December 19th, 2020
single track
Aaron Frazer – If I Got It (Your Love Brought It)
Singing drummers, you gotta love ‘em. We all know Phil Collins, Don Henley and Sheila E., but there’s a new generation coming up. How about Georgia or Aaron Frazer? The latter is best known for his work behind the drum kit of Durand Jones & The Indications, where he’s also second vocalist. And a very decent one, that is.
8 January 2021, his solo debut album will come out. Although you may know him already, it’s modestly named Introducing…. Frazer recorded it with a little help from some friends. For starters, it was produced by Dan Auerbach. The album was recorded in a weeks’ time at The Black Keys front man’s Nashville studio. He called on a crew of heavy session players, including people who played on Dusty Springfield’s Son Of A Preacher Man and Aretha Franklin’s You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman, as well as the renowned Daptone Horns.
Following previous singles Bad News and Over You, If I Got It (Your Love Brought It) is the third single to be released off it. The track’s title was inspired by a 1950s lorry advertisement slogan: ‘If you got it, a truck brought it’. Musically, it draws inspiration from ‘70s soul music. Within its first 30 seconds you’ll have heard all of the song’s trademark ingredients. A Wurlitzer piano, plucking bass, swinging percussion, a blend of brass instruments and Frazer’s falsetto voice. What more do you need?
The track even ends with an old-school fade-out. Pretty unique, nowadays…
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 51):
Wildcard (week 51):
Grand Corps Malade – Pas Essentiel
Grand Corps Malade’s lyrics aren’t socially critical per se, but Fabien Marsaud (his real name) wears his heart on his sleeve. His April single Effets Secondaires (‘side effects’) for instance, was a COVID charity track. Applauding the real heroes of the Corona crisis, the healthcare workers, all proceeds were donated to two French hospitals.
The same crisis was the inspiration for GCM’s new single, but this time, he points the camera at the cultural sector. In his home country France, like in most of the rest of the world, theatres and venues are closed. Not only out of fear of being potential virus ‘super spreaders’, but also because the governments label them ‘not essential’. GCM opposes that view. In a French newspaper, he calls it cruel and unfair. “It made me want to speak up about all of those things that may seem non essential, but in the end make life worth living.” Elsewhere, he calls the song ‘an ode to freedom’.
GCM wrote the track only at the end of November, with Swiss DJ/producer Quentin Mosimann. It contains a repetitive chorus that sticks in your brain. But even more clever is the incorporation of the whistle from Break Machine’s 1984 hit Street Dance.
Two weeks ago, An Open Letter To Creatives by The Lottery Winners was the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. Grand Corps Malade’s new single is an equally heart-felt track, but about the cultural sector. I couldn’t agree more with the message of this song. That’s why Pas Essentiel is this week’s Wildcard!
Recommended as well:
Grand Corps Malade – Effets Secondaires
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 51)
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:
- Holy Holy (feat. Queen P) – Port Rd (Wildcard this week)
- The Lottery Winners – An Open Letter To Creatives (Wildcard last week)
- NewDad – I Don’t Recognise You
- Ocean Grove – Dream
- Slowride – I Feel Like You
- Texas & Wu-Tang Clan – Hi
- The Hold Steady – Family Farm
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: Gwen Stefani, Calogero, Taylor Swift, The The, 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.
single track
Nikki & The Waves – Anywhere
A British band with a Netherlands-born front woman. That may be a first since MTV host Marijne van der Vlugt formed Salad in London in the early ‘90s (they’re back together, by the way). Now, we have Nikki & The Waves, who are currently based in Manchester. The band draws its name from singer/keyboard player Nikki Drenthem Soesman.
They have a knack for unfitting song titles. Their summer single was named Shirts, but who wears shirts in summers like the last two? And they called their new single Anywhere, while ‘nowhere’ would have been more appropriate in lock down times. But let’s not judge the book by its cover… 😉
Anywhere is a lovely, care-free dream-pop song. It’s soft and subtle, even spacey at times, and while the track progresses, the brass section steps up. Wonderfully produced by Joel Patchett, who also worked with The Orielles, King Krule and Billy Ocean.
Recommended as well:
Nikki & The Waves – Shirts
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.
cover, single track
Georgia – Running Up That Hill
Last January, Georgia’s one-woman concert at ESNS was one of my highlights of the showcase festival. She played most of the tracks of her second album Seeking Thrills, which had been released a week earlier. But one of the stand-out songs she played was not on the record: a cover of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill.
That omission has now been corrected. Last week, the ‘Ultimate Thrills Edition’ of Georgia’s album came out. 27 extra tunes make it a whopping 40-track release. 26 of those are (previously released and unreleased) remixes of the many singles off the album. And then there is Running Up That Hill. Georgia’s career was an up-hill affair already, by this cover, that fits her like a glove, will push it even further.
On the track, Georgia says: “Closing my live sets with Running Up That Hill has been a pure joy, and it sparked the idea to record it. But, it didn’t start there. Kate Bush has been part of my life and a major influence on my work since I could sing a note. Her music was always played by both my mum and dad, and when I began to understand the way that sound and production worked, I embarked on my own intimate and personal journey with her music. For me, it was more than just a cover, it was emotional, and an experience I’ll always treasure.”
