Having grown up in Canada and mentored by Richie Hawtin, Marc Houle has long been established as a techno veteran. For his latest EP ‘Min and Soda’ released last week on DirtyBird, he invited Attack in to show us around his studio.
Marc Houle – My Studio
Hello Attack – let me show you around my studio.
Roland CR-78
The Roland CR-78 is such a pure sounding machine and the first drum machine to get me excited about electronic percussion. From Blondie to Ultravox it really sets a nice warm tone on a track. It’s like the 808’s cooler older brother.
Roland Juno-60
This has got to be the best synth I have ever owned. It totally encapsulates all that I love sonically. It’s warm, punchy and has such a beautiful chorus on it.
Roland MC-202
This little gem is pretty fun to play with. First of all it takes batteries so you can bring it anywhere. It’s basically the SH-101 but with a sequencer instead of the arpeggiator. Compact magic.
Roland TR-808
Another vintage Roland machine cause they’re so good. I could make music from now on using only this and the Juno and would be just as happy. I picked up an Acme-4 just to make it shuffle and it was worth it. The Linn Drum is also pretty good but for me the warmth of the 808 can’t be matched.
Arp 2600
Once I finally wrapped my head around how to get this thing to work well and once it was all repaired I realized why it’s so loved. The purity of the waveforms coming through the built-in spring reverb is damn impressive. Sometimes I like to mic the built-in speakers instead of a direct out to give it that mega vintage sound.
Piggy Bank
This is a piggy bank someone gave me on tour. People are nice.
Marc Houle’s Min and Soda EP is out now on Dirtybird Records. Find him on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud. Photo credit:Ahmed Chrediy