March 30th, 2018
Magnus Carlson & Weeping Willows – Wait For Love To Grow
If you like Northern Soul (think The Style Council), then stop what you were doing and check this: Magnus Carlson, who is one of Sweden’s most successful artists, has a brand-new single out. He co-wrote Wait For Love To Grow with members of his band Weeping Willows, who also perform on the track.
âWeeping Willows?â, I hear you think. You may know them from Broken Promise Land, which received some airplay in 1999, but never really scored big time. Carlson, already the singer of the band at that time, also sang with fellow Swedish act West End Girls on a cover of the Pet Shop Boys’ What Have I Done To Deserve This? in 2008. He has seven solo albums to his name as well, most of them in Swedish.
This year, Carlson will release his first ever full-length solo album in the UK. It was largely recorded and produced at Paul Weller’s Black Barn studio in Surrey (do you feel the Style Council connection?). Wait For Love To Grow is the albumâs first single.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
European Border Breakers Chart 30 March 2018
Good Friday just got even better with the publication of the new European Border Breakers Chart. One of the great things of an extra-long weekend is the fact you finally have time to enjoy the chart in full. And there is quite a lot to enjoy! This week, the Top 100 contains no less than 26 Easter eggs: tracks that (re)enter the chart. Exactly half of them are songs that are in the quickest European hit list for the very first time. I bet you have never heard of most of them before. You can get to know each of them via the combined play/share button behind the track.
These are this weekâs newcomers: Altin GĂŒn – Tatli Dile Guler Yuze (#49), K-Phax – Failure (#60), Hrvy – Personal (#77), Sigrid – I Don’t Want To Know (#78), Da Beatfreakz feat. Giggs â Swinginâ In Da Whip (#81), Spielbergs – We Are All Going To Die (#85), Chris Abolade – Tranquilo (#86), Kojaque – Bubby’s Cream (#87), 77:78 – Love Said (Let’s Go) (#88), Superorganism – Nobody Cares (#92), Art School Girlfriend – Moon (#93), Mont Jake feat. Leland Whitty & Gene Fisher – Come Closer (#94), and Mr. Jukes feat. Lianne La Havas – When Your Light Goes Out (#96).
For the full Top 100, click the âEBBChartâ 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.
Happy Easter, happy discovery!

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
The Vaccines – Your Love Is My Favourite Band
When The Vaccines recorded their fourth album Combat Sports (out tomorrow, 30 March), they realised they needed to be a guitar band again, as on their debut, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? Last year, they whittled down the 80 songs they had written to 11 and recorded them in Sheffield with producer Ross Orton, who previously worked with bands such as Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A. and The Fall.
You may know nearly half of the albumâs tracks already, as I Canât Quit, Nightclub, Put It On A T-Shirt and Surfing In The Sky have been released digitally in the past three months. Itâs 2018 after all. Saving the best for last, Your Love Is My Favourite Band has been put out just days before the album. Looking forward to it!
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Kacey Musgraves – High Horse
If you like Kacey Musgraves for the country singer she used to be, you might as well stop reading. The only thing that links her new pop single to country is the letter âoâ thatâs in both genres. Which reads as â0â. Well, okay, thereâs âhorseâ in the title, but thatâs really it.
Talking about her upcoming album Golden Hour (out tomorrow, 30 March) and the disco influences in this single, Musgrave states: “I was on a huge Bee Gees kick whenever I was making this album and I was intrigued by the thought of a world where Bee Gees kind of meets country music. These days I only see music really as falling into two genres, good or bad.”
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
DMAâs – For Now
Australian trio DMAâs are one of Liam Gallagherâs new favourite bands. Probably because of the amount of Britpop they stick in their songs, which sometimes makes them sound like Oasis 2.0 (and whatâs not to like about that?). New single For Now is a great example of that.
For Now is the title track off DMAâs second album, that will come out on 27 April. It was recorded in their home studio and produced by one half of The Presets: Kim Moyes. His was originally commissioned to produce the first two singles, Dawning and In The Air, but got along with the band so well, they asked him to stay on board for the rest of the record, the follow-up to their 2016 debut album Hills End.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wildcard (week 13):
Tiny Fighter – New Century
In 2016, Tim Spelman moved from Melbourne to Stockholm, where he joined forces with local singer Therese Karlsson to form Tiny Fighter. They are the perfect match, as they complement each other: Tim is good at starting songs, Therese has a talent for finishing them.
Now working together for only a year, New Century is the duoâs debut single. An indie-pop song with a bittersweet edge and a New Order-like bass line. It comes with a video that was shot entirely on a 360 degree camera. And although no special effects were added in post-production, filming it this way produced some stunning visual effects in itself.
New Century by Tiny Fighter features prominently on this blog for a week as the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. You can find all of them in the Wildcards 2018 playlist.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Gang Of Youths – The Heart Is A Muscle
Gang Of Youths are a quintet from Sydney, Australia, fronted by singer and songwriter Dave Leâaupepe, and complemented by a few friends from school and church: Joji Malani (lead guitar), Jung Kim (guitar/keyboards), Max Dunn (bass) and Donnie Borzestowski (drums).
The Heart Is A Muscle is a great song off their second album Go Farther In Lightness that was put out late last year. But the track has only now been edited down for radio stations, meaning the real campaign has just begun. I hope it gets the airplay it deserves.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Corine – Il Fait Chaud
Iâve got another âhotâ song from France for you. And as you know if you follow Carte Blanche Music: thereâs a lot of good music coming from that country lately.
Corine is a young singer with a voluminous hairdo, whose funky disco pop has a sensual, even kitschy edge, in a way thatâs typically French. Itâs almost a trademark for French music throughout the decennia. You wonât be surprised, then, that her music has more than a touch of â70s and â80s in it.
She released her first EP Fille De Ta RĂ©gion in 2016 and the follow-up, Fille De Ta RĂ©gion 2 (I kid you not), will be out 13 April. Il Fait Chaud (âitâs hotâ) is the new single, which instantly brings out the sun!
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Fangclub – All Fall Down
Irish rock band Fangclub was founded in 2013, but in 2017, things really got started. After two EPâs in the previous year, they released their eponymous debut album, which was nominated for Album Of The Year by radio station RTE, did a headline tour across the UK and Ireland and supported Biffy Clyro, Muse and Pixies.
The band lose no time to release brand new music. All Fall Down is an adrenaline-fueled track that still manages to include an infectious melody and a bloody catchy chorus. Fangclub is currently writing new material for their second album and I hope they continue to move in this new direction.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wernerâs Weekly (week 13)
Nice additions this week to the Carte Blanche Music playlist, containing the best new music released in 2018 so far. How about Mamaâs Gun, (former?) Everything But The Girls singer Tracey Thorn, Two Door Cinema Club, Kodaline, and Roxetteâs Per Gessle & Helena Josefsson, who provide the official song for the World Table Tennis Championship 2018?
But like each Monday morning, last weekâs top songs are ordered alphabetically in Wernerâs Weekly, your compass to the music that matters:
- Echosmith – Over My Head (Wildcard this week)
- BC Unidos (feat. US Girls & Ledinsky) – Take It Easy (Wildcard last week)
- Arcade Fire – Put Your Money On Me
- Kitty, Daisy & Lewis – The Game Is On
- Liza Anne – Panic Attack
- Portugal. The Man – Feel It Still (âWeird Alâ Yankovic Remix)
20 minutes is all you need to update yourself with the best new music. Simply listen through the Wernerâs Weekly player in the sidebar and click the links above for more information about each track. Enjoy!
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.