Madam West

"Perhaps this song is exactly what the title suggests – epic – as it is unlike anything I’ve ever heard, and yet it still has all of the sonic elements and ideas that have been stimulating my mind for the past few years. Finding comfort in the minimal yet straight-forward feelings evoked in the music, this song seems to resonate in my heart more and more with every listen.” - STEREO/PIRATE

Songwriting and ReverbNation proudly present the second winners of our monthly songwriting contest – Brooklyn-based experimental pop trio Madam West

es, it’s that time again… time for us to announce the second winners of Songwriting and ReverbNation’s songwriting competition. This month’s winners are the fantastic Madam West, a trio from Brooklyn, NYC comprising Todd Martino, Sophie Chernin and Mike McDearmon. They describe their music as “orchestral pop with an electronic bent”; we were struck by how appealing their winning track Epic Love Song No 107 might be to lovers of Bjørk, Goldfrapp or even Grimes. - UK’S SONGWRITING MAGAZINE

“I need an epic love like this…” - Cataplay

“Madam West is unique. Amazing production, haunting vocals and powerful lyrics. Her sound is a hybrid sound of electro, pop and world. This infusion is very difficult but MW’s ability to muster such a sound earns her a spot on our 360 Watch List.” - 360 Magazine

Mondays suck and there’s no better way to end a long day than with some great music. Tomorrow night Madam West, a Brooklyn-based foursome that will blow you away with their self-classified “orchestral/electronic/art/pop” jams, is taking the stage at PIANOS NYC. Show starts at 8pm, 21+. Cover is $8 and well worth it for three acts (Stranger! Danger! and St. Lenox). I snagged a few questions with leading lady, Sophie Chernin. Get to know the band before you head out to their show tomorrow night (because you know you want/have to). - Band Bombshell

"Madam West is an NYC-based experimental soul-pop band. They were kind enough to reach out to us about their experience using the techniques in our book and so we decided to talk to them about what they’ve been up to and get some insight on the world of music today." - Musformation

Todd Martino and Sophie Chernin met in the spring of 2011 and began to create innovative compositions with several keyboards, some (totally legal) software, various hardware, pots and pans, a ukulele and a couple of guitars. A dark Bushwick cellar (aka the Batcave) became the perfect headquarters for writing and recording. Mike McDearmon joined the band in early 2013. The trio is working towards an E.P. and a full-length album. They are currently booking shows in the NYC-Metro area and all over the east coast.

Madam West writes orchestral pop music with an electronic bent. Their first single, Epic Love Song No. 107, was released last year, rave-reviewed on StereoPirate.com, and is currently available for free download on SoundCloud and BandCamp, along with their newest single, Symbols." - Hollywood Sun

Songwriting and ReverbNation proudly present the second winners of our monthly songwriting contest – Brooklyn-based experimental pop trio Madam West

es, it’s that time again… time for us to announce the second winners of Songwriting and ReverbNation’s songwriting competition. This month’s winners are the fantastic Madam West, a trio from Brooklyn, NYC comprising Todd Martino, Sophie Chernin and Mike McDearmon. They describe their music as “orchestral pop with an electronic bent”; we were struck by how appealing their winning track Epic Love Song No 107 might be to lovers of Bjørk, Goldfrapp or even Grimes.

Here, Sophie tells us that they make music because they have to – because not making music makes them sick…

What inspires you to write music?

“We’re inspired by anything, from a journalistic experience of songwriting, using it as a diary to process and understand what I’m thinking about, to this song we were writing about an omnipotent super being!

“Symbolism is also an important influence on how we write. For example I spent time house-sitting and cat-sitting and the symbolism that engendered was very affecting. I felt real anger with the super-rich and how their lives are so soulless and dark. You know, they have all this art in their houses and it’s just meaningless, decorative, and art should mean something. The anger was inspirational.

“But then we also write about social experiences, personal experiences and classic break-up songs.”
Madam West

Pic: Christine Lockerby

“There was a girl I knew in high school, I was best friends with her cousin. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy I was reading an article which was talking about this couple who’d died after the hurricane had caused a tree to be blown on top of them. When I found out that I knew them it was just so shocking. She was a great girl, with a real social conscience and I felt that I wanted to write something to honour her memory. So I wrote about a mother watching her daughter play, worried and terrified that anything might happen, because life is so fragile.

