SETUP is the section’s name where we talk with national producers about their tools of the trade, the instruments they use, and the stories they share with them. In this first column, we talked with Martín Pérez Roa, also known as Merci Merci, the mastermind behind projects like WINAMP, Chicarrica, and Melié, added to his personal projects and productions made for others.
From his studio, Merci describes the instruments that are part of his live set-up: “To play, I use an MPC 1000 (Akai), an Elektron “Analog Four”, a Minibrute and a Drumbrute, both by Arturia, and a versatile little machine called “Organelle” (Critter & Guitari) that is connected to a delay pedal.”
The disposition of these instruments helps Merci to have a flexible but very organized set-up, synchronized almost entirely by the command center MPC 1000.
The MPC is the brain that controls all the other machines. It outputs the midi clock to the Elektron and to the Drumbrute, it also sends MIDI sequences to the Minibrute and some percussion samples, synths or smaller things. The Analog Four has an internal sequencer, so it syncs with the MPC but it’s slightly more independent than the other devices. The same thing happens with the Drumbrute: it connects through the MIDI Thru of the Elektron and it’s not directly synced to the MPC. The Organelle would be the most independent device because it isn’t synced with MIDI. I use it more loosely because it’s like an element that adds up intensity to the set. With the Organelle, I process the other synths’ signals, in addition to arpeggiators and sounds I use for improvisation and to fiddle around while I play. It’s cool but it’s slightly more dispensable than the rest; past Friday I played without the Organelle because there was no room for it and it turned out alright.
—Which one is your favorite?
I think my favorite one is the MPC. We shared a lot, I made with it countless albums, both mine and for other musicians, good parties and important gigs. Not too long ago I had it repaired by a very skilled guy and it was great to have it working perfectly again.
I’m getting more into sampling and it’s great to find yourself with the elements that constitute much of the music that I listen to regularly. I can’t help but mention the Minibrute, a synth that is essential to my live sound. I love it very much because I got it as payment for my first job as a producer for someone else and that is just priceless. Juanito Celofán gave it to me and I almost burst into tears. He said that if I wanted I could sell it to have some money, but no f* way, that synth is going to be buried with me.
The legendary Akai MPC is by far the production center with more references in contemporary music, and it’s responsible for a great percentage of the sound of hip hop and electronic music in general. To Merci Merci, the MPC 1000 has been a key piece for his development as a producer.
The MPC definitely freed me from the computer, and that made me improve a lot in my live performances. I never had a decent laptop, so before the MPC the set-ups were always risky because it could make a mistake at any moment and things would get nasty. Instead, the MPC doesn’t fail. That is surprising. If the set-up stumbles, now it’s me and not the machines, and I love that. I also use it a lot in the studio because it sequences MIDI pretty neatly, and it’s usually easier for me to compose music with it than with Pro Tools. Also, now I am understanding and digging deeper into the sampling world, and you can realize the “flow” this machine can have.
Merci Merci is always busy with new projects. For the time being, he is working to release new tunes for his solo project while he’s dealing with the final arrangements prior to the release of WINAMP and some more surprises. You can watch one of his live sets in the following video:
