If a massive chunk of the world’s dance music fanatics go into a state of feverish anticipation everytime a new Renaissance release from South American progressive god Hernan Cattaneo is on the horizon, it’s for good reason – the effort Hernan goes to when crafting one of his compilations usually means the final product is well worth frothing at the mouth over. We’ve been kept waiting nearly two years since his last release, so there’s as much anticipation as ever for this, the latest installment for The Masters Series and also the 50th release for the Renaissance stable. So throw it in your CD player, and prepare to go with the journey.

It’s the first disc of the Masters Series releases that generally showcases the deeper, slower-paced sounds and here this tradition is maintained, with Hernan’s opening mix featuring one of the most beautiful builds we’ve heard in a progressive CD for a long, long time. The first half of the disc is plodding to the point of nearly alienating the listener, slow in tempo and bereft of any melody for the most part. It’s not until around seven tracks in that the solid house grooves gradually snake their way into the mix – and it’s a payoff that’s worth the journey, as the juxtaposition here of groove and deepness is about as perfect that you could ask for. It’s a build that just keeps climbing, with the lushness of the soundscapes and the drive of the basslines scaling upwards with each passing track, given a gradual nudge by Hernan until it peaks somewhere close to peaktime progressive

One of the elements of this particular Master Series that’s emphasised is Hernan’s more “hands on” approach, which has seen him get to work on a dozen original tracks, remixes and edits across the two discs, as well as soliciting some tasty exclusives from a few of his favourite producers. Still, this doesn’t change the fact that Hernan’s profile is derived largely from his approach to the craft of DJing, rather than him being an elite producer or the brains behind a record label empire. So how come he continues to inspire so much devotion from his fans? It’s because he can so concisely spot the elements that we all love in ‘progressive’ music – the deepness, the warmth, those melancholic melodies and the sense of something exciting and new – and what he’s assembled here is definitely placed among the next-wave of progressive house. It’s largely the ‘melodic techno’ we’ve enjoyed in recent times from producers like Gui Boratto, Guy J and Henry Saiz, who’ve taken the deeper, starker rhythms of techno and fused them with the spacious melodies of traditional progressive, for an involving and sophisticated concoction that offers pretty much the best of both worlds. It’s deep, grandiose and beautiful music, and Hernan has got a firm handle on it here.

Looking to the second disc, the plodding BPMs are quickly discarded and the big melodies are out in force from the first track, and if you’re a fan of the afore mentioned ‘melodic techno’ then you’ll be right at home here – Guy J and Henry Saiz are featured several times on the mix, after all. Hernan makes his intentions clear by opening with the sweeping textures of Tom Glass’s She Shines, but it’s the teched-up makeover he and his studio parter-in-crime Martin Garcia gives to James Zabiela’s prog-monster Human, that really kicks the emotion into overdrive. So twitchy, so glitched out, yet carrying such an emotional kick.

So strap yourself in for a proper peaktime journey of epic proportions. By the time it’s reached M.O.D.E’s hectic Womb, it’s peaked into something truly intense and scary, while Guy J’s exclusive cut Bianca is utterly mesmerising, alternating between the striking chords of progressive trance and the deepest, darkest dirges of techno. There was probably some room for Hernan to step it up in tempo a little, and maybe even lighten up the tone: instead, it’s a journey of such intensity that it leaves you utterly drained by the time it reaches its conclusion.

As this Masters Series is the 50th release for Renaissance, it’s fitting that it so perfectly captures the very best of what we’ve loved about this label (while bypassing most of the mediocre). It carries a sense of the epic that’s as sumptuous as the artwork that adorns all of their releases. While it doesn’t quite reach the same memorable heights as some of Hernan’s previous compilations, that doesn’t mean it’s not still a damn fine CD. A perfectly crafted slab of next-generation progressive house that’s delivered with all the panache you’ve come to expect from Hernan Cattaneo.

Check out the tracklisting…

Disk 1
1. Hakimonu – Jag House 1989
2. Hernan Cattaneo & Soundexile – Modflow
3. Curtis & Estrada – Jetlag (Hernan Cattaneo & Soundexile Remix)
4. Hernan Cattaneo & John Tonks – July
5. Guy Gerber – Stoppage Time (Reshuffle Remix)
6. Hideo Kobayashi – Amarillo
7. Kruse & Nürnberg – Suerte
8. L. Kubic – Voyager
9. Hernan Cattaneo & John Tonks – Fereek
10. Skylark – Interlater (Hernan Cattaneo & Soundexile Remix)
11. Hernan Cattaneo & Soundexile – Sonification
12. Marc Marzenit – Soul Fog
13. Hernan Cattaneo & Soundexile – Pastida
14. Somnus Corporation – Spacer (Hernan Cattaneo Re-edit)
15. Danny Howells – On The Moon

Disk 2:
1. Tom Glass – She Shines
2. Applescal – Describe The Doc (Hernan Cattaneo & Martin Garcia Remix)
3. James Zabiela – Human (Hernan Cattaneo & Martin Garcia Re-edit)
4. Martin Garcia – Darwin’s Eye
5. Damabiah – Flower’s Planet (Hernan Cattaneo & Martin Garcia Remix)
6. Hernan Cattaneo & Soundexile – Butterfly Effect
7. Tonecast – Murder & Fingerprints
8. M.O.D.E. – Womb
9. Mutant Clan – Barratat
10. Guy J – Bianca
11. Guy J – Leave Me Alone
12. Mercurio – Buenos Aires
13. Marzenit & Saiz – Second Vision
14. Henry Saiz – They Came From The Light

And have a watch of the man himself Hernan talking about his latest release…