“We were literally surrounded by it, we could look out of our window and see the wreckage and that chaos was inspiring. I mean, for a week there were no trains and no gas, we were very isolated and played a lot, it was how we processed what was going on around us.

So October was about catharsis?

“Yes, absolutely. The girl’s name was Jessie and I just wanted to write something to remember her by and something to come to terms with the emotions that her death had caused. The first time I played it I nearly couldn’t sing because I was so overcome with emotion. The Boston Marathon was something as well that we’ve been dealing with through music. It helps being able to share experiences in music.

“The songs we’ve been working on are a little stark at the moment”

“That’s one of our major goals as musicians, to share emotions. The songs we’ve been working on for our EP are a little stark at the moment, we’re going to add more synths. But it made me think about how I hate the term chillwave, because of the sense of separation and disconnection that it creates, which is the opposite of my goal as a songwriter, which is to connect.

On that note – connection – what’s the feedback from your audiences been like?

“People really connect to October. They also really connect with Todd, who’s the co-writer, because of his musicianship. He comes from a jazz background and is a really wonderful player, he makes the audience want to dance! I consider myself more of a singer and a writer than a musician.

What musical influences do you have which our readers might be surprised by?

“I’ve been listening to a lot of soul and R&B artists lately, and Todd plays in another project with a classically trained soul singer. We recently saw Lianne La Havas play and I was really struck by her performance. She’s such an accomplished guitarist and it’s not often that female musicians are given credit for the strength of their musicianship, they’re usually spoken of as singers. Her performance of Forget made me cry. I’ve also been listening to Atoms For Peace and Radiohead, of course!

“I started my career playing folk music”

“I grew up with a folk background and loved Sheryl Crow, especially her first album, the one with Everyday Is A Winding Road. I started my career playing folk music in tiny venues. Then when I moved to Brooklyn I met loads of electronic musicians and became inspired by that style of music. I also love Elliott Smith.

“In fact, me and Todd both named our dogs Elliott Smith! Before we even knew each other. I think it was meant to be that we make music together. Listening to Elliott Smith is just so personal, so real, he’s like a little ghost whispering in my ear, giving me reassurance that there’s someone out there that feels the same way. He makes other people/musicians feel comfortable with making music that’s personal, because - Songwriting Magazine

Madam West has sucked me completely in with this “Epic Love Song No.107? track. The production has this hypnotic vibe that draws you in and their melody makes you want to take part in this epic love she sings about. I espically love around the 2:19 mark when she sings…

You are rare!

I need an epic love like this

Written by: @erionrose - Cataplay

Madam West has sucked me completely in with this “Epic Love Song No.107? track. The production has this hypnotic vibe that draws you in and their melody makes you want to take part in this epic love she sings about. I espically love around the 2:19 mark when she sings…

You are rare!

I need an epic love like this

Written by: @erionrose - Cataplay

So why don’t you introduce yourself?
Sophie: I’m Sophie Chernin. I write lyrics, sing, play drum machine and ukulele for Madam West.
Todd: Todd Martino. I write the synth parts and play keyboards, as well as handling most of the engineering work.

Mike: Mike Mcdearmon. I just joined the band as MW’s live drummer.


How you guys put this band together?
Sophie: Todd and I met in the spring of 2011 at one of our favorite jazz venues. Our musical interests were creepily similar (for example, we had both named our dogs Elliott Smith), so we started jamming in his Bushwick basement, playing Elliott Smith covers, Wilco, our favorite indie tunes. We soon started writing originals, including Epic Love Song, which took about 6 months to engineer.
Todd: That song was a monster. It took 36 tracks in Logic, outside help from our friend Alex Almgren, an engineer friend of ours, and hours of pulling out our hair to get done.

Sophie: But we DID get it done, eventually… and streamlined our recording and writing process along the way. Now we have a lot more songs written and are about to get back into the studio to shoot out a whole bunch of new tracks. We also recruited Mike, who’s been playing jazz with Todd since he moved here last year.


What’s the story behind your band’s name?
Sophie: I love the burlesque performer Mae West, who stunned the US with her post-code bawdiness. I also love Adam West, who played the original Batman.
Todd: We’re obsessed with portmanteaus… we try to work them into everyday conversation as much as possible.


What are your music influences?
Todd: Radiohead, Bjork, James Blake, D’Angelo…
Sophie: And St. Vincent. I’m really into this group Buke and Gase lately.

