Music
Press
Mademoiselle’s debut EP shines to the heavens with restless, emotional songs of such high gloss it’s hard to believe that the entire release, from artwork to final mix, is the product of just one dude, Sam Cabral. The only other credit is New Alliance engineer Nick Zampiello.
The stormy vocals are the focal point on these five tracks. Listening to Sam’s soulful croon, it seems fitting that he spent a great deal of his childhood on The Azores, a remote island cluster off the Portuguese coast named for an old Portugese word, “azures.” As in “the blues.” Vocal expression can’t be taught. You either have it or you don’t. This guy has it, and manages to invoke the spirit of isolation amidst beauty, singing private pain out loud in the fearless style of Jeff Buckley, Thom Yorke or Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Growing up in a peaceful island setting may have nothing to do with it, but seems one way to describe why Mademoiselle makes you feel the way you do when you listen to these songs.
Ghosts and gypsies haunt “Drink All Your Wine,” a stand-out track anchored by a deadly bass line. “Worth Changing” is a cathartic rocker. But it’s the radio-ready “Tornado” that will no doubt get Mademoiselle the most attention. Put simply, it rocks. The vocals seethe, guitars soar to a crescendo, and an electronic groove zings straight through your chest cavity like a sonic twister. Better grab hold of something, because Mademoiselle is just getting started.
(Lexi Kahn) - lowbudgetsuperhero.com - Lexi Kahn
"Sam Cabral wasted no time working on his solo project upon the demise of his band, Ghost 24, with whom he had put out two albums, which got some airplay and critical success. On this new project, Cabral adeptly plays all the instruments with a style that is dark, driving, and hauntingly melodic. Evoking some of the poppier elements of Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden, but with the melodic sensibilities of Led Zeppelin, Jeff Buckley, and Alice in Chains, Mademoiselle sounds like music from a forgotten era of dark, edgy nineties indie rock."... "Mademoiselle's melodic style and presentation seem immediate and fresh. Cabral's voice is smoky and soulful with an approach that I can only describe as "real." I hope to hear more from this band."
(Joel Simches) - The Noise Boston - Joel Simches
"Rock" must mean something. The non-hyphenated stuff, just "rock." It's enough: Melody, beat, lyrics, driving guitar, a four on the floor beat then laying back into an acoustic and vocals. Shit, what can I say? This is the new stuff "classic rock" radio would welcome if that format was music-based, not advertising-based. I'm sure there's a site out there programming this and other known/underground/lost gems, within the programming stipulations of "rock." You can run this in a rock block with Jerry Cantrell, U2, Jeff Buckley, Be Bop Deluxe, STP, The Mission, Jane's Addiction, and The Smashing Pumpkins and happiness will ensue. My favorite at the moment is "Loose." Guitar and voice slowly work up to a restrained, full-band gush. Can't hide shit here, don't need to. Good work, Sam. Would love to hear'm do a couple Spirit and Cure covers."
(Craig Regala) - Lollipop - Craig Regala
"I currently have this "band" mademoiselle as my profile song. Today I went for a long drive down to the ocean to clear my head & listened to the new Mademoiselle CD...
First of all this is one man, (a friend/aquantience actually) & I have known him for a few years. He gave me his Cd a long time ago & I never got around to listening to it, I mean really taking it in - (like today just going for a ride and really listening without distraction kind of listening)- My point is every song is GREAT, very well written, great feels & diversity... MAN this stuff is killer, it has grown on me the past month but today it hit me in the face this guy is a GREAT musician.
So check him out, add him as a friend, just go & listen with an open mind... because I am loving it!
my two cents.......... Blessings."
(Jesse Leach) - Jesse Leach from Seemless
Discography
Mademoiselle EP - self titled
1. Tornado
2. Worth Changing
3. Scarecrow
4. Loose
5. Drink All Your Wine
All songs available for purchase on iTunes.
Streaming at www.myspace.com/mademoiselle
Photos
Bio
Samuel Cabral / Mademoiselle Biography
In the early hours of August 10, 1976, the New England news channels were warning people to stay inside their houses, in order to avoid category 3 - Hurricane Belle.
But Margarida and Joaquim Cabral couldn't stay home and began rushing towards the Hospital.
Under this beautiful chaos, Samuel Neves Cabral was born.
Living in the New England area until the age of 9, Sam was always surrounded by musicians in his family.
Shortly after his 9th birthday, the Cabral family moved back to a Portuguese mid-atlantic group of islands called the Azores.
Listening to dark and strange bands such as Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd at a very early age, and later to Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, the Cocteau Twins and Jeff Buckley, played a great role on establishing a direction for Sam's music and creativity.
He would always be intrigued with how some of these artists could make music so haunting but very beautiful at the same time.
It was during his teenage years that he started feeling the need to create his own music and sing.
Thus his first band - Achen' Hole Sinners. An "Alt/Punk Rock" act that toured the islands of the Azores and even had one of their songs (Funny Bleed) hit the number 1 spot on the RDP Azores radio chart for 3 consecutive weeks.
In 1994 Sam and his band-mates received the "Best New Band" and "Best New Singer" awards.
In 1998, Sam moved to the U.S. to try his music in the "Land of Opportunity".
Shortly after his first year in the U.S., he helped form Ghost 24. A band, creating together for 4 years who released 2 albums. The later, an EP entitled Hover received radio-play on stations such as 104.1 (WBCN) and 107.3 (WAAF). The EP also received reviews describing it as: "Very dark, haunting cerebral and rockin', while still encapsulating" - Deek McDeekula III (The Boston Soundcheck Magazine).
With the Ghost 24 chapter closed, Sam wasted no time preparing his next project - Mademoiselle. A solo project where all songs are written, performed and recorded by Sam. Well rounded in his creative abilities, Sam further contributed to Mademoiselle's rich overall identity by designing the CD cover art and supporting multimedia flash web site.
"The name Mademoiselle represents the change from a young body and soul into a more mature one, along with all the beauty and the strange in between. A sort of composed angst." - Sam Cabral.
The newly released Mademoiselle EP provides the listener with various emotions, with songs such as:
Tornado - a song about lust, passion, giving into our primitive instincts.
Worth Changing - a twist on the various unfortunate and sometimes ironic episodes of life.
The Mademoiselle EP is currently being played on radio stations like WMFO, Medford and RDP Azores - Portugal.
Due to heavy rotation in it’s first month of release, the EP reached #5 on The Noise-Boston Radio Chart.
The Mademoiselle song "Tornado" was chosen for CD comp. "Groupies Suck Vol. 11", with No Cover magazine. (Barnes & Noble Jul. 2007)
Although Mademoiselle is a young venture, the music already carries what is becoming Sam's trademark style - music that is sometimes dark, melodic and sexy, other times hopeful, but always cathartic and pure in essence.
Thank you for taking your time to share in Sam's experiences and supporting future creations.
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