This is not your typical origin story. Frankly, not everyone is bound to see eye to eye with it. I would urge you to give it a chance, embracing the inspired, newborn artistry of Erick Duran Manard without prejudice. Hailing from the US, Manard is a talented guitarist, singer and songwriter. A series of unfortunate and negative events brought him to the brink of disaster before discovering a meaningful path forward. Such a path includes a strong, newly found belief in Christianity, sparking a journey of self-resilience and discovery that will impress even the most apathetic reader.
From a musical standpoint, Erick presents his latest album ‘A Road without Any More Detours’, a collection of rock and fusion pieces with distinct attention on Manard’s guitar solos and his raw, deep vocals. The lyricism reflects the American creative’s new reality, with numerous references to his faith.
Intrigued by his story, we caught up with Duran Manard to find out more about his artistry and future goals… Interview below!
Hey Erick, I have read through your personal story, and it’s intense, painful, yet there’s a shiny glimmer of hope in it. Before we delve into any details, how are you today? Do you feel like life has evolved for the better?
Today, all is well with my soul. Physically, I’ve been ill for several weeks with EPI, a pancreatic illness for which I’ve just started a new therapy of enzyme replacement. I’ve battled this since 2020 but only recently the Lord led me to a potential cure which my doctors never told me about. I’m prayerfully optimistic. My life overall has evolved for the better because of the foundation of hope and faith that the Lord Jesus of Nazareth has built in me. Writing the Album was a learning experience in itself. But I’m not all that concerned with my life in this body. As long as I draw breath, I serve and praise the Lord! Even is I pass from this life, it’s a win-win! Stay here, I’m the Lord’s. Pass from here, I’m the Lord’s. Where’s the downside of death for the Christian, after all? I’m always the Lord’s.
Your latest album ‘A Road without Any More Detours’ is pretty comprehensive, sonically speaking, but also meaningful and relatable. How much time did it take you to write all the songs in it? Is it all personal-based songwriting?
Yes, I like to push envelopes and keep things interesting. I even rap on one song. There are flutes, trumpets, violins, mandolins, etc. At the same time, the message being carried by the vehicle of music must be meaningful, relatable, and able to touch people in their suffering, pain, torment, loss, and be existentially relevant, but not leave them in despair or navel-gazing; but to lift up hearts and spirits to be brave, have no fear, take courage, and to trust all our hope in one Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, very God of very God. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and to heal the broken, bruised, and hopeless. I’m simply announcing that.
The Album was two years in the making. I reinvented my approach to songwriting, recording, mixing, workflow, and spent time getting better at the instruments. I knew I had to be better on every level than in previous recordings. My testimony and message are too valuable to waste on sub-par music. I feel I’ve achieved my magnum opus with this record. Every song I write is about something I’ve lived through or am living through daily. I write about what I know, have experienced, and have seen. I know what pain and loss are about, and I also know where my ultimate hope lies for all my consolation: Jesus of Nazareth.
On second thought, the album’s title is already pretty revealing; what’s the main message you’d like the listeners to take away from the record?
A Road without Any More Detours, chronicles my journey with Jesus in ten chapters (musical vignettes), an accurate and dramatic portrayal of my life’s struggles and victories, while trodding that “narrow road” (Matt. 7:14) and stepping toward an “upward call” (Phillip. 3:14), at the end of which are heavenly light, streets of gold, and no more detours! The closer I get to His light, the more the worldly shadows fade into nothing. (Hence the album cover concept.) I openly sing about my weaknesses and triumphs to testify of Jesus so that Christ’s power may rest on me (2 Cor. 12:9).
That means when I sing publicly about my weaknesses and struggles, the power of Christ rests on that humility and empowers me to do things I had never imagined, and He gets all the credit for who and what I am today. This record is my joyful, visceral, and authentic testimony, while encouraging listeners to keep pressing forward, looking to Jesus, no matter the detours ahead. The main message throughout this record is one of indefatigable hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, the solid Rock for whom I rock.
Yes, religion: you have obviously found hope and resilience in God, which is a good thing; can you tell us about the Erick pre-pandemic? Were you less religious back then?
I was a wrecked soul pre-pandemic. I know a lot of people who found Jesus during this unprecedented time. I’m certainly not proud of my past much less do I think I’m anybody special; but my story testifies of the manifest transformative deliverance the spirit of Jesus has wrought in me. Therefore, His obligation rests on me to testify to “every creature” about that life-shattering experience. I was a former wretch, drunkard, abuser, heretic, blasphemer, and immoral pervert with little self-control over his thoughts, behaviour, and tongue.
I’ve been on the opposite side of God, and I paid dearly. It’s not worth it. The “pleasures” of sin last only for a season, and then the baked-in consequences come due. I was reborn a “warrior for Christ” on June 14, 2020, a solemn Sunday night. Today, I am a broken and humbled man, maybe even dysfunctional with tethered baggage; but I’m not destroyed nor defeated.
Many saints in the Bible battled depression, and all kinds of existential crises, but they knew where to go for real hope and consolation: the living God. I’ve been redeemed for this time and place. I am a work in progress, as we all are.
Life can be funny at times, and painful occurrences can then result in personal growth and a change for the better. What’s one thing you learnt from your personal ordeal? and what advice can you give to our readers?
Music in a real sense saved my life because, through the artistic creative process, God revealed to me a purpose whereby I could use my talents as a steward to benefit and minister to others. People have all kinds of problems and need hope more than ever in this fallen world. Everybody likes music. I can offer that and try to fill a niche. We all know something is wrong with the world, and that things should be a lot better. That’s where I can sing about the hope that Jesus alone offers to a hurting world of broken people, like me.
Musically speaking, what are your biggest influences? Do you play guitar? any other instruments? Who played with you on the album?
I’m heavily influenced by prog rock, earlier bands more than modern. Within much prog comes orchestral elements. Rush, Dream Theater, Spock’s Beard, Porcupine Tree, Pineapple Thief, and Riverside are examples. I’ve always liked Classical music. I like combining both. I’m influenced by certain players of different instruments since I play multiple instruments.
Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Geezer Butler, John Entwistle, Geddy Lee, etc. Yes, there are no other players, I am a one-man band. I play all instruments, write all lyrics, and compose all arrangements on my records. I had one guest vocal spot for “Maya,” an unknown but brilliant female singer from France who worked with me on the previous album on an orchestral piece called, “Face to the Son.” Her voice is so haunting and fits in so well on this record, on “Pilot My Soul in the Tempest.”
Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
Artistically, the challenge has been trying to stay healthy while having all these new song ideas floating around and my itching to start writing the next single. I think I’m done writing full albums. I’m focusing more on singles.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
I’ve produced two Official videos for the Album so far, “Lost on a Dime” and the title track. A third video for “The Parallax Effect” is currently in production but behind schedule since my health has faltered. But I feel better today, and I’m doing this interview now, so I’m gaining strength day by day. “When I’m weak, then I am strong” in and by Christ (2 Cor. 12:9-11). I do have plans for possibly writing a screenplay for a mini-movie based on the Album. We’ll see.