Mike: The Bad Plus.


How did you guys come out with this genre of yours?
Sophie: Well, we were originally just a synth-pop band, but with Mike adding live drums and Todd’s obsession with soul music and R&B, we’ve starting infusing a lot more soul and gospel into our sets. So I’d say we’re kind of electro-soul-pop, if that’s a thing.
Todd: Sophie wrote this song about a friend of hers that passed away during Hurricane Sandy last year (“October”). It was really beautiful, almost a prayer… so I wrote kind of a gospel piano part, like the stuff I used to play when I worked at a UU church back in AZ.


What’s next? (Tour, album, video)
Sophie: We have a few shows coming up in Brooklyn, and we’re about to record with a friend of ours who works at Jay Z’s studio as an engineer. We’re also considering a tour to Canada this summer. But most likely we’ll stick to the northeast (Brooklyn, Boston, NYC) while we start out.
Todd: The equipment in there is CRAZY expensive. It’s wild… you’re playing in a studio where a hundred GRAMMY winners have recorded.


Funny moments while touring?
Todd: We played a show at The Fire in Philly not long ago and ended up staying up all night in Jersey with the kids we were playing with, this awesome band called Gatherings. They out-partied us so hard..
Sophie: We passed out around 4am, but out the window we heard a drum circle that turned into some kind of polyrhythmic vocal singing chant. It was awesome…but by 930am it had turned into straight-up yelling. Those crazy kids….

Where can we find more about your music?
Todd: Hit our website, madamwest.com . We post blogs on every show we play, and music updates. We’ll have alot more tunes up soon! For live clips, check soundcloud.com/madamwest

Do you guys feel like moving on the right direction?

Sophie: Yes! It can be frustrating, contacting bookers and never hearing back, or taking months to finish a song…. but we really have come super far the past year and are looking forward to turning some heads and broadening our audience. - VENTS Magaizine

So why don’t you introduce yourself?
Sophie: I’m Sophie Chernin. I write lyrics, sing, play drum machine and ukulele for Madam West.
Todd: Todd Martino. I write the synth parts and play keyboards, as well as handling most of the engineering work.

Mike: Mike Mcdearmon. I just joined the band as MW’s live drummer.


How you guys put this band together?
Sophie: Todd and I met in the spring of 2011 at one of our favorite jazz venues. Our musical interests were creepily similar (for example, we had both named our dogs Elliott Smith), so we started jamming in his Bushwick basement, playing Elliott Smith covers, Wilco, our favorite indie tunes. We soon started writing originals, including Epic Love Song, which took about 6 months to engineer.
Todd: That song was a monster. It took 36 tracks in Logic, outside help from our friend Alex Almgren, an engineer friend of ours, and hours of pulling out our hair to get done.

Sophie: But we DID get it done, eventually… and streamlined our recording and writing process along the way. Now we have a lot more songs written and are about to get back into the studio to shoot out a whole bunch of new tracks. We also recruited Mike, who’s been playing jazz with Todd since he moved here last year.


What’s the story behind your band’s name?
Sophie: I love the burlesque performer Mae West, who stunned the US with her post-code bawdiness. I also love Adam West, who played the original Batman.
Todd: We’re obsessed with portmanteaus… we try to work them into everyday conversation as much as possible.


What are your music influences?
Todd: Radiohead, Bjork, James Blake, D’Angelo…
Sophie: And St. Vincent. I’m really into this group Buke and Gase lately.

Mike: The Bad Plus.


How did you guys come out with this genre of yours?
Sophie: Well, we were originally just a synth-pop band, but with Mike adding live drums and Todd’s obsession with soul music and R&B, we’ve starting infusing a lot more soul and gospel into our sets. So I’d say we’re kind of electro-soul-pop, if that’s a thing.
Todd: Sophie wrote this song about a friend of hers that passed away during Hurricane Sandy last year (“October”). It was really beautiful, almost a prayer… so I wrote kind of a gospel piano part, like the stuff I used to play when I worked at a UU church back in AZ.


What’s next? (Tour, album, video)
Sophie: We have a few shows coming up in Brooklyn, and we’re about to record with a friend of ours who works at Jay Z’s studio as an engineer. We’re also considering a tour to Canada this summer. But most likely we’ll stick to the northeast (Brooklyn, Boston, NYC) while we start out.
Todd: The equipment in there is CRAZY expensive. It’s wild… you’re playing in a studio where a hundred GRAMMY winners have recorded.


