Carte Blanche Music

Mighty Oaks – Driftwood Seat

January 18th, 2019

Eight years have passed since Ian Hooper, Craig Saunders, and Claudio Donzelli of Berlin-based band Mighty Oaks self-released their first EP Driftwood Seat. Although the collection was never officially released – not supported by a label anyway – the songs garnered several hundred thousand plays on SoundCloud.

While working on their third album, the band decided to have another go at the four songs on the EP that started their career, and whose title track closed almost every show over the years. The new recording reflects the current change over time: not a radical rework but a natural evolution.

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

single track

whenyoung – Never Let Go

January 17th, 2019

2018 was a good year for Irish-born, London-based band whenyoung. Their debut single Pretty Pure was a banger straight away, just like their first EP Given Up, which featured follow-up Heaven On Earth.

Never Let Go is the band’s first offering of the new year. Vocalist and bassist Aoife Power explains: “It’s a song about mental health and hope. It’s a message to let people know that you can share your pain with others. It’s a reminder that someone is always there for you even in the darkest times. There is always a reason to not let go.”

The band photo on the artwork shows what you can also hear in the music: it has become more stylish, more sophisticated. The guitars are less prominent in the mix, in favour of synths. This gives the song a fuller sound, ready for radio and hopefully a next step towards the masses.

If you happen to be at showcase festival ESNS in Groningen, the Netherlands: tomorrow (18 January) they play in venue Vrijdag from 10:50PM. See you there!

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

pop | rock

single track

Jesse Hite – When It All Comes Down

January 17th, 2019

Never heard of Jesse Hite? You’re not to blame, When It All Comes Down is only his debut single. But what a way to start a career!

Jesse Hite is an American artist, who currently lives in France. This first release is equal parts funk and soul, in a way Jamie Lidell, Jamie Woon, or even Hall & Oates combined them. And the horn section at the end makes it even groovier. His debut EP, with even more of this, is something to look forward to. It comes out this Spring.

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

funk | pop | soul

single track

American Authors – Stay Around

January 16th, 2019

The members of American Authors met while attending Berklee College of Music in 2006. The quartet spent their first years in Boston, recording and performing music under the name the Blue Pages. In 2010, the band relocated to Brooklyn, where they changed their name to American Authors in 2012.

Now, five year since their break-through single Best Days Of My Life, the band are about to issue their third album Seasons. It contains the last year released singles Deep Water, Say Amen, Neighborhood and the brand-new track Stay Around. A beat-driven, up-tempo song!

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

pop | rock

single track, wildcard

Wildcard (week 3):
Jon Tessier – For A Little Eye Candy

January 16th, 2019

Jon Tessier is a Brazilian-French singer-songwriter and music producer, who spent childhood and most of his teenage years in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The last three years however, he’s been working on his music from Ibiza (Spain) and Paris (France).

He draws inspiration from a diverse range of musical heroes, including Mötley Crüe, Depeche Mode, The Doors, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers as well as the Brazilian bossa nova artist João Gilberto. None of them are overtly present in the music Tessier makes himself, which can be described as guitar-driven pop music with an alternative rock edge. A new artist with a fresh sound, that I like very much.

For A Little Eye Candy, Jon Tessier’s new single, is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, which means it features prominently on this blog for seven full days.

In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.

indie | pop | rock

single track

Stats – Lose It

January 15th, 2019

You might not know Ed Seed by name, but he was part of La Roux (remember the great single Bulletproof?) and played guitar and keys in Dua Lipa’s band. He quit that day job to take care of his new-born son and started working on his own band Stats’s debut album Other People’s Lives, to be released on 15 February.

Stats are a London sextet that plays full-band dance music, inspired by the likes of Roxy Music and LCD Soundsystem. The group got a boost last year, when their single Rhythm Of The Heart (created around a recording of Seed’s son’s heat beat) got airplay on Elton John’s Beats1 radio show. Their funky latest single Lose It however, sounds like it could be playlisted by radio stations and streaming services all around.

