Influences: Federico Epis On Five Progressive House Records That Changed Everything
- Undrtone Blog
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Federico Epis’ relationship with progressive house stretches back more than two decades. Part of South America’s first generation of progressive producers, the Uruguayan artist built his early career with releases on Audio Therapy and Global Underground, support from Sasha, Hernan Cattaneo, Dave Seaman and Pete Tong, and a residency on the Renaissance South American Tour.
Following a 12-year hiatus, his return has opened a second chapter. Releases on Balance Music, The Soundgarden, Manual Music and Mango Alley have reintroduced Epis to the progressive landscape, while his latest move brings things full circle with his debut on Sasha’s Last Night On Earth.
The two-track ‘Floyd’ EP deliberately connects those different eras. Electric guitar textures reference the music that shaped Epis before electronic music, while its basslines reach back towards the progressive house records that first pulled him into the scene. For this edition of Influences, he revisits five tracks intrinsically linked to that journey, with memories stretching from Space in Punta del Este to Pacha and Cream in Buenos Aires.
Sasha – Xpander
“The one that changed everything — and by far. I first heard it at Space in Punta del Este, played by Sasha himself in the summer of 2000, and it was pure magic: that intro building in the dark, the whole club suspended, and then that bassline. I walked out of that room a different person.
Twenty-six years later, the bassline in the break of my own track ‘Tribute’ still carries echoes of that night — and somehow the EP it belongs to found its home on Sasha's own label, Last Night On Earth; if you'd told me that at Space that night, I wouldn't have believed a word.”
Alanis Morissette – Uninvited (Brothers In Rhythm Remix)
“Hernan Cattaneo introduced me to this one at Space Club Punta del Este — an unofficial remix that was never properly released, which made it even more mythical. Brothers In Rhythm (Dave Seaman and Steve Anderson) took a dark, haunting rock ballad and turned it into nine minutes of pure progressive drama.
It taught me that our genre could carry real emotional weight — that a dancefloor record could make you feel something far beyond the groove. Hearing Hernan drop tracks like this, records almost nobody could own, was a masterclass in what a DJ could be: a curator of secrets.”
Tomaz vs. Filterheadz – Sunshine
“Space in Punta del Este again — that room keeps appearing in my story — but this time it was Dave Seaman behind the decks. When ‘Sunshine’ came on, the place simply erupted. It's the perfect example of how a track built on one relentless idea — that tribal groove, that riff — can completely own a dance floor.
No tricks, no filler: pure functional energy executed to perfection. It taught me a lesson I still apply when I'm building a climax today: sometimes the strongest thing you can do is commit fully to a single element and let it breathe.”
Evolution feat. Jayn Hanna – Walking On Fire (Bedrock Vocal Mix)
“Pacha Buenos Aires, Hernan Cattaneo at the peak of his powers, and this record detonating the room — I can still see it. The Bedrock Vocal Mix is everything I love about that era of progressive house: elegant, patient, emotional, with Jayn Hanna's voice floating over a production that never stops moving forward.
Buenos Aires crowds have a special relationship with melody, and that night proved it. It shaped my conviction that a proper progressive record should reward both the dancefloor and the headphones — a standard I still chase in the studio.”
Sasha vs. Junkie XL – Beauty Never Fades
“Sasha again — this time live at Cream in Buenos Aires, and it was tremendous. This track represents the other side of Sasha for me: not just the world's greatest selector, but a producer pushing the sound somewhere new, that Airdrawndagger-era blend of electronics and emotion that nobody else could quite touch.
Hearing it live confirmed something I carried through my whole career, including the twelve years I spent away from music: that this sound wasn't a phase — it was home. My list should start and end with Sasha. Some influences you never outgrow.”
Federico Epis’ selections tell the story of a relationship with progressive house that never really disappeared. Space in Punta del Este, Pacha and Cream in Buenos Aires provided the formative moments, while Sasha, Hernan Cattaneo and Dave Seaman helped reveal how much depth, emotion and tension the genre could carry. More than two decades later, those lessons remain embedded in his productions. With ‘Floyd’ now finding a home on Last Night On Earth, the connection between Epis’ two eras feels fittingly complete.
