February 6th, 2021
The Unknown Project – Swimmer
Apparently, I’m a Sebu fan. You may (think you do) not know him, but check this out: he’s one half of Capital Cities. They’re well-known for their single Safe And Sound; a US hit in 2011, which conquered Europe in 2013. In fact, it just passed the ‘six-times platinum’ mark in their home country.
Nowadays, Sebu is a solo artist, with some very, very impressive projects to his name. See below for a few recommended highlights from his catalogue.
What I didn’t know however, is that next to ‘after Capital Cities’, there was also a ‘before Capital Cities’. From 2002-2004, Sebu had another band. The rock outfit released a self-titled EP in 2002, which didn’t do much, to be honest. In 2004, they recorded their debut full-length, but the band broke up before they released it. In that respect, ‘The Unknown Project’ is a very well-chosen, somewhat prophetic band name.
Come 2021, Sebu decided to release his early band’s album after all. Once again, he gave it a brilliant name: The Album That Never Was. It may not be 100% correct, since it eventually did come out, but it’s still brilliant. But an album isn’t only about its title, Before all, it’s about its music. It’s unbelievable how it already has the Sebu stamp, so early in his career.
One of the album’s stand-out tracks, Swimmer, has been chosen as the record’s single. The Unknown Project are currently recording a barebones rock performance music video to the song, that will be out shortly. Apart from this video, there are no signs of a more permanent reunion. So, alas, it’s very unlikely they will ever change their name to The Well-Known Project…
Recommended as well:
Sebu with Eraserfase – The Worst That Could Happen To Us
Sebu feat. Sirusho – Have You Ever Hurt Somebody
Sebu – The Secret Is Out [Lucas Vidal Arrangement]
Follow Sebu on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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.
Pixey – Electric Dream
I’m really looking forward to 24 March. That day, one of today’s most outstanding talents, Pixey, releases her second EP Free To Live In Colour. The title track is on it, as well as last year’s great tune Just Move. And she just released a third song off it, Electric Dream.
Being a performer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Electric Dream is another one of Pixey’s DIY tracks. Its fresh, vivid, clever and danceable Madchester sound brings us right back to 1990. That isn’t how it came to life however. She says about the single: “Electric Dream was originally written as a piano ballad, but after finishing the lyrics I felt the song worked as a dance track. I wrote it to make sense of being locked in with nothing to rely on but technology. The verses are all of my anxieties that come with that. Like trying to simulate humanity digitally and what kind of a future that would be. But the choruses are about the imperfections of real life that technology and AI can’t give us.”
Apart from the three singles so far, her new EP will feature two more songs. Pixey adds: “I wanted a collection of tracks which gave a quick snapshot into me and my brain – where I’m from, where I want to be and what I’m thinking about,” she adds of her new EP. “I hope people can take something meaningful from it or simply have a dance.”
And that’s not all. She’s currently writing about three new tracks a week, so you can expect a whole lotta music to come out this year.
Recommended as well:
Pixey – Free To Live In Colour
Pixey – Just Move
Follow Pixey on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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.
Hoshi – Et Même Après Je T’aimerai
Last year, French singer Hoshi delayed the release of her second album a few months because of COVID-19. Eventually, Sommeil Levant came out in June. Since then, 30.000 units were sold. Soon, the 24-year-old will put out a new version of the album. No word yet on the extra content it will contain, but it will hold at least one new track.
That song, Et Même Après Je T’aimerai, is Hoshi’s brand-new single. A treat for lovers of French chansons, it’s enriched with a housey piano and a string arrangement as well. In other words: a powerful pop track. Lyrically, it’s a heartfelt song about the complexities of love affairs.
Recommended as well:
Hoshi feat. Corine – Larmes De Croco
Hoshi – Amour Censure
Hoshi – Je Vous Trouve Un Charme Fou
Follow Hoshi on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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.
Paris Youth Foundation – The Back Seat
Liverpool five-piece Paris Youth Foundation named themselves after a graffiti spotted in an underground station in the French capital. In the five years of their existence, they built themselves quite a reputation as a great live band. No wonder, with such a bundle of anthemic songs under their belt. However, just like every other touring act, they were forced to put their ambitious plans for 2020 on ice.
Lost love is a theme that runs like a thread through the band’s catalogue. And here’s another one. Produced by Rich Turvey (Blossoms, Courteeners), The Back Seat is Paris Youth Foundation’s new single. It’s one of their finer songs. A melancholic, but upbeat indie-pop track with a danceable rhythm section and stadium-sized guitars. Front man Kevin Potter’s vibrato makes it extra special.
He says of the track: “The Back Seat is an upbeat sad song about two people getting to grips with being on their own, trying to hide their pain with drink and how drunk calling someone and hearing their voice mail at 4AM makes you feel a little less alone. All those messages you’ve typed out, but never had the courage to send end with a sense of inevitability and the regrettable call being made in the taxi on the way home.”
