Manuel Gagneux is smoking a cigarette outside of a coffee shop in Brooklyn on a sunny August afternoon. He’s set to play a sold out gig down the road in just a few hours, but those passing by on the sidewalks of Manhattan Avenue are seemingly unaware of the brilliance that will soon take place. Gagneux has a variety of musical endeavors on his resume, but he has most recently generated a massive buzz around his latest project: Zeal & Ardor- an unlikely blend of soul, blues, slavery chants, black metal, and a whole lot more in-between. What started as a joke is now turning heads around the world at a rapid rate, a reality that Manuel is still adjusting to.

A one-man project that started as a joke on 4chan is now a full band playing a sold out show in Brooklyn. What does that feel like?

I don’t fucking know yet, man. It’s just been so crazy and so busy that I haven’t even gotten to the point where I can catch up to how ridiculous and silly everything is. But it feels great, of course. I don’t think that I’ll really realize the situation until I’m actually up on stage.

What is your favorite part about playing shows and touring?

I guess, kind of surprising people because there’s always this weird anticipation that every audience member has. I think when you’re in an audience, you kind of trust the band not to fuck up. It’s always a risk, because you might fuck up. To surprise them by not fucking up is usually what I go for. [laughs]

Zeal & Ardor make their way to the stage at the world famous St. Vitus around 22:00. Dressed in black garb that resembles attire of some sort of hellish ritual, the band’s presence is certainly a sight to behold. Manuel stands at center stage, distinguishable by his trademark hairstyle and evil glares as he sings, ready to share his powerful message. Despite some technical difficulties at the beginning and later throughout the set, Gagneux and company seem unfazed. A patient crowd certainly helped, yelling words of encouragement and jokingly demanding a “Zeal & Ardor unplugged” set, to which Manuel laughed. Despite these glitches, each member performed at peak level, staying true to the sounds created by Gagneux on his debut Devil is Fine while peppering in additional nuances, which were more than welcomed by those in attendance.

How did you go about selecting band members for the Zeal & Ardor live experience? Was it an easy process?

Yeah, I have an actual band in Switzerland that’s just my friends and we mesh well, but they couldn’t get their visas to play here. So now I’m playing with five other people. We just kind of randomly emailed and asked if we had time and if we were interested in this. We had, like, four rehearsals prior to these shows and luckily it worked out. They’re all really cool.

A pleasant surprise was the inclusion of unrecorded material throughout the night. New songs were woven in seamlessly to create an experience of immoral black metal blues that grabbed everyone and didn’t let go until the very end, an end no one wanted to come. “Keep going! The devil is fine!” shouted a guy behind me, echoing the collective thought that every last person in the building had in common. I was previously unsure of how Zeal & Ardor’s music would evolve following their debut release. If last night is any indication of what is to come for record #2, man are we in for a treat.

Moving forward, will Zeal & Ardor remain a solo effort, or will you look to have the band contribute any musical ideas?

I’m still going to write the songs alone, but my body is too dumb to drum, so I’m going to get my drummer to be on the record. It just doesn’t work. [laughs]

Discussion soon moved beyond Zeal & Ardor, some of which was recorded and other conversation that lasted far beyond the interview itself. At one point, I asked what he did before music. “Music,” he said with a laugh. The front man, more than willing to dedicate time to hanging out and exploring the city, is a living example of a normal guy who just happens to create fantastic music and is finally starting to receive the recognition he deserves.

I’m also a fan of your other project, Birdmask. Any plans for new music on that front?

Oh shit! Yeah, I’m still constantly writing songs for that, too, but I don’t really know what I’m going to do with it. There’s this huge library of unreleased shit. Time will tell, no specific plans though.

What are you listening to at the moment? Who are some of your favorite acts?

I listen to Popol Vuh, which is like a weird 70s synth avante-garde thing. I don’t know why. That and Brian Eno. Just jazz and classical stuff. When it comes to metal, I always listen to Meshuggah – it’s never going to go away.

Meshuggah’s insane.

Yeah, they are.

If you could ask (escaped slave and album art figure) Robert Smalls one question, what would it be?

Actually, it’s weird because I probably have a way too specific image of what he probably was like, and I’d be very tempted to ask him anything because he’d destroy my image of him. I guess just what keeps him going. That guy had an immense dedication and an immense vision. Without compromise, he followed suit with what he wanted to do. So, what enabled him to do that.

What is one piece of advice you would give to any aspiring artist, musical or not?

Don’t second guess your own ideas. Just do them. Don’t sensor from the beginning.

Where do you see yourself in five years from now?

Fuck if I know, man. I have no idea. The thing is, if one thing is clear, I’m terrible at gauging what will happen, so I suck at planning the future. All I kind of do is react to what happens. Hopefully I’ll still be making music because that’s the thing I love.

I hope you keep making music.

Me too. [laughs]

At the risk of sounding cliché, a Zeal & Ardor show is definitely somewhat of a spiritual experience. The combination of soulful melodies, gripping lyrics, and tremolo-style guitar picking is a brute force all its own, a genre that belongs to Zeal & Ardor and Manuel Gagneux.

It’s all yours, man. We’re just along for the ride.

Connect with Zeal & Ardor…

Review by Joe Koza, RockRevolt Journalist

Tags: Birdmask