So it’s finally here! Carlos Hernandez flies the flag for El Salvador in the first of our weekly ‘Undiscovered’ shows featuring carefully selected mixes from talented DJs around the world. Here he brings you the low down on El Salvador’s underground scene.

Hi Carlos, where are you based and what made you decide to start DJing?

Carlos Hernandez: I was born in Santa Ana in El Salvador and I grew up in the Capital San Salvador, living there I met many people who were very passionate about music. Around the year 2000, I went to my first club with a group of friends and was totally amazed by this DJ playing on the decks. After that, I became hooked and was out every weekend with my friends at different parties. I guess going out and hearing the music just made me want to feel a part of it.

https://soundcloud.com/changeunder/episode-1-carlos-hernandez-el-salvador

Can you remember your first gig?

Carlos Hernandez: I was invited to play at a nightclub called Crono’s, after attending DJ school in the capital for 7 months. They played all kinds of stuff there and I was given the opportunity to do a 30 minute set where luckily everyone really enjoyed what I was playing.

What’s the local underground scene like for the music you play? Plus where are the best places to play?

Carlos Hernandez: The scene is starting to flourish. Octa Concept are both the local and main promoters in the country and focused on Techno, House, Minimal and Tech House.

Smaller promoters are constantly search for new spaces. There is also a unique program called Vibrations which provides opportunities for emerging DJs in the local scene.

Do the promoters you know take chances on local talent? Or are they mainly booking big names?

Carlos Hernandez: It’s 50/50. Two, or sometimes three promoters often bring in big names. Two years back ago they were working with 100% local talent which resulted in around 70% of tickets being sold. As a result many travelled to Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala to see the famous names playing there. Now we have a nice balance.

What’s been your biggest achievement this year?

Carlos Hernandez: I sent many demos and guest mixes to many places but didn’t have much luck so it’s really amazing to be chosen for ‘Undiscovered’. In fact, it still feels quite surreal and I want to use this as a platform to go on and achieve new things.

Have you any plans to start producing? And which countries would you like to start playing next?

Carlos Hernandez: I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I would really like to start producing progressive or dark techno so I hope to get my first release underway soon. I’ve always dreamed of playing in London or Manchester so it would be great to realise that dream one day.

Finally, can you share you top 5 with us right now? 

01 – Quivver-The World You Create Original Mix
02 – Stage Van H-Beyond Sleeping (Stay Awake Remix)
03 – Sahar Z, Stelios Vassiloudis-Nagasaki Original Mix
04 – Dany Glover-Ephemeral Haze Vitaly Shturm Rmx
05 – Monojoke-Backwards Matias Chilano Remix