A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Marcelo Salazar has devoted a lifetime to the art of music. Besides playing the traditional percussion instruments he has always been innovative in the search for new sounds, creating instruments from various objects that he encounters in his journeys. His musical expertise covers the realms of samba, jazz, pop, rock, electronic music.

Future Loops - Marcelo, you have collaborated in several projects and studio sessions and, as a percussionist, you always have an idea of how your own beats are going to fit in any melody or track. The process of creating a sample title is quite different tough, what do you feel are the main concerns when doing something like this?

Marcelo Salazar - The main challenge is creating sounds and rhythms that don’t exist in the market. Future Percussion is a title both rich in innovation, diversity and amount of material. The good thing about a challenge is that once you overcome it, you’ve learnt a great deal and experienced other perspectives. 

FL - “ Future Percussion “ is a unique title, also due to the richness and variety of samples instruments (over 60). Most of these instruments can’t be found in the market and are a result of your ability and feel to discover rhythm in everyday objects. Do you think there is a world of rhytms out there to be discovered?

M.S -There can be terrific sounds in just about everything; you just gotta have inspiration and the right technique to know how to extract them from everyday objects. Good sense is also very important to distinguish what can be a cool rhythm or just a noise. 

FL -Sampling more than 60 instruments isn’t a simple task..Are all of these instruments from your personal collection?
M.S - Almost every instrument in this dvd is from my personal collection, others I created during the recording sessions like a can of biscuits I bought for a snack and which I discovered it can have an amazing sound if properly played (similar to a drum box) 

FL -What rare instruments would you highlight and what instruments were more fun to sample ?
M.S - The chocalho made out of a bottle of water and the biscuit can. I love all of them and I tried to make each instrument as special as possible.

FL - Do you think your rhythms fit better in a particular genre or do you feel they’re diversity makes them perfect for any style of music?
M.S -The universe of electronic music in all its various styles might be using this more frequently, but i’d say these sounds have extreme usability even for more ethnic sounds or the making of soundtracks; actually I even recorded an instrument that I named “the end of the world”, suggesting the sounds of the big bang. 

FL - As a percussionist, how do you look at the growing number of producers and djs creating computer generated rhythms ? Do you think people can tell it’s not a real instrument or will technology evolve into a point where there will be no difference between both sounds, and the work of percussionists won’t be needed anymore?

M.S - Technology is here to help the musicians and to aid them with the proper tools for them to create a wider range of different sounds but it will never be truly important without a good artists/producer behind it. I often compare the invention of computers to invention of the wheel because even nowadays man’s biggest way of transport are still feet!

FL - Do you use any kind of hardware or software to compose rhythms or do you mantain a more tradicional approach to your work?
M.S - I like to use the new technologies. It’s interesting ..I like to fuse the traditional and the electronic in a way that can challenge the listener .

FL - How would you like to see your samples worked and when the next hit song comes out with your drums all over it , will you be able to listen and say “ Hey , that’s me playing ! “ , or do you think it will be impossible to detect ?
M.S -My biggest pleasure was shaping these sounds so they serve as inspiration for whoever is going to use them. I love the idea that new musical ideas and inspirations will come out from the sounds I recorded.