Funny moments while touring?
Todd: We played a show at The Fire in Philly not long ago and ended up staying up all night in Jersey with the kids we were playing with, this awesome band called Gatherings. They out-partied us so hard..
Sophie: We passed out around 4am, but out the window we heard a drum circle that turned into some kind of polyrhythmic vocal singing chant. It was awesome…but by 930am it had turned into straight-up yelling. Those crazy kids….

Where can we find more about your music?
Todd: Hit our website, madamwest.com . We post blogs on every show we play, and music updates. We’ll have alot more tunes up soon! For live clips, check soundcloud.com/madamwest

Do you guys feel like moving on the right direction?

Sophie: Yes! It can be frustrating, contacting bookers and never hearing back, or taking months to finish a song…. but we really have come super far the past year and are looking forward to turning some heads and broadening our audience. - VENTS Magaizine

Although this site doesn’t accurately-reflect the amount of incredible music I get the privileged of listening to every day, I try to use it as a medium of sharing some of my favorite songs with some complimentary words to the masses. While I’ve been lucky to stumble across some amazing artists and sounds throughout the past few years of running this site, I will admit that many of the best songs come from some of the most undiscovered and unlikely sources. For me personally, there is nothing better than falling in love with an artist or band, only to find out they are creating even more amazing music outside of their current namesake.

So when I received word a few weeks ago of a brand new side project from Sophie Chernin entitled Madam West, I was beyond excited to hear what her newest musical venture would sound like. For those who might think her name sounds familiar, you are correct as she was one-half of the incredible female duet MoonPyramid, whom I had the pleasure to debuting to fans of this site and rest of the blogosphere a few months ago with their spectacularly-stunning debut single “The Ocean.” Although this wonderful project is still pushing forward in writing and recording new songs, it seems that Sophie decided to take a side-step from the scene to finally release her debut single with collaborator Todd Martino in the form of “Epic Love Song #107.” From the very beginning of the track, the ample amount of instruments and effects from Madam West provides a foundation of sound much more expansive than the minimally-beautiful sounds of the MoonPyramid project. As the song begins in a somewhat down-tempo manner, a delicate mixture of intimate words and subtle instrumental effects, the mood of the tune is quickly established as a personal reflection on the confusion of love as Sophie pleas to “Don’t let me go…”. Much as the title of the song might suggest – “Epic Love Song #107” – this new single is an intriguing and compelling reflection on the perils of love and powerful feelings that can cloak the senses from rational thought. Taking a more minimal approach to the complexity of the words, the duo of Madam West evoke the feelings of love and lust through a enthralling combination of various instruments and effects. The culmination of 30+ instruments, all used in a variety of methods from rhythmic loops to one-shot effects, creates a mystical landscape of sounds upon which the rest of the tune is beautifully-crafted. Crafting a spell-binding tune that combines the emotional feelings and ideas evoked through the intimate words with a adventurous mixture of sounds, Madam West are able to create a song that seems to capture your attention no matter what mood you might be in. The constant changes in rhythm in the tune mirror the dynamic elements of love and relationships, creating an intimate connection between the duo and listener alike. Utilizing a variety of instruments to bring their feelings and emotions to life, “Epic Love Song #107” is nothing short of an adventurous sonic voyage into the passions and perils of love. As Sophie finishes the tune by expressing “… Don’t let me go, I’m stuck in your stare. It goes on forever, you are rare….” the culmination of love and loss in a relationship manages to come back full-circle. By the time the captivating song ends, I can’t help but feel an intimate connection between myself and the music – bonded by the honest and heart-felt emotions expressed by Sophie Chernin throughout the tune. Perhaps this song is exactly what the title suggests – epic – as it is unlike anything I’ve ever heard, and yet it still has all of the sonic elements and ideas that have been stimulating my mind for the past few years. Finding comfort in the minimal yet straight-forward feelings evoked in the music, this song seems to resonate in my heart more and more with every listen. With an open mind and generous heart, it just might do the same for you.

