Mangata has announced their upcoming release, a new expanded edition of 2018’s outstanding Hososhi EP, will arrive on June 19th.
Interview conducted on May 21st, 2020
By Dan Locke
Mangata is a prog-pop band spreading the ‘Lollipop Gospel’ from the musical melting pot that is Southern Louisiana. Borne out of the fusion of a variety of cultures and bringing together everything from jazz to post-rock by way of indie, Mangata has a distinct musical vision paired with an aesthetic that can only be compared to a glittery anxiety attack. Their aesthetic plays across the band’s photos and stage shows, making for an experience like no other. This unique look and one-of-a-kind sound have won.
Mangata is:
Hannah Gilley – Vocals
Gabe McCassey – Guitar
Ryan LaFleur – Guitar
Zack Guidry – Bass
Jason Daniels – Drums
Dan Locke: What is your upbringing?
Jason-I grew up in the projects of a tiny town called Opelousas. My dad was a musician in 80s hair metal bands and I grew up listening to operatic vocals and shreddy guitars. I started doing drugs and discovered jazz and it absolutely changed my outlook on music and I’ve been part of prog bands ever since.
Hannah-I grew up in California for a while, my mom was a wannabe band aid And diehard deadhead and stones fan my dad loves grunge and 90’s rock. He loved nu-metal too, and I remember him being very angry so I snapped his Korn cd, took it right out of the 5-disc CD player bc I knew it would get to him, and it truly did. I don’t think he will ever forgive me.
Ryan- I come from a large family from a small town and grew up in another small town. My parents influenced me with the 50s-80’s pop and rock music like Roy Orbison, Fleetwood Mac, and The Band. I later picked up the guitar myself after my brother, who is a year older than I, picked up his own Stratocaster. I jammed with many different musicians for a few years before I joined my first band, which was a post-hardcore/screamo band. That band eventually became another group that was more emo/punk. After those bands fizzled-out, I found a new group of people to play with and that became an instrumental band called Usoverwater. We actually recorded an album, it’s somewhere on the internet if you dig, and played many shows for a few years but eventually, we parted ways. A few years later, I met the Mangata family.
Zack-I grew up in bumfuck small town south Louisiana, raised on farming, hunting, and fishing. My first job was on a shrimp boat… I grew up listening to a lot of blues, disco, and zydeco music courtesy of my dad’s constant music blasting in our house. Outside of my family all of my friends listened to good ole country music; I desperately tried to be a country music lovin dip chewing boot-wearing good ole boy….and then I discovered metal and bought a guitar and everything changed. Eventually, I got a pawn shop bass for my 14th birthday and from then on out I’ve always been in bands and dreamt of playing music for my life.
Gabe-I grew up with vinyls of the greats of the 70s from my mother’s collection. Fleetwood Mac, Cream, Deep Purple, etc. Then in the mid-90s I was simultaneously enthralled with American Alt-rock, R&B, Bubble gum Pop, and the late-night sounds of techno on the radio. But it wasn’t until I heard Schism by Tool that I decided to pick up a guitar and try to emulate the more technical and progressive sounds emerging from the music world. That obsession with the unusual and technical combined with the love of great songwriting and memorable melodies have shaped my musical taste and songwriting til this day.
How did you start writing music?
Hannah and Jason were in a band together around 2012 called Riposte! and that ended up not working out because of personal issues with the other members. We started Mangata in 2013 and it’s still the same members other than the bazillion bassists we had until we found Zack.
How did you get your name?
Jason-There was a Reddit post about words that had no translation in any other language. Mangata is a Swedish word that means the road light reflection of the moon on the ocean. Just thought it was dope. Hososhi is the same thing.
How was your first show as a band:
We played a tiny little wook record shop/glass blowing place that no longer exists with one of our favorite bands, Caddywhompus. We had water guns full of vodka on stage. It was a hell of a time.
How soon until your next album?
