Contributing WriterMercurio has spent a quarter-century shaping the more melodic end of the house and techno spectrum. He is a DJ, live act and experienced musician who plays guitar and has landed on many of the most influential labels, from The Soundgarden to Watergate. Along the way, he has frequently collaborated with countryman Hernán Cattáneo, including on this label in 2025 with the 2009 EP.
1. Hey Mercurio, it’s great to have you here. How have things been?
Hi! I’m doing great, thank you for having me. It’s been an incredible year so far with some fantastic releases and live shows. Releasing the collaboration with Sasha is a massive release for me, like a turning point.
Working with Sasha and his team has been a fantastic experience. They are an incredible group of people, at the top level in music and every detail.
I also recently did some great live gigs with Nick Warren where I performed as a guitar player and produced parts of the music/set and original tracks together with Nico Rada. Some collaborations with Hernan Cattaneo have also made this year great, so I am really grateful for all this.
2. You’ve got a new release out on Last Night On Earth: your ‘Songstar’ EP. How did this come about?
Songstar was an early rough mix/demo that Sasha really liked, and we agreed to continue it as a collaboration. The EP comes with two additional tracks, making it a very interesting release full of great music. ‘Songstar’ is a fantastic collaboration!
3. As well as a DJ and producer, you are also a live act and an experienced musician. Can you tell us about your musical background and how it led you to where you are now?
Yes, I started with piano and quickly switched to guitar in the late 80’s. I then had my first Portastudio Tascam Porta two around 1991 and started doing music production. I used a drum machine for drums and recorded bass and guitars.
Some years later, I had a computer and a Turtle Beach sound card, with a Roland XP-10 and Cakewalk 2.0. I was adding electronic sounds to my productions- pads, arpeggios, etc from the XP-10- so it started to turn into music production with electronic stuff. I went from Cakewalk to Sonar 1 or 2, Cubase, Reason in Rewire, then switched to Mac and started with Logic.
I also recorded guitars for a house band in the 90s, and then it kept going. I had my guitar record in 1996 and was always looking for new things with more special sound, it was like my instrument was always the guitar but my productions had a lot of electronic music so then it was blending both things, actually “Mercurio “ was the name of a record I did in 1999 where I blendelectronic music with my style of guitar, even solos, djs were calling me and asking me to send the track without the sol, and then, when they started hiring me because of this record, they called me Mercurio, so I ended up being mercurio.
It wasn’t until 2002/3 that I got a better sound in my productions, and important DJs started using them, so I could start signing tracks to labels.
4. You collaborated with Sasha on the first track of your EP ‘Songstar’. How was it working together on this track? Did you find your work styles differed?
Things went great from the start. I sent Sasha a rough mix around mid-2025, and he really liked it, so we decided to turn the track into a full collaboration. From there, it became a back-and-forth exchange of stems, feedback, and ideas, and Sasha gave the track a beautiful, dark, and edgy sound that made the blend beautiful.
Working with Sasha has been an amazing experience for me. I have always admired his music and sets—especially back in my early progressive days around 1999/2000, and later when I had the chance to listen to him frequently between 2005 and 2010. He is a magical DJ. For me, if talking specifically about music, like getting deep into a music set, there is no one like him in this style. So this release meant a lot to me.
5. What is your production setup like? Do you follow the same process with each release, or does it change depending on the track?
Well, I work a lot playing the guitar with effects on top of demo ideas of grooves, and vice versa. But the music, like harmonies and melodies, comes a lot from playing the instrument. I can switch them to synths after, like what I played with the guitar turns into a synth sound, or a mix of both. Then I work on logic with a bunch of plugins, VSTs, sometimes Virus TI, whatever, for synth sounds.
I never start a project in the same way; I don’t even have a template of my kicks or anything. I just start doing music and flow with whatever comes. But I always try to record a lot of instruments and then process them. For example, in the track with Nick Warren, Turbulence, all the instruments are played live: bass, guitars, and even pads…
6. What are some of your favourite places to perform your music?
Argentina indeed, Cordoba and Rosario!!
7. Who are some of your biggest influences in music?
My influences range from rock to house music, guitar players to singers, and DJs. Some influences on my style of guitar are Joe Satriani, Greg Howe, and Steve Vai in the 90s, but also Andy Summers, Jeff Beck and David Gilmour influenced me a lot in sound and style. For Progressive/house music: Apparat, Sasha, Greed, James Holden, John Graham (Quivver), Jamie Stevens w/ Infusion, Ulrich Schnauss and many others
8. Thank you for sitting down with us today. What else can we expect from you this year?
Thanks to you for having me. Some new collabs are coming out by the end of the year, beginning in 2027 and some live gigs in different cities in Argentina mainly.