If you find yourself pressing play immediately after the song finishes, you are not alone. The true beauty of “Epic Love Song #107” can be found in the universal appeal of the words and music, satisfying the wants and desires of any open-minded music fan out there. Catchy yet incredibly-unique, Madam West have created something truly special in their debut single. Although it might have taken over half a year to finally come together, I can honestly say that this tune was well worth the wait. And with talks of more songs being written and recorded to be released as a part of an upcoming EP later this year, I am beyond excited to hear what the duo of Sophie Chernin and Todd Martino have in store for us all next. Be sure to stay in touch with the two of them through their recently-created social media sites below, including their BandCamp and SoundCloud pages where you can download this beautiful debut single for free. - Stereo/Pirate

Although this site doesn’t accurately-reflect the amount of incredible music I get the privileged of listening to every day, I try to use it as a medium of sharing some of my favorite songs with some complimentary words to the masses. While I’ve been lucky to stumble across some amazing artists and sounds throughout the past few years of running this site, I will admit that many of the best songs come from some of the most undiscovered and unlikely sources. For me personally, there is nothing better than falling in love with an artist or band, only to find out they are creating even more amazing music outside of their current namesake.

So when I received word a few weeks ago of a brand new side project from Sophie Chernin entitled Madam West, I was beyond excited to hear what her newest musical venture would sound like. For those who might think her name sounds familiar, you are correct as she was one-half of the incredible female duet MoonPyramid, whom I had the pleasure to debuting to fans of this site and rest of the blogosphere a few months ago with their spectacularly-stunning debut single “The Ocean.” Although this wonderful project is still pushing forward in writing and recording new songs, it seems that Sophie decided to take a side-step from the scene to finally release her debut single with collaborator Todd Martino in the form of “Epic Love Song #107.” From the very beginning of the track, the ample amount of instruments and effects from Madam West provides a foundation of sound much more expansive than the minimally-beautiful sounds of the MoonPyramid project. As the song begins in a somewhat down-tempo manner, a delicate mixture of intimate words and subtle instrumental effects, the mood of the tune is quickly established as a personal reflection on the confusion of love as Sophie pleas to “Don’t let me go…”. Much as the title of the song might suggest – “Epic Love Song #107” – this new single is an intriguing and compelling reflection on the perils of love and powerful feelings that can cloak the senses from rational thought. Taking a more minimal approach to the complexity of the words, the duo of Madam West evoke the feelings of love and lust through a enthralling combination of various instruments and effects. The culmination of 30+ instruments, all used in a variety of methods from rhythmic loops to one-shot effects, creates a mystical landscape of sounds upon which the rest of the tune is beautifully-crafted. Crafting a spell-binding tune that combines the emotional feelings and ideas evoked through the intimate words with a adventurous mixture of sounds, Madam West are able to create a song that seems to capture your attention no matter what mood you might be in. The constant changes in rhythm in the tune mirror the dynamic elements of love and relationships, creating an intimate connection between the duo and listener alike. Utilizing a variety of instruments to bring their feelings and emotions to life, “Epic Love Song #107” is nothing short of an adventurous sonic voyage into the passions and perils of love. As Sophie finishes the tune by expressing “… Don’t let me go, I’m stuck in your stare. It goes on forever, you are rare….” the culmination of love and loss in a relationship manages to come back full-circle. By the time the captivating song ends, I can’t help but feel an intimate connection between myself and the music – bonded by the honest and heart-felt emotions expressed by Sophie Chernin throughout the tune. Perhaps this song is exactly what the title suggests – epic – as it is unlike anything I’ve ever heard, and yet it still has all of the sonic elements and ideas that have been stimulating my mind for the past few years. Finding comfort in the minimal yet straight-forward feelings evoked in the music, this song seems to resonate in my heart more and more with every listen. With an open mind and generous heart, it just might do the same for you.

If you find yourself pressing play immediately after the song finishes, you are not alone. The true beauty of “Epic Love Song #107” can be found in the universal appeal of the words and music, satisfying the wants and desires of any open-minded music fan out there. Catchy yet incredibly-unique, Madam West have created something truly special in their debut single. Although it might have taken over half a year to finally come together, I can honestly say that this tune was well worth the wait. And with talks of more songs being written and recorded to be released as a part of an upcoming EP later this year, I am beyond excited to hear what the duo of Sophie Chernin and Todd Martino have in store for us all next. Be sure to stay in touch with the two of them through their recently-created social media sites below, including their BandCamp and SoundCloud pages where you can download this beautiful debut single for free. - Stereo/Pirate