Carte Blanche Music

European Border Breakers Chart 16 November 2018

november 16

Let’s talk about a real European Border Breakers Chart success story: this week, Belgian singer Angèle (pictured) lands all 12 tracks off her debut album Brol in the Top 16 of the Streaming Chart. This is an even better score than 5 weeks ago. Then, just after her album’s release, all 12 tracks appeared in the chart’s Top 18. Looks like Belgium produced a new pop star!

I’m sure Angèle would have received a European Border Breakers Award for this feat, but alas that prize is no more. Therefore, for the record: Angèle is by far Belgium’s most successful emerging artist of the last year, and even on a European scale, the impressive performance of all of her album’s tracks is unprecedented.

Looking at the other 88 positions in the overall Top 100, which incorporates airplay and streaming, we find 24 (re)entries. Exactly half of those tracks have never been in the chart before:
#27: Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
#46: Between Mountains – Into The Dark
#56: Drenchill feat. Indiiana – Freed From Desire
#61: Komodo – Bengali Crown
#63: Kamferdrops – Svake Mennesker
#70: Unknown T – Homerton B
#72: Famke Louise – Op Me Monnie
#82: Gyda – Moonchild
#84: ViVii – Suckerpunch
#89: Suzi Wu – Grim Reaper
#94: Altın Gün – Cemalim
#100: Prospa – Prayer

For the full Top 100, click the ‘EBBChart’ tab in the top menu of this blog (loading of the PDF may take a little while). More charts, like the Tips (ranking the tracks that are on their way to the Top 100), the Airplay Chart and the Streaming Chart, are available at www.europeanborderbreakerschart.eu, where you can also listen to all of the tracks and watch their videos, as well as share them via social media.

single track

Knife Club – When My Eyes Are Heavy

november 16

I’m excited to introduce you to the very first single of Knife Club. This band was formed by three experienced musicians of the Brighton music scene: singer/bassist Chris Hollands, drummer Dave Bishop and guitarist Louis May. They came together in an attempt to make something different to what they had done before, but also modern and relevant.

When My Eyes Are Heavy is a blast of fresh energy, influenced by bands such as Idles, Interpol and Thee Oh Sees. Knife Club recorded this debut at the Levellers’ Metway Studio, where it was produced by Toby May (The Maccabees, The Electric Soft Parade, Clearlake). Those are great references in my book!

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

indie | punk | rock

single track

Anya – Lift Me Up

november 15

When a song called Lift Me Up isn’t uplifting, something goes terribly wrong. Well, don’t fear, Anya’s new single is as uplifting as can be. It’s an upbeat, soulful track.

Introducing the tune on Facebook, the Danish singer explains: “About a year ago, in a really rough period of my life, I wrote this song. It’s written to a future love. Someone who could lift me up and help me out of the heartache I was in. It worked pretty well. This song continues to make me happy every time I hear it.”

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

pop

single track

Audio Adam – Emma Watson

november 15

It’s been over a year since we last heard from Audio Adam. Following the Dutch band’s debut album This Is Our Home and its follow-up Moving Down The Grey Line, they recorded a few stand-alone singles. Break Down was the latest, 14 months ago.

Since then, the band shrunk into a trio, which recorded the songs for their upcoming third album, due to be released in 2019. The first single is out now. Bass player Emiel Schaap says about the pop rock track: “Emma Watson is about worshiping famous people and an unhealthy attraction to celebrities.” The name of Harry Potter actress Emma Watson is not part of the lyrics, however. Schaap explains: “The title comes from the chorus, where we sing ‘Am I what?’, which resembles ‘Emma Watson’.”

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

pop | rock

single track

Moscow Apartment – Orange

november 14

Moscow Apartment are a promising Canadian teen duo, consisting of Brighid Fry (14) and Pascale Padilla (16). After releasing their self-titled debut EP in 2017, they decided to submit the demo for their track Orange to the Canadian Songwriting Competition. It won them the Under 18 category.

After picking judge Joel Plaskett’s brain about music, song writing, and production, they went back into the studio and co-produced the final version of their winning song. “The recording experience was fun because we had really strong ideas of what we wanted Orange to sound like and we were able to manifest those ideas with engineer Guillermo Subauste’s help.”

About the track itself, a tune that mixes indie folk with triumphant pop, the duo explain: “Orange is about the weird twilight-zone feeling that happens sometimes at sunset – when things suddenly don’t feel real, like everything around you is a movie.”

Moscow Apartment’s second EP is on its way.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

folk | indie | pop

single track, wildcard

Wildcard (week 46):
Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry

november 14

Full disclosure: Danish-born, Holland-based Jonas Brøg is not only a very talented singer-songwriter, drummer and producer, he’s also a friend of mine. A guy that I knew as happy and light-hearted. Then, three years ago, he sunk into a depression. It was (and is) heart-breaking to see his sadness, especially since there appears to be no reason for it; he crafts great songs with an extreme ear for details, he has a wonderful wife, a beautiful child… and this damned depression…

Lucky for him, Jonas also has his music. He picked up drumming again, stopped (temporarily, I hope!) producing songs for others and started writing for himself, as a therapy. However delicate his own songs are, he decided to share them for the first time, taking us along on his journey back into the light. And with his character and attitude, I’m very confident he’ll get there!

