April 30th, 2018
single track
The Nectars – We Will Run
New Jersey newcomers The Nectars released a new single, which follows Heaven and I Want It. Third time lucky, We Will Run is easily their most accessible song to date, with its danceable rhythm and sing-along ‘oowoh-oh oowoh-oh’ chorus. A euphoric indie anthem, poised to become a summer soundtrack for dreamers everywhere.
Leading lady Jessica Kenny explains: “We Will Run is a track that’s truly close to our hearts. The song talks about having the desire to leave everything behind and RUN… no looking back. I think that all of us here in The Nectars are dreamers, willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill our hearts desires.”
All three of the band’s singles will feature on their debut album Sci-Fi Television, a nine-song collection of short, sharp bangers, that is due to land on 25 May. Part of the promotion for the album is the quartet’s first visit to the UK, where they’ll play eight club and festival gigs during the month of May. Let’s hope The Nectars will spill their sweetness over the rest of Europe soon!
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.
werner's weekly
Werner’s Weekly (week 18)
It’s that time of the week again: here is my selection of the best tracks I recommended the last seven days. Werner’s Weekly is your compass to the music that matters…
- Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Bad Dreams (Wildcard this week)
- Cute Mess – Untied (Wildcard last week)
- Bishop Briggs – Tempt My Trouble
- Deva Mahal – Snakes
- Elisa – Will We Be Strangers
- Shed Seven – Won’t Get Home Tonight
The links point you to more info about each track, and you can listen to all six of them via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar.
Besides these highlights, other standout track this week included great new music by Albin Lee Meldau, Amber Arcades, DMA’s, Efecto Mariposa, Lissie, and Morcheeba feat. Roots Manuva. I added those and more to the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. I invite you to follow it, if you like these songs!
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.
single track
Feeder – Bruised
Feeder are currently releasing old B-sides, that are now available to stream and purchase digitally for the first time. After John Lennon cover Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy), R.E.M. cover Everybody Hurts, Sex Type Drug, Fly, and Bees (Alt. Mix), they just put Bruises online, originally released as a b-side to the single Feeling A Moment in 2005.
Oddly, the multitrack single of Feeling A Moment is present on Spotify, but Bruised was only available on the 2-track version, and had not yet (officially) been made available online. Until now…
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.
album track
Bishop Briggs – Tempt My Trouble
Personally, I first heard of Bishop Briggs early last year, when she collaborated with Cold War Kids on their single So Tied Up. However, the singer – whose real name is Sarah Grace McLaughlin – released a few singles of her own before. They all feature on her first official EP Bishop Briggs, which also includes my favourite track The Fire.
That song, and a couple of her earlier singles, also appear on Briggs’s just released debut album Church Of Scars. Opening track Tempt My Trouble is an absolute knocker and a great way to introduce her, if you didn’t already know her.
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.
single track
Ronald Maas – Lines In The Darkness
Ronald Maas has always been a sideman, so you may not have heard his name before. But don’t be mistaken, over the last two decades he has played over 1000 gigs with a huge variety of bands and projects, recorded some 40 albums, EP’s and singles and toured all over Europe.
His best-known projects are probably Dutch bands Number Nine and Audio Adam. In the summer of 2015 Maas moved to London, where he joined the band Jaya, whose single Love Is A Bird I wrote about earlier. Although Jaya is his musical priority, he managed to self-produce the concept EP Aries, ahead of an album that’s scheduled for release somewhere in 2019.
The four-track EP is available now. It features Jaya drummer Stefano Magini, but Maas can be heard on vocals, grand piano, Hohner Pianet, Roland F-20, guitars, bass guitars, and percussion. He is also responsible for all compositions, lyrics, production and engineering.
Lines In The Darkness is the single and this very well executed live version is the official video.
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.
chart, ebbchart
European Border Breakers Chart 27 April 2018
Interested in the first international successes of upcoming European artists? Then the European Border Breakers Chart is yours to follow. The fastest moving chart around is refreshed each Friday around noon. The new Top 100 is now ready for you to explore!
This week’s chart counts 23 newcomers, 12 of which were never in before. They are: Liam Payne feat. J Balvin – Familiar (#10), Ramz – Family Tree (#30), Naaz – As Fun (#45), Clara Luciani – La Grenade (#55), Spielbergs – Daisy! It’s The New Me (#64), Bloxx – Novocain (#69), Superorganism – SPRORGNSM (#74), Col3trane feat. Ebenezer – Language (#75), Amber Arcades – Simple Song (#80), Jen Jis feat. Feder & Bright Sparks – Keep Us Apart (#83), Halo Maud – Wherever (#88)…
But perhaps the most interesting entry in this week’s chart can be found at #99. There you’ll find arguably the very first chart hit of a song completely composed via artificial intelligence. How do you like Daddy’s Car by Flow Machines (artistic director Benoît Carré pictured)? It is written with algorithms that should make it sound like a song by The Beatles. Decide for yourself if you think they succeeded!
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.
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.
single trackBlossoms – There’s A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)
Blossoms – There’s A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)
At the end of 2015, Blossoms, from Manchester, scored the 1600th Wildcard in my Carte Blanche radio show of the day with their single Charlemagne. Subsequently, the band, who claim to be influenced by Arctic Monkeys, ABBA and The Doors, ended fourth in BBC’s Sound Of 2016.
Following up on their eponymous debut album, second record Cool Like You will come out this week. Their new single There’s A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls) was the first song frontman Tom Ogden wrote for the longplayer. The synthesizer is present more prominently than ever and the track has a high sing-along level. Clearly, the band is ready for the festival season!
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.
album track
Sub-Radio – Emotional
In 2017, Washington DC band Sub-Radio set out to release a single a month for an entire year, but after putting out 6 of the 12 planned singles, they decided to go for a different approach. Releasing a single every month being too exhausting a process, they opted to release an EP instead. That allowed them more time to create a cohesive piece of work that they felt they didn’t have to rush to release, like with the singles.
In February, the sextet put out the first single off the EP: What We Are. Now, the entire Headfirst EP is out there. A collection of danceable pop rock songs, of which Emotional is my favourite!
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.
single track
Deva Mahal – Snakes
Being the daughter of blues icon Taj Mahal and Inshirah Mahal, Deva Mahal has music running in her veins. Mixing her blues roots with modern R&B, indie-pop, soul, rock and gospel, while living a life rich with pain, joy, loss, love, heartache and experience, she grew out to be the genre-defying artist she is now.
After collaborating with a wide-ranging array of artists, including TV On The Radio, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, and Fat Freddy’s Drop, Deva Mahal just released her aptly-titled debut album Run Deep. One of its tracks, Snakes, is the new single. The song first appeared on her eponymous first EP and is now given a full-blown release.
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.
single track, wildcardWildcard (week 17):
Wildcard (week 17):
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Bad Dreams
Apart from being an actress, Scarlett Johansson is a singer. Her first album Anywhere I Lay My Head, full of Tom Waits covers, dates back to 2008 and her most recent single Set It All Free made it into the Carte Blanche Top 2016.
In 2009, she teamed up with singer-songwriter Pete Yorn for the first time. They recorded a duet album, Break Up. Nine years later, they’ll follow it up with a new EP called Apart, to be released on 1 June.
First single Bad Dreams is more bombastic than the material on Break Up. It’s a great pop song, with more than just a bit of Fleetwood Mac thrown into the mix. In the video, directed by the notorious Sophie Muller, Yorn and Johansson go on a hallucinatory road trip.
You can follow them on this trip the whole week long, for Bad Dreams is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard.
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.