We are two songs in on it. We can’t say for sure there’s a release date but loosely, somewhere between the end of this year and spring 2021.
What is Lollipop Gospel?
Hannah-A mix of what I love and what I’m inspired by and the essence of what I think what I am creating is, mixed into one category. David Lynch, John Waters, Andy Warhol, David Bowie, B horror movies, Grimm fairytales, and like, old Hollywood glamour. We try to embody the damsel in distress but from my own personal experiences.
What’s your favorite track on the album?
Napoleon Ivy. If it wasn’t so long and proggy it probably would’ve been what we chose as the single.
How do you stay healthy while touring?
Crushed up Flintstones vitamins and emergent-c on a gas station hot dog chased with gut rot whiskey lol.
What is a lawnmower daddy?
An inebriated snack of a guitarist zaddy playing keyboard on a lawnmower outside our practice space.
How did you get the KADN secret studio sessions?
We built an altar and performed blood magic rituals to become legendary musicians and the next day we got an email from our local news station asking us to perform.
If you could pick between voodoo and jazz fest?
Voodoo for sure. Jazzfest is cool but we think we could reach more potential fans with voodoo.
Digital vs vinyl?
We’re listening to The Bee Gees on vinyl right now.
Any plans to tour?
It seems like a fantasy at this point. Yeah eventually. Gonna focus on the gulf coast for a bit but plan to go up the east coast also eventually.
What song from the past in your mind right now?
If I Can’t Have You by The Bee Gees
How do you think COVID will affect the music industry?
It won’t be any different than the way the internet changed the business. All of us have to adapt or be left behind.
What have you been doing in self-quarantine?
Hannah-teaching my baby to do death metal vocals
Jason-learning computer programming so I can make a world domination plot. Also Magic the Gathering
How did you pick the songs for your pandemic playlists?
We each spent hours on building what was essentially our influences and our everyday jams mixed into a list so anyone who was interested could see where each of us come from musically.
Nightly concerts:
We are planning a virtual show with full staging and all our favorite locals that we will stream coming soon. The tentative date currently. We will announce it on our social media when it’s set in stone.
Do you think it will be possible to make a living this way?
Honestly, this virus is destroying the independent restaurant industry to the point where the only thing left might be corporations. This might be the case with music also. Only major national acts will be able to make careers profitable with digital media alone. Who knows really though? We are gonna adapt no matter what it takes.
Concerts not back til fall of 2021?
We’re just gonna keep writing and promoting. It is what it is. If that’s what it takes then so be it. Better that than prematurely returning to what it was like before and prolonging the actual return to normalcy until fucking 2025 or something, Ya know.
Closing:
No matter what happens to the music industry or who’s involved or whatever, we will continue to work our asses off and we want to work With and be surrounded by other groups and artists who share that drive. We don’t know what the future holds but we’re gonna do what we can to be a part of that future. For anyone who wants to follow our journey:
Progressive-Pop band Mangata will release a new version of their previous EP, Hososhi, in one week, June 19th. The band has created a series of video commentaries highlighting their mindset and unique creative process of all of the Hososhi songs, leading up to the release of a brand new single, coming soon!
The band has vowed that until Black Lives Matter and the NAACP’s demands are met, ALL profit the band earns, be it from merch, album sales, ticket sales, will go directly to those organizations. Watch them discuss the song “Napoleon Ivy”, today at UnRated Magazine.
We wanted the intro of this one to sound like strings or a piano, and not like guitar. This song is different from the theme of the rest of our songs. Its got a very personal meaning and the maelstrom of emotions are reflected in its unusual-for-us heavy tone. We discuss growth, humility, and the pain it takes to reach a better self. Analyzing yourself is a bitch and nobody wants to, but egos can be dangerous. Bees build hives, beavers build dams, humans make art. Channel the valleys of your life into your art. It helps. Bonus: Can you tell us what time signature we are in during the break before the final chorus? We have no idea lol
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