August 31st, 2020
werner's weekly
Werner’s Weekly (week 36)
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:
- Sebu with Eraserfase – The Worst That Could Happen To Us (Wildcard this week)
- Archie X – Loud Boy (Wildcard last week)
- Alex The Astronaut – Caught In The Middle
- Altered By Mom – You Can Do What You Want With My Heart, Babe
- Dancer – Dreamer
- Ellur – Alive
- London Grammar – Baby It’s You
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: Billie Joe Armstrong, Dua Lipa, Sheryl Crow, The Smashing Pumpkins, and 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.
cover, single track
Sarah Wolfe – You Don’t Know Me
Etcetc is an Australian music label that released some pretty epic electronic and indie music the last 10 years. Two Door Cinema Club, Duke Dumont, PNAU, Jax Jones, Duck Sauce, and Datarock are only a few of the names on their roster. Commemorating this more than successful period, the label compiled a Decade Of Dance playlist with it’s best releases. Other artists were then challenged to make their own creative covers of any track from that playlist. Winners were given the means to properly record their version.
Top picks from the competition will be released on the upcoming compilation Decade Of Dance: Reworked. The first track to emerge is Sarah Wolfe’s fab re-interpretation of Jax Jones’ You Don’t Know Me. She turned an already great dance track into a sassy, bass-driven indie-pop stomper.
Recommended as well:
Sarah Wolfe feat. The Flowers – 100 Times
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
The Score feat. Awolnation – Carry On
The Score are Los Angeles duo Eddie Anthony (vocals, guitar) and Edan Dover (keyboards, production). They started in a tiny Upper East Side apartment and soon specialized in big, booming, uplifting, stadium-size anthems. A rather successful formula, apparently. Five years later, their music has been streamed nearly three billion times. Meanwhile, a fan base of millions sings along to every word.
No wonder then, that they crossed paths with Awolnation, who fish in the same pond. Their collaborative single Carry On is about as epic as epic gets. The chorus is massive, the strings are thick, the drums are explosive and the whistle is contagious.
Carry On is the title track of The Score’s second album, which also features collabs with Travis Barker and Jamie N Commons.
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
Marble Waves – Caught In A Current
Marble Waves consists of singer-songwriter Eveline Armina Haverlag, guitarist Frank Geerlings, bass player Amé Staal and drummer Rutger Louwerse. Please note the subtle contradiction in the band’s name. Marble is solid, unmoving and frozen in time and space, whereas waves are always moving and never stay in one shape or one place.
Although Amsterdam-based, Marble Waves draw their influences from all over the world. Basically a folk band, their sound incorporates elements of Americana, indie, and pop as well. They wrap poetic lyrics in layered vocals, underscored by simple but effective violin arrangements and ethereal guitar work. The kind of music that goes down well in a full-band setup, but in an acoustic setting as well.
After releasing their debut single only last April, Caught In A Current is Marble Waves’ third release. It’s a song about the feeling of always working hard and struggling, while staying stuck in the same place, never getting somewhere.
All three songs will be on the band’s upcoming 6-track debut EP, scheduled for release later this year. It was produced by Tom Sikkers. Formerly singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer of bands like Wealthy Beggar and Daybroke, he now specializes in sound design, and music for movies and TV. Which explains the cinematic quality of Marble Waves’ music…
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
Delta Spirit – The Pressure
Six years after their latest offering, Delta Spirit come back on 11 September with their new album What Is There. The 10-song set was produced by the band and mixed by Tchad Blake (Crowded House, The Black Keys, U2). It was dedicated to the memory of the band’s friend and musical inspiration, Richard Swift.
The Pressure is the long-player’s fourth single. A driving pop-rock song with a deeper meaning, as frontman Matthew Logan Vasquez detailed in Paste Magazine: “Psychological projection is a defense mechanism in which the human ego defends itself against unconscious impulses or qualities (both positive and negative) by denying their existence in themselves while attributing them to others. We live in an unmanageable world, with unrealistic expectations of ourselves and each other. We are both the hero and villain of our own story. While our ego is trying to keep us the former, unbeknownst to us everyone around is possibly experiencing the latter. It’s been over a year since I wrote this song, and so much has obviously changed for all of us since then. I can’t help but laugh/cringe when I hear the lyric ‘the masks we made are wearing thin.’ Now in this time of COVID-19, BLM, and this upcoming election, I hope I can learn to share my convictions and experiences with those who disagree with me with the same love and grace that I am learning to offer myself.”