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

electronic | pop

cover, single track

Mercury Rev feat. Norah Jones – Okolona River Bottom Band

January 15th, 2019

Mercury Rev’s new album, out on 8 February, will be a reconstruction of Bobbie Gentry’s underappreciated 1968 cult classic The Delta Sweete. A star studded rendition, featuring contributions from Norah Jones, Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval, Lucinda Williams, Margo Price, Beth Orton, Susanne Sundfør from Norway, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab fame, Dutch actress Carice van Houten, Rachel Goswell, Vashti Bunyan, Kaela Sinclair, Marissa Nadler and Phoebe Bridgers.

Louisiana Man, off the original album, is missing from the project. It will be replaced by a new version of probably Bobbie Gentry’s best-known song Ode To Billie Joe (a Billboard number 1, which was in fact from her same-titled debut album). Mercury Rev’s version features Lucinda Williams’s vocals. Tip: also check the version Sinéad O’Connor recorded in 1995 for the infamous Help! album.

The Delta Sweete’s opening track, a beautifully orchestrated version of Okolona River Bottom Band (feat. Norah Jones) is the set’s intriguing new single. Looking forward to the rest!

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

orchestral | pop

single track

Videoclub – Roi

January 14th, 2019

At the tender age of 17, Adèle Castillon has quite a career already. After quickly rising to fame as a YouTube personality, she was asked to play roles in several French movies. And now, she added singing to her CV. Together with fellow teen, singer-songwriter Matthieu Reynaud (son of French jazz guitarist Régis Reynaud), she forms Videoclub.

After releasing their debut single Amour Plastique in September 2018, Roi (‘king’) is only their second outing. A lovely electronic pop song with classic chanson melodies, coupled with eighties-influenced raps. This song couldn’t have come from any other country than France…

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

chanson | electronic | hip hop | pop

werner's weekly

Werner’s Weekly (week 3)

January 14th, 2019

This is Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:

Lizzo – Juice (Wildcard this week)
The Lottery Winners – That’s Not Entertainment (Wildcard last week)
As December Falls – On The Edge
Chateau Chateau – Evidence
Evil Edna – Isle Of Dogs
Mamas Gun – Golden Days
Uncle Frank – Lay It All At His Feet

Click the links for more info and listen to each of the tracks via the Werner’s Weekly player below.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Also added last week: Blood Red Shoes, The Chemical Brothers, Janelle Monáe, Joe Jackson, Radiohead, White Lies and many more.

chart, ebbchart

European Border Breakers Chart 11 January 2019

January 11th, 2019

Making the last refinements before the Music Moves Europe Talent Chart is finally launched, next week, we needed to recalculate last week’s European Border Breakers Chart. Just so you know. Upon launch, all of the chart rules will be explained here very clearly, showing what a powerful tool we are developing for emerging European artists, bookers, managers, journalists, and consumers alike. Yes, I am proud! 😉

Now, one week before the rebranding officially takes place, let’s look at what’s happening in the European Border Breakers Chart one last time. You might say it goes out with a bang, opening its gate to 29 (re)entries, 13 of which are complete newcomers:
#23: Jugo Ürdens – Yugo
#34: Sea Girls – All I Want To Hear You Say
#42: Spielbergs – Five On It
#48: Kokoroko – Uman
#62: Rosalía (pictured) – Dí Mi Nombre
#63: Jada – Lonely
#65: Sophie Lloyd feat. Dames Brown – Calling Out
#66: jens – Any Other Way
#74: Aya Nakamura – La Dot
#82: You Tell Me – Clarion Call
#85: Karel – Out
#86: Amilli – Maybe
#94: Hugo Helmig – Young Like This

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.

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Mighty Oaks – Driftwood Seat

whenyoung – Never Let Go

Jesse Hite – When It All Comes Down

American Authors – Stay Around

Wildcard (week 3):
Jon Tessier – For A Little Eye Candy

Stats – Lose It

Mercury Rev feat. Norah Jones – Okolona River Bottom Band

Videoclub – Roi

Werner’s Weekly (week 3)

European Border Breakers Chart 11 January 2019

Wildcard (week 3)

Werner’s Weekly (week 3)

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