Miguel Samuel

From Boston, to the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and New York City, Miguel Samuel grew up steeped in music, old and new. His parents filled the home with classical music, and his mom serenaded young Miguel, singing folk songs and accompanying herself on a guitar. Dad loved classical but also 60s rock and roll, adding the Beatles and Beach Boys to the stew of Ravel, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, and Harry Belafonte. When you listen to the new songs he is presenting now you can hear those influences- all of them. Here is a line that is reminiscent of In My Life, there a sweeping homage to a classical refrain.

Plus something else. A sense of modernism that belies his recent, adult experience. In January 2020 Miguel left New York to live in Paris and play a residency at Bar Legende. He had not listened to European dance music before, but there were things happening in Paris that were exciting and new to him. Producers like Polo and Pan were mixing beats with Peruvian flute melodies as well as classical music that Miguel recognized, but had never considered using in a popular music scenario.  Such it was that when the pandemic started Miguel found himself locked down in a foreign country and he began to explore his new music exposure, “I was stuck inside and I thought, if they can blend styles like that, I can do it too”, he says.

With lots of time in isolation to experiment, Miguel dove into his curiosity about how he could use the tools traditional to electronic dance music to fit with his songwriting; traditionally informed by the world of folk music.  He thought, “how does a 909 or MS20 become married with what I always did, which was writing a song with a guitar and a voice and a story?”

The experience of his life- including a near death mountaineering experience- propelled him to dig deeply into his songwriting. He wrote 30 songs in lockdown, and taught himself how to program drum machines and synthesizers. The demos he recorded were rough. Sketches. References for later. Efforts in a new medium. Some parts were good, some less developed, but by the time he returned to Martha’s Vineyard in November 2020 he had a portfolio of new work to share with friends and collaborators, even if it was still feeling new and strange.

When venues opened up again, Miguel was first offered a weekly gig at a local cafe, and then as summer created more opportunities to get outside, he started playing shows at clubs and local festivals, honing the Parisian songs and examining his new found techniques. Now he is ready to share with you his EP of songs begun in a pandemic lockdown. Miguel is working on recording and production with Saffs, of the English band, Cornershop, who is the producer of artists such as Portugal. The Man, and Madame Gandhi.

A short list of performances include support for Tom Rush, Beach Fossils, Willy Mason, Ava Luna, and Crooked Coast. He has also performed at St. Barths Summer Sessions, Oerol Festival, and the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. As a guitarist, Miguel has accompanied Jim Kweskin, Annie Goodchild, and the Dock Dance Band. Additionally, he created YES OUI SI, an award-winning DIY art space where Miguel promoted Nick Hakim, Adrianne Lenker (of Big Thief), Hurray for the Riff Raff, Emily King, and Guerrilla Toss.