Recommended as well:
Never Let You Go
About Work The Dancefloor
Started Out
Feel 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.
single track
Elle King – Another You
Elle King, who already enjoyed over 1,2 billion streams worldwide, had a busy year so far. She appears in the just-released romantic comedy ‘Love, Weddings & Other Disasters’ and featured on singles by Andy Grammar, NeedToBreathe and The Night Game, among others. Also, she released the acoustically recorded EP In Isolation, a collection of raw demos and songs. One of them, The Let Go, became a radio hit and was later released in a full band version.
Now, it’s time for a brand-new, fully produced single of her own. Another You is a good old power ballad, which discusses heartbreak and second chances at new love. It details actions from a former lover who made ‘a bad decision’, which led to their demise. In spite of the pain that she’s endured, the singer wishes her ex partner well in love. However, she thinks they may ‘fuck it up the same old way’.
Merry Christmas, baby! 😊
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
Creature Fear – Big Summer Eyes
Following a series of separate tracks, Creature Fear are preparing the release of their debut EP. Big Summer Eyes is the new single off it. The band is renowned for their mental live shows, a glimpse of which can be heard in the song’s last minute. Until then, this is a surprisingly intimate, vulnerable track of the Melbourne four-piece.
In a press statement, the band say about the song: “It’s about the loss of having someone torn away from you, but with a glimpse of hope for better days. Though everyone in the band has their own interpretation which is really special.”
Big Summer Eyes opens with slow, acoustic strumming, where I hear some echoes of Angus & Julia Stone’s Big Jet Plane. Next up are singer Jacqui Lumsden’s haunting vocals, but only after 1’20 soft drums join in. It takes yet another minute before the full band puts the pedal to the metal. This rips the song open, but it doesn’t last long. The single ends as quiet as it started. An impressive build-up though, that will go down well with live audiences. Looking forward to being part of that experience!
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
Kesmar – Back Up
So you’re a fan of west-coast pop and blue-eyed soul? You like to listen to bands like Young Gun Silver Fox and Hall & Oates? In that case, please let me introduce you to Kesmar. I’m sure you won’t regret hitting that play button in the widget below. And if you want to know more, just continue reading while enjoying the music.
Kesmar is a Sydney-based artist, whose real name is Nathan Hawes. The songwriter and producer just dropped his second single of the year: Back Up. He wrote the track pre-pandemic, so he ‘really didn’t have a worry’ while recording it. “The world hadn’t begun to self destruct yet and I think that reflects in the overall feeling of the song”, Kesmar explains. He’s dead right! Listening to Back Up, you won’t be shocked to hear one of his inspirations while writing the song, was Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers.
The track is from his upcoming EP, which will be out early next year. According to Kesmar, it’ll be a collection of songs ‘with strong ties to minimal late seventies yacht rock, with references to Christopher Cross and The Alessi Brothers’. Sounds like classic stuff to me!
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
Aili x Transistorcake – Dansu
I mentioned De Nieuwe Lichting (‘the new class’) here before. That’s the yearly talent competition of Studio Brussel. Over the last weeks, the Belgian alternative pop radio station announced the participants in the 2021 edition. Aili Maruyama, who moved from Japan to Belgium at the age of 7, is one of them.
She made her debut single Dansu with producer Orson Wouters, better known as Transistorcake. It’s an astonishing, hypnotic track, which blends genres like electronica and left-field pop. The intro alone sounds like a slowed down mix of the metallic snaredrum in A Flock Of Seagull’s Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) and the bassline in The Artilleryman And The Fighting Machine from Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds. Which says it all…
And that’s only the music. The lyrics attract your attention in their own way, because they’re sung in a mixture of Japanese and English.
Both funky and spacey, Dansu is a hymn to dancing the night away. As far as De Nieuwe Lichting is concerned, it’s a winner if you’d ask me.
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
Waxflower (feat. Caitlin Henry) – Again
If you like pop-punk bands such as Jimmy Eat World, make sure not to miss out on Waxflower. Their hooks and melodies are just as catchy, they’re only less well-known. But that’s about to change.
When the Brisbane quartet had to halt their touring plans, they headed straight back into the studio. With producer Stevie Knight (Stand Atlantic, Yours Truly) they recorded their debut EP, which will be out by mid next year.
The first single to be released ahead of the EP is Again. Frontman Tristan Higginson describes it as ‘a mantra of hope’. “It’s a reminder of my capacity to heal when times inevitably get tough. Although it does touch on those times, there is a vein of optimism running through the song that’s new for us.”
The powerhouse vocals you hear in the second half of the track are courtesy of Caitlin Henry. She’s the singer of fellow Aussie band Eat Your Heart Out. “Working with Caitlin and Stevie on the shared vocals at the end of the track was an amazing experience”, says Higginson. “Their talent really shines through in all of their parts.”
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.