Recommended as well:
Delta Spirit – It Ain’t Easy
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
Lucius – Man In My Radio
Lucius may not have released new music for about two years, but they haven’t exactly sat still. Through the month of July, they hosted a four-part livestream series called Turning It Around. It featured musician friends like Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, and Courtney Barnett. These performances raised over $70,000 for a handful of their beloved local small businesses in Los Angeles.
The band just put out a vinyl reissue of their 2013 debut studio album Wildewoman. It comes with a free download of a previously unreleased track, recorded during the sessions for that album. Man In My Radio is brimming with energy, and includes a banjo, frantic guitar lines and fast-paced high hats.
Talking about Man In My Radio, Lucius explain: “We were living in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn and had just built a little studio in our apartment. One that would become the home for the first recordings of Wildewoman. As we started writing and exploring the recording process, every so often we had some powerful radio signals coming through the speakers. Every time we were onto something, the same man’s voice would start speaking through the radio. He started to make it impossible to concentrate on anyone but him. He made it into our daily lives, and eventually, into a song.”
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
Gizmo Varillas – Rise
Gizmo Varillas’ mix of folk and pop with tropical instrumentation, Latin and Afrobeat rhythms never disappoints. His latest album Out Of The Darkness is full of the kind of music we need in the current climate. However, as the title suggests, there’s more to the songs than sunshine and happiness alone.
Take Varillas’ new single for instance, which is about his own personal journey overcoming depression. On the other hand, it’s a song of hope, that can be of comfort to those going through difficult times. And aren’t we all going through difficult times the last few months? Although the track was written at a different time and in a different world, it speaks perfectly to the state of global upheaval and sustained lack of conclusion we are all living right now.
A song called Rise can only be up-beat, positive and uplifting, can it? And indeed, it is. “Perseverance and taking little steps, no matter how small, will help you get to where you want to be”, according to Varillas.
Recommended as well:
Gizmo Varillas – Born Again
Gizmo Varillas – Losing You
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
TESSÆ – Salope
Marseille-based TESSÆ is an upcoming artist on the French music scene. She moves somewhere halfway pop princess Angèle and urban acts like Damso.
Only 19 years old, she deals with a grown-up subject on her new single Salope (French for ‘bitch’). It’s about women being harassed by men in public spaces. Since rejecting the advances might evoke aggressiveness, it’s better not to look around, but to just walk on, TESSÆ pleads.
Salope is the first single off her forthcoming EP Été (‘summer’), which follows the EP Printemps (‘spring’). With a nod to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the singer’s third and fourth EP in this series will be titled Automne (‘autumn’) and Hiver (‘winter’).
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 35):
Wildcard (week 35):
Sebu with Eraserfase – The Worst That Could Happen To Us
In his band Capital Cities, Sebu Simonian specialized in banging pop singles. As a commercial jingle composer, he knew how to write a catchy melody. I bet you’ll recognize their hit Safe And Sound.
As a solo artist however, Sebu makes music that impacts on a more emotional level. Both musically, lyrically and visually. His earlier singles The Secret Is Out and Have You Ever Hurt Somebody are great examples of how minimal music can be meaningful music. And his new song takes this concept to the next level.
The Worst That Could Happen To Us, a collaboration with Los Angeles-based producer Eraserfase, is based around a beautiful piano melody, prominent drums and lots of subtle electronic elements. Its lyrics are more in your face though, and so is the video. The clip is entirely made using the famous, 29 seconds short video of a Lebanese bride in Beirut, filmed at the exact moment an explosion destroyed most of the town. Talk about making an impact…
You can stream the song everywhere, obviously. But if you still like to extend your MP3 library, Sebu offers the track for free (and legally) in high quality via his website.
The Worst That Could Happen To Us is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
Recommended as well:
Sebu feat. Sirusho – Have You Ever Hurt Somebody
Sebu – The Secret Is Out [Lucas Vidal Arrangement]
In the Wildcards 2020 playlist you’ll 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.
werner's weekly
Werner’s Weekly (week 35)
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:
- Archie X – Loud Boy (Wildcard this week)
- Town Of Cats – Lemons (Wildcard last week)
- Catherine Anne Davies & Bernard Butler – Sabotage (Looks So Easy)
- E^ST – I Wanna Be Here
- Ellie Dixon – Space Out!
- Mell & Vintage Future – Brand New Day
- The Flowers – You Don’t Say!
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: American Autors, Bright Eyes, Roosevelt, and 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.