Follow Paris Youth Foundation on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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.
Rebecca Black – Girlfriend
Ten years ago, a then 13-year-old Rebecca Black debuted with her single Friday. The song famously received almost universally negative reviews, and despite (or because of) that, its video went viral. Bizarrely, it resulted in Black receiving death threats from strangers online, and having to drop out of high school. This didn’t stop her from making music.
After 2020 was the year of her coming out, it looks like 2021 will be the year of her coming back. Girlfriend is a great pop tune in the best Carly Rae Jepsen tradition. It sees Black fully embracing her queerness, committing to the idea of getting back with her girlfriend. Her frank lyrics are backed by a cheery disco-pop groove.
She explains: “Girlfriend is a really honest picture of a moment I was going through last year. It was a new experience for me to revisit a relationship again. While everyone around me was trying to protect me from getting hurt again, I was so filled with hope, that I couldn’t really let myself do anything other than try again.”
Follow Rebecca Black on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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.
Yonaka – Seize The Power
Brighton-based band Yonaka’s 2019 debut album Don’t Wait ‘til Tomorrow was a huge success. It racked up a whopping 58 million streams on Spotify alone. No-one would have blamed them for simply copying the formula for their new material. But they didn’t…
Seize The Power is vocalist Theresa Jarvis, bassist Alex Crosby, drummer Rob Mason and guitarist George Werbrouck-Edwards’ new single. An anthemic, self-produced song. Right from the start it’s clear this is a powerful and empowering track. It opens with simple drum hits, a sampled choir and Jarvis’s urgent spoken-word. This immediately grabs you by the ears. Elsewhere, we hear slightly transformed vocals, driving hip-hop inspired beats, screaming guitars and lots of synths. Angry and energetic.
Do you know Dutch band De Staat by any chance? Seize The Power sounds like a female-fronted and more electronic-sounding version. Which is great!
Recommended as well:
Lose Our Heads
Death By Love
Fired Up
Follow Yonaka on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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.
Ferraro – Sugar Rush [2021 Remix]
What’s Ferraro? The plural form of Ferrari? ‘With which one of our Ferraro will I drive to the supermarket this afternoon?’. Nope. It’s an aptly named Toronto-based band, comprised of sibling trio Cosmo (guitar), Tally (bass) and Gianni Ferraro (drums). All three of them perform vocal duties as well. Recently signed by a major label, they’re currently working on a 6-track EP, co-written and produced by alt-pop duo The Darcys.
Originally released in October 2020, they just re-released their single Sugar Rush. A new mix of the track, to be precise. Oddly, the 2021 version has been removed from the band’s Spotify profile, but it can still be found on the platform via this link. As you can hear, Sugar Rush is an energetic, radio-friendly pop-rock song.
Recommended as well:
Ferraro – Fool’s Paradise
Follow Ferraro on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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 5):
The Reytons – Jealous Type
Are you a Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not-era Arctic Monkeys fan? Then you need to get to know The Reytons. This rising Yorkshire quartet has the same unashamedly anthemic rock ethic that Arctic Monkeys came to the scene with.
At the start of their career, in 2017/8, The Reytons released three EP’s in quick succession. Since then, they put out seven singles, Jealous Type being the latest. It kicks off with strong guitar riffs which are a perfect launch pad for lead singer Johnny Yerrell’s strong lyrics. There’s a raw element to the production that gives the song a certain edge. In that respect, it recalls the colossal live shows that gained The Reytons a large following. It’s impressive to hear how the band reproduce that sound in the studio.
Jealous Type precedes a new EP, titled May Seriously Harm You And Others Around You, due out later in February.
This whole week, The Reytons’ Jealous Type will feature prominently at the top of this blog as the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
Follow The Reytons on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
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.
Your favourites (January 2021)
Below, you can find all 10 of Your Favourites in the month of January; my recommendations that you read the most. Great choices!
The links bring you directly to the original posts. Each of them features a player that allows you to listen to the track via the platform of your choice. Enjoy!
- Aili x Transistorcake – Dansu
- Pixey – Free To Live In Colour
- Saint Motel – A Good Song Never Dies
- Why Don’t We – Slow Down
- The Vices – In And Out
- Lou Hayter – Time Out Of Mind
- The Vices – Looking For Faces
- Therapie Taxi – Eté 90
- Lola Le Lann – Portofino
- Jealous Of The Birds – Something Holy
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 5)
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:
- Tom Jones – Talking Reality Television Blues (Wildcard this week)
- San Mei – In The Machine (Wildcard last week)
- Archie X – Karma Sucks
- Julietta – Not Today
- Lilly Wood & The Prick – You Want My Money
- Lou Hayter – Time Out Of Mind
- Sam & Sounds – Silly
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: Celeste, Pale Waves, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, and more.
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.
