Photo: Andrea Tani
Musician, multi-instrumentalist and content creator Marco Arata, better known as Mark The Hammer, has made a name for himself through YouTube videos and years of touring with Italian superstar J-Ax. We caught up with him to talk about his musical journey, creative process and how Superior Drummer 3 fits into the picture.
For someone discovering you for the first time, who is Marco Arata – and who is Mark The Hammer?
Mark The Hammer is an Italian musician who creates music, memes and everything in between – and with everything in between I mean playin’ on a jet as well:
Marco Arata is just a multi-instrumentalist in love with creating music and screenplays.
If we go all the way back to the beginning: when did you first discover music, and what made you want to start writing, recording and producing your own material?
I started playing piano when I was 8, but my first love has been drums since I was a little kid. Eventually I bought a portable Yamaha module, I was 15 I guess. It was ugly, unprofessional, but it meant the world to me. Never had that much fun before. It was better than video games and anything. Over the years I added other instruments (guitar, bass and started singing too) cause I wanted to record my own songs. It wasn’t so popular back then, at least in Italy.
You’re a multi-instrumentalist, but if you had to choose one instrument that feels most like “home,” which one would it be – and why?
Although piano was my very first instrument, there’s no such instrument as drums for me. That’s exactly how I feel when I play drums: I feel at home.
“I went from playing to an audience of 10 people to 10,000 in a couple of days. It was mind-blowing.”
You started sharing music on YouTube back in 2006, long before it was really seen as a possible career path for musicians. Was there a specific video that really put you on the map, or was it steady growth over the years?
In 2009 a Spanish band called Ska-P created a worldwide contest, where they asked their fans to create a video regarding their music: I won that contest and I had the chance to play with them: basically I went from playing to an audience of 10 people to 10,000 in a couple of days. It was mind-blowing. Years later I uploaded another music video, dedicated to one of the biggest Italian artists (J-Ax) ever. He liked that video so much that he called me and asked me to audition with the band. I’ve been his official guitarist and pianist for 11 years, and I’m also the musical director of the band. People here know me for this story or for the “how to create a song with no talent”, a funny series that brought me 99% of my following.
When you start a “How to create a song… without any talent” video, where do you begin? How do you analyze a genre and figure out the musical ingredients that make it recognizable? Can you walk us through your process from idea to finished track?
Although this series might sound like a tutorial, my goal is to make people laugh, I’m not actually trying to teach anything to anybody. That said, every ingredient is good as long as it’s funny AND there’s a kernel of truth. Otherwise it’s just an average parody. There’s a thin line, but it’s important to me that people recognize the pattern of the artist or the genre I’m talking about.
You cover most genres, but your own background is in metal and hard rock. Does that background somehow shine through even when you’re covering a completely different style of music?
When I’m creating a “no talent” song, I try to be as accurate as possible, which basically means “I can’t let myself be myself too much”. But I do have other projects where I set my rock madness free: I play drum ‘n’ bass with real instruments in clubs here in Italy, mixing it with metal riffs and stuff. And then 6 months ago I created a new profile (https://www.instagram.com/aratamusic), hoping to expand to a worldwide audience, where I’m playing ska/rock mixed with stereotypical Italian instruments (spoiler alert: my accent is not as bad as in the videos! I swear I’m doing it on purpose!)
“Superior Drummer 3 is without a doubt the greatest drum VST I’ve ever tried…”
At what point in that process does Superior Drummer 3 enter the picture, and how does it help in the creative and recording process?
I’ve been listening to unrealistic drum VSTs too many times, and as a drummer it’s really annoying. Unless I’m producing a song where the fake drums are mandatory (electronic music, reggaeton, etc.), I NEED the best possible drum VST to understand if the song’s working or not. Superior Drummer 3 is without a doubt the greatest drum VST I’ve ever tried: it’s versatile, extremely realistic and customizable to my own needs. Moreover, there are so many expansions that can cover literally any of my drumming wishes.
You’ve expanded far beyond YouTube – from touring and live performance to composing and collaborations. How do you see your role as a musician evolving from here?
I do have some bigger dreams to fulfill, but honestly I feel SOOOO lucky and grateful. The world’s a bit messed up right now. Having the privilege to dedicate my entire life to playing music and make a living from it is the greatest achievement I could ever accomplish. So as long as I can keep doin’ it to support myself and my cats, I feel extremely satisfied already.
Finally, what does a typical day look like for you? How do you divide your time between writing, recording, creating content, performing and everything else that comes with your career?
I try to give myself some kind of schedule, like answering mails in the morning, producing music and videos in the afternoon, and working on my biggest projects at night… but I keep messing up (it’s 11:16 pm while writing these very words!)
Photo: Sebastiano Pessina
