Meet MADAM: The French rock band you haven’t heard yet
Every now and then, a late-night doom scroll actually pays off. This time it led to MADAM, a French trio out of Toulouse that sounds like they’ve been living on stage since day one. Loud, fast, and meant for crowded rooms.
FROM STRANGERS TO SISTERS
Seven years ago, MADAM didn’t even exist on paper. Gabbie Burns (guitar) was tired of playing in male-dominated bands and went searching specifically for women to build something new. She connected with Anaïs Belmonte (drums) and Marine Masachs (bass) through social media, and their first rehearsal was in a mismatched jazz space where even a snare hit felt “too loud.” At the time, there was no band name, no songs, no lyrics — just a lust for life.
It could have ended there. Instead, their second rehearsal produced their first song, a moment that confirmed what they already felt: they were meant to write together. Since then, the three have been inseparable—onstage, on tour, even on holiday.
MADAM doesn’t dress up their elevator pitch. Gabbie tells RØKKR, “We’re a rock band, and if people ask more about the style we’re saying ‘bagarre - content’ (fight - happy). We like to write jumping, dancing songs, but we want them to be shiny. We’re a power trio, we were strangers, now we’re just best friends living the life we dreamed about!”
That balance—fight and fun, shine and grit—runs through everything MADAM does, onstage and off!
“We’re a power trio, we were strangers, now we’re just best friends living the life we dreamed about!”
Photo Credit: Gabbie Burns
SONGS MADE FOR THE CROWD
When it comes to songwriting, MADAM’s process can start anywhere — a lyric, a riff, a passing theme — and it lands in their shared conversation before being hammered into shape in the studio. Inspiration isn’t precious; it comes from people, art, anger, headlines, or fleeting interactions. As the band puts it, writing is always “a job for three.”
For anyone discovering them now, Gabbie points to “Dance” as the place to start: “This is the song people start to sing by their own, we weren’t ready for that! Really, we didn’t see it coming. It’s rock, happy, a little dark. And it’s all we want to do with people when we’re playing: Dance.”
Right now, they’re wrapping their first album cycle, road-testing new material as they go. They’ve already played more than 140 shows across France and Europe off their debut Thanks for the Noise, with sets that hit hard and pull people in.
Backstage, the build-up is its own ritual: they jump in rhythm together, slap each other playfully, declare “je t’aime,” and then scream “on leur pète la gueule” (“let’s set them on fire”) before walking out. It’s messy, familiar chaos—the kind that anchors them before igniting the stage.
One of their defining moments came at a major metal festival: they opened to an empty field at noon, but by the second song the crowd had swelled into the thousands. By the end, fans were chanting “MADAM!” between songs — the band walked off stage in tears, stunned by the connection.
MADAM has played over 140 shows across Europe in support of their debut album Thanks for the Noise.
Photo Credit: Gabbie Burns
RITUALS, RIDERS, & ROGER
Backstage, MADAM runs on ritual. Before every set they jump in rhythm together, smack each other with love, whisper “je t’aime,” then shout “on leur pète la gueule” (“let’s set them on fire”) before charging onstage.
On the road, they’ve built their own rules. One of them: no drinking on tour. It was never a big declaration, just something the three of them agreed on from the start, and their crew naturally followed. For MADAM, it’s always been about clarity and connection over distraction. Even their rider keeps things personal. While their techs get single rooms, the band insists on a triple so they can end the night the same way they start the day — together.
And then there’s Roger. An old Peavey Classic 50 amp that spits out ghost noises at random, it’s earned a permanent place in the band’s story. Most groups would have scrapped it long ago, but MADAM gave it a name and kept it close.
WHAT’S NEXT
Having just completed their first UK tour, MADAM’s sights are set firmly on the United States. “We never played in the US! And we really want to. We’re looking for a booking agent, or to be openers for a band, or anything allowing us to come. Sometimes people from Los Angeles, or New York, send us messages like ‘hey when will you play here?!’, isn’t it crazy??”
Right now, MADAM are wrapping up their first album cycle and plotting the next chapter. Seven years in, they’ve already turned chance meetings into a band, small stages into festivals, and noise into momentum. The U.S. is the next piece of the puzzle — and when it happens, it won’t go unnoticed!
