Search results for "rooue"
Rooue – Flavour
Three months ago, London-born, Dublin-based duo Rooue (pronounced as [rew]) impressed me with their debut single What You Want. Their sophomore release doesn’t show any signs of decreasing quality. Quite contrarily.
I loved their first single for being a dark electronic pop song. For its follow-up, twin sisters Roísín and Louisa O’Connor chose a more light-hearted approach. Flavour links in with the current nu-disco trend, providing the track with a catchy, fresh, punchy and accessible sound. The sound of now (but hey, is that a banjo I hear?). Think Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue and Raye.
The track was produced by Irish songwriter, mixer, producer and musician Richey McCourt. He worked with the likes of UK talent Pixie Lott, Will Young, Rebecca Ferguson and Rita Ora before. Great job!
Recommended as well:
Rooue – What You Want
Follow Rooue on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Wildcard (week 44):
Rooue – What You Want
Roísín & Louisa O’Connor are twin sisters. They were born in London, but have been living in Dublin, Ireland since their pre-teens. As a pop duo, Ro and Lou call themselves Rooue (see what they did there? 😉 ).
Their beautifully blending, slightly distorted harmonies are a signature part of their sound. The razor sharp and up-to-date production does the rest. What You Want is only their debut single. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Nao, Banks, Lennon Stella and Christina Aguilera, it combines electronic dark pop with a hint of old-school R&B. In a way, it reminds me a bit of another recent debut single: Loud Boy by Archie X.
Speaking on the single, Rooue says: “What You Want is about how we as women within the music industry and within everyday life have felt the pressures to conform within societies expectations. The story line stems from our experience studying in music college. On one hand being forced to be authentic, yet being criticised when not fulfilling their mould whilst reaching our authentic sound.”
With What You Want, the twins clearly and convincingly found their own voice and style. With this very promising debut, Rooue secure this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2020 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
Chymes – Death Wish
Back in the Greco-Roman times, Chymes was said to be the founder of alchemy, the magical power of transforming the ordinary into something extraordinary. Today, it’s the name of an Australian electronic pop act with millions of streams to their name. Chymes are often referred to as the stage name of singer-songwriter Kiersten Nyman, but don’t forget about producer Cameron Taylor. He is instrumental in building their great sound. If you dig Billie Eilish or recently upcoming acts like Archie X and Rooue, you’re sure to like Chymes as well.
The duo had released a few singles already, when things really took off in December 2018. BTS front man Jungkook liked their single Dreaming and decided to share his discovery with the 17+ million followers of his band’s Twitter account. It changed Nyman and Taylor’s lives overnight and resulted in Dreaming reaching 8 million streams.
Chymes’ new single Death Wish proves they can now continue to grow on the strength of their songs. It’s a well-produced track, built around electronic drum beats and Nyman’s cool singing style. Furthermore, it’s full of vocal effects, finger snapping and alienating choirs to almost hypnotic effect. Very much the sound of now.
Death Wish is the latest track from Chymes’ new EP Hell And Divine, set for release on 28 May 2021.
Follow Chymes on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Carte Blanche Music Top 2020
Ahead of your favourites among this year’s Carte Blanche Music recommendations, which I’ll publish tomorrow, these are my personal choices from the songs that came out in 2020. This list holds only 100 tracks, but you can find all of my 994 recommendations in my container playlist Carte Blanche Music 2020.
As always, I love to share some statistics about the Carte Blanche Music Top 2020. These findings are further evidence of the fact that the music radio stations play for you is far from representative of the wealth of great new music out there. Thankfully, there are blogs like Carte Blanche Music that are independent and unbiased, and don’t want to please everybody at the same time. We’re here to surprise you with great new music, no matter what genre or gender, origin or orientation. Just a few statistics:
- Judging from this Top 100 alone (let alone the full container playlist), 2020 was a great year for pure pop music, young artists, ‘80s influences, independent releases, the Australian music scene, queer pop-rock and female vocalists
- A whopping 70% of the tracks in this year’s list feature female lead vocals (and I thought the 60% in the Carte Blanche Music Top 2019 was impressive already)
- Overall, rock ruled. 54% of the tracks in my year-end chart is guitar-based (just over last year’s tally)
- The list clearly shows there are more countries that produce great artists than Great-Britain and the United States alone. This year, more nationalities than ever are represented in my Top 100. You’ll also find artists from Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland
- As a result, although most lyrics are in English, you’ll also hear songs (partly) sung in French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Swedish
The Carte Blanche Music Top 2020 features 100 tracks, which are presented below in alphabetical order. You can listen to them all via the Spotify player. If you prefer another order, just use the shuffle button 😉.
Meanwhile, you can read my original recommendations through the links below.
