DJs like Zuker and Martin Garcia are also helping to further the scene.

It was Paul Oakenfold who discovered Hernan on one of his trips to South America, taking him on as his warm-up DJ and touring with him around the States and Europe - the ultimate in DJ apprenticeships, putting Hernan in contact with the DJ elite and giving him the perfect springboard to establish his name in the UK and Europe. Hernan says, "I've been very lucky. It wasn't just like I arrived in England with a box of records."

Nowadays Hernan divides his time between the UK and South America spending six months a year in each place. Missing his family and friends has been the only downside with UK crowds giving him a warm reception. "When I'm playing records, no matter where the DJ booth is, I feel safe, strong. After a month at Cream I felt right at home".

Still nothing beats the crowds in South America like at Pacha where the entire crowd sits down during the breakdown of a big tune before jumping back up in unison when the bass kicks back in. On the other hand, he says English crowds are sometimes more difficult to impress, "In London it's good but they are harder to excite cos they've been through everything and they've heard everything". Everywhere up north and in Dublin it's a different story where Hernan says crowds are friendlier and more enthusiastic.

His hotel room littered with the latest copies of the clubbing magazines which have been caning the fact that progressive house has gone dark and boring, Hernan points out "That's not what I'm seeing in the clubs". He admits "There is a kind of lack of inspiration in dance music because (that's what happens) when you don't have new styles to mix in with." For Hernan it's not the music which has become boring but perhaps the way in which DJs are putting it together "The truth is that there are (still) lots of really good records. I agree that England doesn't need anymore progressive DJs because there are loads of brilliant ones. They need more people who play a variety of music".

The kind of music which you can expect to hear on his forthcoming compilation "Perfecto presents Hernan Cattaneo South America" which will feature Evolution's highly anticipated 'Walking On Fire' in addition to a new track from Hernan and his production partner Martin Garcia. He describes Disc 1 as deeper and housier whilst Disc 2 consists of more typical UK progressive sounds. Like the majority of mix albums the album was initially recorded live then subsequently touched up with computer edits, something Hernan isn't afraid to acknowledge. "On a CD you only have so much time, so sometimes you have to make the intros longer or cut tracks a little bit so it fits".

Like most DJs, Hernan is no stranger to producing releasing his first single 'Deep Funk' last year in addition to having done several other remixes on Shinichi and the label, which he is signed to, Perfecto. Featured on CD1 of Sander Kleinenberg's Nubreed album 'Deep Funk' typifies much of Hernan's production work, incorporating a slow and subtle but intense build up whilst somehow keeping the track on the same level throughout. More recently his mix of Pako & Frederik's 'Beatus Processor' has its distant bass line simmering away in the background before moving into deeper territory.

Whereas Hernan is in his element in the DJ booth, when laying down a track he admits that he's still very much on the learning curve. "I run the idea on the computer in one day but then it takes one or two weeks to find all the sounds that we want. It's easier to run the idea than to finish the track. It's the small details which take the time". Luckily, he says "Apart from the 4 /4 beats, (in dance music) there are no rules".

So given the skill required in programming a track does he think of himself as an artist? "It's hard to say. I think DJing is an art and so from that point I could be (considered) an artist. However I feel more comfortable thinking of myself as an entertainer because on the production side (compared) with the music other people have done you can't compare (the two). Now it's all just loops and stuff".

The future in music, Hernan believes, lies in the fusion between rock and dance. "I love the way some producers are mixing house or progressive sounds with proper bands". In its original format "Musically," he says "that kind of music is far richer but it lacks the energy and isn't danceable." However, when remixed "It's really effective on the dance floor. People love it". Indeed his set at Womb is littered with tracks which borrow perfectly from an array of genres like the new John Creamer and Stephane K mix of Sinead O'Connor's 'Troy' and Hybrid's reworking of Radiohead's 'Everything In Its Right Place'.

So finally, what does he hope to achieve in 2002? Forget talk of joining the ranks of the top 10 DJs or putting out a ground-breaking tune. Sprawling out on his hotel bed and lighting up a cigarette he surprises us again with his grounded approach, "To give up smoking. No, really. I have to give them up." As Hernan's star continues to shine brightly and soar to greater heights it seems he'll be leaving everything but a trail of smoke behind.

Hernan will play the Ultra Beach Festival and Perfecto parties at this years Miami Winter Music Conference. 'Perfecto presents Hernan Cattaneo South America' is scheduled for release on April 15.