After spending years in advertising, Marc-André Gilbert came back to his first passion, music, in a spectacular manner. This natural-born collaborator, has left his mark on productions by Charlotte Cardin, Aliocha Schneider, Alex Nevsky and Ariane Moffatt, among others.
At the Victoire de la Musique Awards Gala in France, on Feb. 14, 2025, the cream of that country’s music industry was treated to a surprise double act when Charlotte Cardin took to the stage to perform “Ensemble,” a duet with her romantic partner Aliocha Schneider. And although Schneider, the Paris-born Québécois singer-songwriter, didn’t win any of the three awards for which he was nominated that evening (including Breakthrough Artist of the Year), the performance felt like a bona fide coronation for him.
Select the image to access the YouTube video of the Aliocha Schneider song “Ensemble”
While Aliocha was trading verses with his muse, the frisson that touched everyone in the audience was almost palpable. But no one was as moved as songwriter-producer Marc-André Gilbert, a regular Cardin collaborator, and a co-creator of “Ensemble.” “I cherish every moment where I’m lucky enough to do what I love, and at that moment I was overwhelmed by an immense sense of gratitude and appreciation,” he remembers. “It’s moments like that one that give meaning to my life.”
Beyond gratitude, the moment had real -life benefits for the musician from Alma. “Yes, it did open doors for me,” he says. “As a matter of fact, I’m in negotiations for several projects, and I can foresee that I’m going to spend a lot of time in Paris this year. Being able to export your talent is an incredible privilege.”
Raised by two music teachers, and equipped with solid academic training in the field, one could say that music runs in his blood. Despite that, Gilbert chose to put his talent on ice after a few unfruitful attempts. “My parents have always encouraged my musical endeavours, but they were also in a position to know how stressful a job it can be,” he says. “At some point in my life, I got fed up with the uncertainty and financial hardship. I was done wondering how I’d pay my rent by playing one small gig after another. Stress was slowly killing my passion for music.”
Gilbert turned his focus to building an advertising production studio, one that he later sold before building another: Parade, currently quickly making a name for itself. “I discovered I had a passion and talent as an entrepreneur, but I never gave up music as a hobby,” he explains. “That’s why my handle on Instagram is Dimanche (Sunday): it was the only moment I could devote entirely to music, and that’s why it’s a sacred day for me.”
At one point, Gilbert decided to try giving his music career a second chance, and played a few demos for Jason Brando, the co-founder of Cult Nation, and Charlotte Cardin’s creative partner. “He loved what he heard, and at the time, he was working on what would become Charlotte’s album, so he asked me to get on board with that project,” says Gilbert. “I was thrilled to accept. He sent me the demo for “Passive Aggressive,” and that’s how we started collaborating.”
Select the image to access the YouTube video of the Charlotte Cardin song “Meaningless”
While working with Cardin, Gilbert came to understand that he was anything but a hired hand in the studio. When he commits to a project, it’s never just a job. “It’s essential for me to establish a true human connection before I can work with someone,” he says. “An artist who shares their creations with you is sharing the most precious thing they have: their intimacy. You have to treat that with the utmost care and respect. That’s why I like to be involved as early as possible in a project, so I can channel all my energy to sublimate that vulnerability.”
His humane and sensitive approach led him to coproduce Ariane Moffatt’s Incarnat, another major milestone in his career. “Ariane is an amazing creative force, and she’s used to do everything herself,” says Gilbert. “She came in with a very clear vision, and her songs were already so solid! I think I still hadn’t fully found my style, and my priority was to channel what she was presenting to me without fudging it up. The challenge while working with her was to avoid falling into a ‘yes man’ mode, while showing the immense respect I have for her art. I had to find the right balance.”
He found the balance with Aliocha Schneider, an artist who allowed Gilbert to improve his talents as both a songwriter and a producer. “Aliocha is a highly intelligent and sensitive being,” he says. “When we started working together, he was fully invested in the process of shedding his image of an actor who sings. Plus, he was launching into a career in French after his beginnings in English. I read and listened to a ton of stuff, because I wanted to improve my writing in French. We both literally started from scratch. We created “Ensemble” together, as it were, while jamming in my living room.”
From his living room in Montréal to the Victoire Gala in Paris, Marc-André Gilbert is following his path to success, fuelled by instinct and emotion. “It might sound esoteric when I say stuff like this, but I often refer to creating music as a form of light,” he says. And judging by the quantity and quality of the projects on which he’s currently working, one can safely say that he’s not about to fade into the shadows.