- A Is For Arrows – Every Now And Then
- Abbie Ozard – True Romance (WC)
- Aili x Transistorcake – Dansu
- Aitana – 11 Razones
- Alex The Astronaut – I Think You’re Great (WC)
- Alice & Moi – T’aimerais Que Ce Soit Vrai
- Altered By Mom – Better On The Page
- Amy Allen – Difficult
- Archie X – Loud Boy (WC)
- Ava Max – Kings And Queens
- Awolnation feat. Alice Merton – The Best
- Badflower – 30
- Baxtr – Bloom (WC)
- Bée – Nothing Alike (WC)
- The Beths – Mars, The God Of War
- Betty Who – The One
- Blossoms – It’s Going To Be A Cold Winter
- Bloxx – Off My Mind
- Bloxx – 5000 Miles (WC)
- Calogero – La Rumeur
- Charles – Far Gone
- Daði Freyr & Gagnamagnið – Think About Things
- Dagny – Coulda Woulda Shoulda (*)
- Don Diablo – Invincible
- Don’t Bring Stacey – Waiting For It
- Dopha – Anti Breakup Song
- Doves – Prisoners (WC)
- Dua Lipa – Physical (WC)
- Dua Lipa – Break My Heart
- Dua Lipa (feat. DaBaby) – Levitating [Single Version]
- Efecto Pasillo feat. Huecco – Funketón [2020 Version]
- Egoism – You You (WC)
- Ella Grace – Unfree
- Ellur – Alive
- The Flowers – You Don’t Say!
- Francesco Gabbani – Il Sudore Ci Appiccica
- Genes – Super Single
- Gin Wigmore – HBIC
- Grace Farriss – All The People (WC)
- Gracie Abrams – Friend
- Grand Corps Malade – Pas Essentiel (WC)
- Håkan Hellström – Alla Drömmar Är Uppfyllda (WC)
- Harper Bloom – Walk My Way
- Hedda Mae – Madness
- The Hold Steady – Family Farm
- Hollie Col – She Knows (WC)
- Holy Holy (feat. Queen P) – Port Rd (WC)
- Hope D – Second
- Hoshi feat. Corine – Larmes De Croco (WC)
- Icona Pop & Sofi Tukker – Spa
- Indochine x Christine & The Queens – 3Sex
- Izo FitzRoy – Red Line (WC)
- Jaclyn – Energy
- Jake Bugg – Rabbit Hole
- Joan – Want U Back
- Joel Culpepper – WAR (WC)
- Julie Bergan – Commando (WC)
- Kailee Morgue – This Is Why I’m Hot (*)
- Keleketla! – International Love Affair (WC)
- Killboy – That’s OK I’ll Just Fuck Myself
- King Princess – Pain
- Kristiane – Wish I Could Be Your Girl
- La Oreja De Van Gogh – Te Pareces Tanto A Mí
- Lauran Hibberd – Boy Bye
- Lime – Fever
- Lola Lennox – Back At Wrong
- London Grammar – Baby It’s You
- The Lottery Winners – An Open Letter To Creatives (WC)
- Lova – Black Converse
- Lova – One Day Left
- Lucas Hamming – Falling
- The Magic Gang – Make Time For Change (WC)
- May-a – Apricots
- Miss Li – Therapy
- Miss Machine – Tout Autour
- MisterWives – Rock Bottom (WC)
- Monowhales – BL/FF (Fake Friends) (WC)
- Ocean Grove – Dream
- ONR (feat. Nile Rodgers) – Kill TV (WC)
- Palace Winter (feat. Penny Police) – Richard (Says Yes) (WC)
- Pixey – Just Move (WC)
- Pyro – Your Love
- Raave Tapes – Habitual
- The Radar Station – Zanzara [2020 Version] (*)
- Raye – Love Of Your Life
- Red Rum Club – The Elevation
- Ren – I Drive Me Mad (WC)
- Rinse feat. Hatchie – Back Into Your Arms
- Rooue – What You Want (WC)
- Sebu with Eraserfase – The Worst That Could Happen To Us (WC)
- Semisonic – Basement Tapes
- Sidonie with Delaporte – Mi Vida Es La Música
- Slum Sociable (feat. Kye) – You’re In My Head
- Super-Hi x Neeka – Following The Sun
- T99 vs. Youngr – Anasthasia [Youngr Bootleg]
- Temples – Paraphernalia
- Texas & Wu-Tang Clan – Hi
- Town Of Cats – Lemons (WC)
- Veronica Fusaro – Beach
- Videoclub – Enfance 80
(WC) ex Carte Blanche Music Wildcard
(*) album track
Werner’s Weekly (week 46)
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:
- Bloxx – 5000 Miles (Wildcard this week)
- Rooue – What You Want (Wildcard last week)
- Fletcher Gull – City Is Busy
- Julie & Joe – Marelle
- Mooneye (feat. Meskerem Mees) – Bright Lights
- Pixey – Free To Live In Colour
- Tyne-James Organ – Not Ready For Love
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: Jade Bird, System Of A Down, Tegan & Sara, and more.
Werner’s Weekly (week 45)
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:
- Rooue – What You Want (Wildcard this week)
- Abbie Ozard – True Romance (Wildcard last week)
- beabadoobee – Charlie Brown
- Better Person – Close To You
- Icona Pop & Sofi Tukker – Spa
- Kristiane – Wish I Could Be Your Girl
- The Beths – Mars, The God Of War
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: Amy Mcdonald, Dua Lipa & Angèle, eels, Kaiser Chiefs, and more.