June 22nd, 2018
eMMa – Fått Deg På Hjernen
Most music on this blog is pretty much grown-up pop music, but exceptions prove the rule. And in general: the fact that a singer is only 10 years old can never be a reason in itself to disqualify a song, in my book. So here we go…
As you may have guessed, Emma Gunnarsen, from Norway, is 10 years old. She only turned 10 this week. In 2016, she released her first single Engler I Sne, which has over 13,5 million YouTube views by now. Fått Deg På Hjernen is only her second single and will surely follow suit. It’s catchy and shamelessly commercial. Not for everyone, but fun nevertheless.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
European Border Breakers Chart 22 June 2018
It’s Friday, music discovery day! Like every week, the European Border Breakers Chart is full of new European music that is crossing the borders of the artists’ home countries. These are 100 tracks that are currently being played on radio stations or listened to via streaming services across the continent, waiting to reach an even larger public.
Based on her success in the EBBChart, the definitive international break-through of Belgian singer Angèle (pictured) can’t be far away. Her third single La Thune is also her third hit in our chart. It’s this week’s highest entry of a total of 10 first-timers (apart from another 17 re-entries). These are all 10 of them:
#39: Angèle – La Thune
#48: Freya Ridings – Ultraviolet
#62: Lump feat. Laura Marling & Mike Lindsay – Hand Hold Hero
#67: Shy Martin – Forget To Forget
#79: Rohey – Is This All There Is?
#81: Malte Ebert – Rather Be
#90: Sigrid – Focus
#94: Lil Halima – Train
#95: Klan – Tropfen
#97: Tom Tripp – Loving You More
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.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Picture This – When We Were Young
Picture This is an Irish duo, consisting of childhood friends Ryan Hennessy (vocals) and Jimmy Rainsford (drums). They should have had their big break with their first single Take My Hand when it was release exactly two years ago (or at the end of 2017, when it was re-released). Alas, until now, they are mostly successful in their home country. But things can change…
Moving on from their eponymous debut album, Picture This just put out a new single. Another track that would sound great through your home stereo and during a stadium concert alike. New game, new chance!
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Yorick van Norden – More Than Words
Dutch musician Yorick van Norden likes a challenge or two. For the first single off his debut album, Gonna Try For The Sun, he tried to write a song with as little chords as possible. Apart from the bridge, he managed to do with only two chords.
However, for the new single off his next album, More Than Words, he tried to do exactly the opposite: as many chords as possible. He ended up with a tune containing no less than 22 chords. Still, this doesn’t interfere with the track being an uplifting love song in the best British pop tradition. Jangle pop with a classic guitar sound.
That the title has been used for another classic track before, doesn’t bother Van Norden. He doesn’t mind causing some confusion from time to time.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
The Struts – Body Talks
The Struts are a glam-influenced band from Derby, England, whose frontman Luke Spiller has the same amount bravado as talent. The latter doesn’t apply for every singer with a lot of bravado, so he does get away with it. And he does so easily, because he writes tunes in an over the top, retro-fetishist, classic rock style, that brings the fun back in rock. In that respect, Spiller has more in common with a young Freddie Mercury than his looks only.
Kiss This set the wheels in motion for the band, followed by Put Your Hands Up and the debut album Everybody Wants. Since then, they relocated to Los Angeles and started working on their next album.
Body Talks is the new single off it. Spiller calls it ‘a fully charged blues dance rock anthem that will have you moving across the room and straight onto the dance floor. Complete with some of the best guitars riffs of the past 10 years and guess what? This is only the beginning’.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wildcard (week 25):
Shanguy – King Of The Jungle
I wrote about Shanguy’s debut single La Louze when it came out in december 2017, and made it the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard at the start of this year. Since then, it grew out to become one of your favourite recommendations on this blog, based on the number of views.
Now, French singer-songwriter Eon Melka, Italian DJ NRD1, and indie singer-songwriter Frank-O are back with their second single and once again, it’s a cracker! Just like on their first effort, Stromae is a clear inspiration. I’m sure this song will appeal to a broad audience, and playlist curators could be helpful by giving it the prominent placing it deserves.
Allow me to set a good example: King Of The Jungle by Shanguy is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard (all of which you can find in the Wildcards 2018 playlist). This will provide the track with a prominent place on this blog for a full week. Enjoy!
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Dawid Podsiadło – Małomiasteczkowy
As I stated here before: there is more great music than music in English alone. Every country has its local pop culture that produces great music with only one (more than minor) ‘difficulty’: people from other countries can’t easily sing along with it. Carte Blanche Music doesn’t shy away from presenting non-English songs, because the melody, energy and overall impression are very important elements as well, in my opinion. Here is another great example…
Dawid Podsiadło is a local hero in Poland, whose first two albums have both received the ‘diamond’ certificate, thanks to sales exceeding 150.000 units each. Funnily, in the context of my introduction text, these albums contained songs sung in English. However, his upcoming third album, to be released in the autumn, will contain Polish lyrics. The first single off it, for instance, is called Małomiasteczkowy, which means ‘small town’. The singer calls it ‘a song about overcoming barriers, shame and looking for a place in the new reality’.
For the purposes of the video, Podsiadło joined a team which deals with transplanting trees, and participated in the process of planting a tree in the city centre of Warsaw.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
blackwave. – Whasgood?!
Rapper Jay Atohoun and singer/producer Willem Ardui are blackwave., a Belgian hip hop duo that is gaining more and more ground in their homeland. They followed their 2017 debut EP Mic Check with singles Elusive (David Ngyah) and Swangin’, and are currently working on their first proper long player, also to be named Swangin’.
Whasgood?! is their new single. A lovely slice of West Coast hip hop, soul and funk, with a great feel good vibe.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Deaf Havana – Sinner
Norfolk based band Deaf Havana have announced their fifth album Rituals, which is due for release 10 August. The production process was actually a challenge taken up by vocalist James Veck-Gilodi and album co-producer Phil Gornell. The idea was to write and record the songs in a relatively small space of time, ‘to make them more relevant to the band in the present’.
Frontman James says of the album: “It feels quite self-indulgent. This is the first time I feel like I have made an album that is all for me, written purely for my own enjoyment. I understand that I might alienate some people who might not ‘get’ the album, but I am so fortunate that the band are behind me all the way. Everyone is super excited to get out on the road and play all these songs live.”
On the new album, Deaf Havana sound more poppy that before, as you can hear on the first single, Sinner.
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 25)
Are you a fan of All Time Low, Chaka Khan, Death Cab For Cutie, eels, Estrons, Marilyn Manson, Tom Odell and/or Young The Giant? Then head over to the Carte Blanche Music playlist quickly, to hear their new singles (and those of numerous others).
Is your time more limited this week? Lucky you! I collected the best of last week’s releases in Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters.
Read more about them via the links below or spend 21 minutes of quality time listening to all six through the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. Enjoy!
- Blackbook – Love Is A Crime (Wildcard this week)
- The 1975 – Give Yourself A Try (Wildcard last week)
- Elvis Costello (feat. The Roots) – Someone Else’s Heart
- Kira Puru – Molotov
- Maicø – Hey Hey
- Sheila & The Kit – Time Again
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