Jonas is not the only talented musician in the Brøg family. On a holiday in Denmark, he was stunned when he heard his 15-year-old niece Laura Mathilde sing. He convinced her to sing on one of his songs and the result is breath-taking. As Jonas explains: “Although merely 15 years young at the time of recording this song, I’m convinced her soul is older than a few thousand years and I personally love the depth of her voice.”

This final version of I Think Of You I Cry may very well be its 50^th incarnation. Jonas is a perfectionist and he tweaks his songs endlessly. In my ears, he reached perfection this time, with distorted synth notes, a dry drum sound, beautiful string arrangements, captivating vocals, and lyrics about a destructive, half-hearted, jealous and unhealthy kind of love. For you didn’t expect this to be an optimistic song, did you? 😉

If you like Hooverphonic (whom I adore), you should definitely listen to I Think Of You I Cry by Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde. It’s this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, so it’s only one mouse click away for a whole week.

In the Wildcards 2018 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.

melancholic | orchestral | pop

album track

Hollydays – Minuit (La Baie Noire)

november 13

Hollydays are Elise Preys and Sébastien Delage, a pop duo from Paris. Seven years ago, they came together in high school. At first, they were playing covers, but in 2012, they started writing their own songs as Hollydays. Pop songs, that is, by its original meaning, being ‘popular’. The band love melodies that everyone can sing, all together. Their musical vision: a good melody can make the difference.

After releasing a single and three EPs over the years, Hollydays have finally put out their debut album Hollywood Bizarre. Four of their old songs are on it, next to nine new ones. I’m particularly fond of Minuit (La Baie Noire). A Vive La Fête kind of electronic pop song with great instrumentation and catchy vocals. Frencher than French.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

electronic | pop

single track

Georgia – Started Out

november 13

One of the first recommendations I wrote, in January 2017, was for Georgia’s single Feel It. Since then, the daughter of Leftfield’s Neil Barnes has been working on new music, with Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips, for instance. Although there is no album in sight yet, she does give us a new single.

Started Out is an upbeat and euphoric track. It has a throwback feel, caused by electronic claps, squelchy bass lines and dreamy, misty-eyed vocals. “I used a 909 drum machine, an SH-101 synth… Everything you hear on the recording is analogue,” she says, “But I also wanted it to be poppy. As well as being nostalgic, I wanted stuff to be quite modern, because otherwise it’s just a cheap copy. I wanted to add my flare.”

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

electronic | pop

single track

1010 Benja SL – Ultimaybe

november 12

1010 Benja SL, a producer and vocalist from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the latest signing to the Young Turks label (home to The xx, Sampha, Kamasi Washington and others). New to the scene, he only put out two singles, before his just-released six-track EP Two Houses. The title refers to the artist’s own dualistic tendencies. He explains: “The Two Houses are the houses of contradiction; the left and right brain, the loving and fearing heart, the long and short end of the stick.”

1010 Benja SL created the project entirely by himself, writing, playing and producing every single note. The six tracks are very different, but they all have experimentalism in common. Ultimaybe is the set’s first single. An exciting track that combines contemporary R&B with ’80s-leaning funk.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

pop | r&b

werner's weekly

Werner’s Weekly (week 46)

november 12

Early November and the first new Christmas songs are starting to appear. Honestly, they’re not my thing. Apart from tongue in cheek Christmas songs or festive tunes with an edge, which I add to a dedicated playlist: Werner’s X-Mess. Feel free to follow and get the party started! 😉

Meanwhile, there’s still more than enough ‘normal’ music coming out. By Ice Cube, The Kooks and The Smashing Pumpkins, for instance. I add all of this great new music to my Carte Blanche Music playlist on a daily basis and the highlights are recommended here on the blog.

And then, there is the highest level of honour: a position in Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters. This alphabetically ordered selection contains only the best of the best of last week’s releases, kicking off with the latest two Carte Blanche Music Wildcards. You can listen to the tracks via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar, while more information on each track is available through the links below:

Jade Bird – Love Has All Been Done Before (Wildcard this week)
The Proclaimers – Then It Comes To Me (Wildcard last week)
Nona – Last To Know
Ruby Bones – Not Enough
Sophie & The Giants – Waste My Air
Sunflower Bean – Come For Me

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

folk | indie | pop | rock

12 3 4 5

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European Border Breakers Chart 16 November 2018

Knife Club – When My Eyes Are Heavy

Anya – Lift Me Up

Audio Adam – Emma Watson

Moscow Apartment – Orange

Wildcard (week 46):
Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry

Hollydays – Minuit (La Baie Noire)

Georgia – Started Out

1010 Benja SL – Ultimaybe

Werner’s Weekly (week 46)

Wildcard (week 46)

Werner’s Weekly (week 46)

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Wildcard (week 46)

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