August 9th, 2019
single track
Client Liaison – The Real Thing
Client Liaison are Australian indie-pop duo Monte Morgan (vocals), and Harvey Miller (keyboards, producer). When performing live, the duo expands to include Miller’s brother Geordie Miller on guitar and saxophone, and Tom Tilley on bass. He is also a DJ at radio station Triple J. The band are influenced by late ’80s and early ’90s electronic and house music.
Although Client Liaison their debut single End Of The Earth came out in mid-2012, their first album Diplomatic Immunity wasn’t released until the end of 2016. Having confirmed they are working on a second studio album, the group just released their new single The Real Thing. A funky dance tune with prominent percussion, that bears resemblance to On My Mind by Disciples.
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
Ava Max – Blood, Sweat And Tears
Although Amanda Ava Koci was born in the United States to Albanian parents, she describes herself as ‘100% Albanian’. An ambitious kid, she competed in multiple singing competitions before entering high school. But it wasn’t until she met producer Cirkut, that her career really took off.
Less than a year ago (mid-August 2018), Max released her third, Cirkut-produced single Sweet But Psycho. It became her global breakthrough hit, reaching number 1 in over 26 countries.
Not taking any chances, the singer and songwriter just put out a pair of new songs. Freaking Me Out, and Blood, Sweat And Tears. The latter, my favourite, is a mid-tempo track with an irresistible pop hook and an anthemic chorus, where she claims she would die with her love. According to Max, the song is ‘about giving all of yourself to someone you love and sticking by their side no matter what’.
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
Terence Jack – Found It
Four years ago, Canadian entrepreneur Terence Hermiston quit his day job. He had run a travel agency for 13 years, no less. However, he decided it was time to pursue his lifelong passion of playing and writing music, so off he went… From then on, he and a crew of other talented musicians would be Terence Jack.
Off to a good start, the single Eastern Rise from their debut EP Never Get Back nearly became song of the year 2016 in the Canadian Songwriting Competition. This accomplishment was followed by slots at quite a few major Canadian festivals. In other words: they’re quickly building a reputation.
Now, it’s time for new music. Currently working on a second EP, Bloom, the band offer a first glance at what it’ll sound like. Judging from this first single, they’ve established a sound of their own. Fresh and energetic, with epic dynamics and Honne-like vocals. Terence Jack ‘found it’, when will you find Terence Jack?
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
Ilira – Pay Me Back!
Following in the footsteps of artists like Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha and Ava Max, Ilira is well underway to become the next global super star with Albanian roots. Born Ilira Gashi in 1994 from Albanian parents, she was raised in Switzerland. Recently, she moved to Berlin.
Following three singles in 2018, her new single Pay Me Back! is her third of this year. On Twitter, She explains it’s ‘for everyone who wasted too much love, time, presents and money on their ex’. Apparently, it’s payback time…
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
Rider – Jump
Rider is a multi-instrumentalist, who plays, records and produces her songs herself. Half American and half English (with both passports), she was born in Pennsylvania, where she grew up in a musical family. After emigrating to the UK when she was 5, she started writing her first songs around the age of 8. From about 13 or 14, she started to produce her own tracks, using her dad’s music studio.
Obviously, no one was surprised when she decided she wanted to study at the Paul McCartney Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts, which she did. Since 2017, Rider releases a few singles a year. Jump is her seventh so far. A super catchy pop song with a huge singalong chorus. I could’ve done without the child in the middle, though 😉. A break-through would be well-deserved.
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 32):
Wildcard (week 32):
The Howl & The Hum – Human Contact
The inspirations of The Howl & The Hum range from Leonard Cohen and Phoebe Bridgers to Lizzo and Kendrick Lamar, and they have also been likened to Massive Attack, Radiohead and Alt-J. To be honest, I hear neither of these influences shine through in their own music, and that is meant to be a compliment. The Howl & The Hum created their own style, while playing live, a lot.
Hot on the heels of recent single Hall Of Fame, the band unleash the furious follow-up track Human Contact. A damn tight piece of music! “Human Contact is a fast-paced miserable disco touching on mental health and what it means to be alone in a digital age,” frontman Sam Griffiths explains. “The lyric deals with the idea of alienation vs. technology. When there’s so much communication going on around us at all times, can we ever feel a true connection?”
A great song with an important message. Does is get any better? Yes it does. Human Contact by The Howl & The Hum is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
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
Marika Hackman – All Night
After their break-up, both Amber Bain (a.k.a. The Japanese House) and Marika Hackman dedicated their new albums to documenting the relationship. Bain’s debut full length Good At Falling is a beautiful, but painfully personal collection of songs. We’ll only know what Hackman’s third album Any Human Friend sounds like once it’s released on 8 August.
However, some previews are already available. Following recent singles I’m Not Where You Are and The One, she just put out a third one: All Night. A sexually charged song.
Hackman explains: “I thought it would be exciting to write a really overtly sexual song about a woman from the perspective of a woman. You don’t hear much about sex between women in music, or if you do its usually from a fetishized male perspective. I thought I’d reclaim a bit of that power.”
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.
remake, single track
Grace Lightman – Repair Repair [2019 Version]
Before going solo, British electro-pop artist Grace Lightman fronted London psych-rockers The Hypnotic Eye. Her solo work is characterized by a somewhat detached vocal delivery, over dark beats and moody production. She describes her music as ‘one part ABBA and two parts Twin Peaks’.
One of her first solo outings, at the end of 2016, was the single Repair Repair. Lightman says of it: “The track started out as a jingle for a fictional weight loss milkshake advert but became a song about people’s fear of change, and the inevitability of becoming robots.”
A new version of this song now appears on the singer’s debut album Silver Eater, along with a new video. You can check it via the player below. The original, totally different video is harder to find, but if you’re curious: it’s here.
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
Dirty Heads – Lift Me Up
Ahead of their new album Super Moon (due on 9 August), Dirty Heads reveal its third single. Lift Me Up follows Listen To Me and the long-player’s title track.
While their latest single copied the horns of The Ides Of March’s Vehicle, their new effort features the bassline of Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin’s Je T’aime Moi Non Plus. A great idea, which makes Lift Me Up sound like a laid-back summer jam. Vocalist Jared Watson explains it’s a weed song. “We tapped into our own lives – we used to be drug dealers, so this is our version of Curtis Mayfield’s Pusherman, the theme song for some Shaft-style weed-seller.”
The Southern California alt-rock band’s upcoming album was produced by Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb. He produced the A Star Is Born soundtrack, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, and many more.
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 32)
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:
- Tape Toy – Sad Girl (Wildcard this week)
- Baker Grace – Sad Summer (Wildcard last week)
- Kesha – Best Day [Angry Birds 2 Remix]
- Lola Marsh – Echoes
- Prince – Holly Rock
- Sheppard – Kiss My Fat Ass
- Wallis Bird – Salve!
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: Haim, Nouvelle Vague feat. Julie Delpy, MisterWives, and many more.
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.
