For more than two decades, Hernán Cattáneo has been the godfather of Argentine progressive house—the DJ whose marathon sets and impeccable curation have made him a reference point across South America and far beyond, and whose Sudbeat imprint has long flown the flag for the sound’s more melodic wing. Polymath sees him reunite with Soundexile, the Buenos Aires production duo he has worked alongside for years, for three tracks of peak-time progressive house released on Sudbeat itself.
The partnership between Cattáneo and Soundexile—the duo of Marcelo Raffo and Alejandro Fasavil—goes back a long way, and the comfort level shows. Their remixes and co-productions have always traded in a particular kind of warmth: big, generous pads, rolling basslines and drums that glide rather than stomp. Polymath picks up exactly where that conversation left off, each of its three tracks engineered for the floor but carrying the melodic sophistication that has always set the pair apart.
Title track Polymath sets the tone, a rolling seven-minute opener built on a chunky four-to-the-floor kick and a bassline that weaves in and out of shimmering, wide-screen pads. Futurity is the longest cut at over eight minutes, and it earns its length, patiently stacking delayed arpeggios and filtered stabs until its reverb-soaked climax arrives with real weight. River Flow closes things in more driving fashion, its percussion busier and its synth lines more hypnotic—a reminder that this partnership can do peak-hour pressure as convincingly as it does deep introspection.
Three tracks, no filler. Polymath is a classy statement from one of the genre’s most respected figures, produced with the immaculate attention to detail that has made Cattáneo’s name synonymous with quality for so long. For anyone who has followed Argentine progressive house, this feels less like a comeback and more like picking up where he and Soundexile left off—and that is very good news indeed.
