Browsing Category re-release
Lizzo – Good As Hell
Lizzo is becoming more and more of a phenomenon. Correction: Lizzo is a phenomenon. To such an extent, that even her older songs belatedly prove to be hits. Melissa Jefferson (the 31-year-old American singer and rapper’s real name) is currently #1 in the Billboard Hot 100 with Truth Hurts, a song originally released in 2016. But another song from that same year is doing great as well.
Following her performance at the MTV Music Video Awards, Good As Hell is climbing up the Billboard charts. It was originally recorded for the soundtrack of the movie ‘Barbershop: The Next Cut’, and served as the lead single from her debut EP Coconut Oil. Do yourself a favour and also check the track Worship off that EP.
Despite not being on Lizzo’s recent album Cuz I Love You (not even on the Deluxe Edition), Good As Hell is about to be re-released worldwide as her new single. A great choice, for the tune totally lives up to its title.
Recommended as well:
Lizzo (feat. Gucci Mane) – Exactly How I Feel
Lizzo – Juice
Lizzo – Boys
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.
Zuzu – Get Off [2019 Version]
In 2016, I spent as much time looking for great new music as I do now. By then, however, I didn’t post those songs on this blog, but I played them in my Carte Blanche radio show. Almost exactly three years ago, I discovered Zuzu, a singer-songwriter from Liverpool with a rough edge to her voice. I instantly liked her debut single Get Off, which she said was influenced by Pavement and Courtney Barnett.
She was quickly signed by Virgin/EMI, part of major record company Universal Music. They just released a new version of Get Off as Zuzu’s next single. By the sound of it, it’s clear there was more money available than the first time around. It all sounds much fresher and this mix leaves more room for all of the instruments. As if a blanket was pulled off of the song.
That doesn’t mean the first version was bad though. I’d still fall for it if it wouldn’t have been remixed. Therefore, I think it’s a little bit daft that the original version has now been removed from streaming services, like it never existed. Because it did, and it still does 😉. Great song, which should finally signal her break-through!
Recommended as well:
Zuzu – How It Feels
Zuzu – Beauty Queen
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.
Nouvelle Vague feat. Julie Delpy – Lalala
Nouvelle Vague is a French band, with musicians Olivier Libaux and Marc Collin as its constant factors. They surround themselves with a large rotating cast of mostly female vocalists. Some of them (like Camille, Phoebe Kildeer and Liset Alea) have also had successful solo careers, while Élodie Frégé is currently part of super group Gemme.
The outfit is best known for their bossa nova covers of new wave classics. That’s why the band name is appropriate in more ways than one. Nouvelle Vague is French for ‘new wave’, just like ‘bossa nova’ is Portuguese for ‘new wave’.
Julie Delphy is a French singer-songwriter, actress, director and screenwriter. In 2007, she produced the movie ‘2 Days In Paris’. She not only also starred in the film, she composed the soundtrack as well. She co-wrote one of the tracks, Lalala, with Marc Collin. It’s no cover, but an original song with a retro ‘60s sound and a beat you can’t help but dance to.
Although this bi-lingual tune is 12 years old, it has only just been made available on the streaming platforms. So let’s just pretend it’s brand-new, shall we?
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.
Wyke van Weelden – Make You Mine
In 2014, two years after competing in a Dutch TV talent show, singer-songwriter Wyke van Weelden released three beautiful songs. All of them had a strong cinematic (James Bond-like, dare I say Adele-esque?) sound, and not without a reason: Kenau was written for the movie of the same title, the revenues of World Of Blue were donated to the World Wildlife Fund’s Seastars campaign and Make You Mine was the title track of horror movie ‘De Poel’.
After a short absence from the streaming platforms, the latter song has now been re-upped and most deservedly appeared in last week’s New Music Friday playlist. Could and should be a hit as yet…
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.
Phil Collins – The Man With The Horn
No need to introduce this man, I presume…
Let me take you back to 1982. During the recording sessions for Hello, I Must Be Going, Phil Collins put the song The Man With The Horn to tape. A track featuring horns, obviously, alongside Collins’ trademark drumming and an overall sound in the line of Genesis’ 1982 hit Paperlate. Eventually, it didn’t make the cut, but it was released in 1985 as the B-side to the first single from his next album No Jacket Required, which was One More Night in the United States and Sussudio in the rest of the world.
Although Collins has said he has ‘no emotional attachment’ to the song, it has now been as re-released as a single, as part of the upcoming Other Sides album. Only released digitally on 31 May, the collection consists of demos and B-sides. A further compilation, Remixed Sides, will come out on the same date, and includes remixes of some of his hits.
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.
Wildcard (week 19):
Aldo Vanucci feat. Kylie Auldist – Get A Hold On This
Since his first album Straight Lift in 2007, Aldo Vanucci (‘Plymouths 14th best DJ’) hasn’t sat still. He released stand-alone singles, as well as EP’s such as Walk Like A Man (2008), Love Is Loops (2012) and Love Is Loops, Volume 2 (2013). The latter already included a bona fide classic track: Get A Hold On This, featuring the instantly recognisable voice of Australian soul singer Kylie Auldist. She is best-known for being the featured vocalist on Kungs vs. Cookin’ On 3 Burners’ smash hit This Girl, but she’s also the regular frontwoman for Australian giants of funk, The Bamboos.
Now, six years later, Get A Hold On This is included on Vanucci’s second full-length album Digging For A Living, and once again, the track is pushed forward to perform its promotional duties. This time, The funky original is accompanied by a pair of soulful remixes, courtesy of The Allergies and Dr. Rubberfunk.
Get A Hold On This by Aldo Vanucci feat. Kylie Auldist 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.
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.
Tessa Dixson – Beautiful Pain
Like Machines by Billie Louise is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. As I explained, they made the pre-selection of radio station Studio Brussel’s ‘De Nieuwe Lichting 2019’ (‘the new class 2019’). They didn’t win, however. On the other hand, Tessa Dixson was one of the winners of this year’s competition, earning her airplay, studio time and a cheque.
The Belgian singer went to a French-speaking school, speaks English at home and has family in Los Angeles. In 2014, Dixson participated in the Walloon version of The Voice. Since then, she performed live with fellow-Belgian acts Roméo Elvis and Warhola and played numerous festivals.
Beautiful Pain was the song that won her ‘De Nieuwe Lichting’. A wonderfully arranged, dramatic song, combining strings and beats just like Billie Louise’s song (which perhaps explains why the latter didn’t win the competition). Beautiful Pain was released late in 2018 already, but has only now been picked up by Studio Brussel, as part of the prize. A well-deserved second chance!
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.
House Of Spirituals – Too Many Days [Ninja Mix]
House Of Spirituals are a rather mysterious London-based project, apparently featuring a British and a Spanish member. When they released their debut single Too Many Days at the end of 2015, it was immediately clear they’re inspired by Alan Lomax’s field recordings and have an obsession with ‘electronic soul meets swap stomp’.
At the time, they explained in an interview the song was written by the band as a message of hope to themselves, having been in a desolate place. “We had just been talking about the dark times we were going through. The room felt really heavy as it was one of those times when you don’t have an answer to the situation you’re going through. Straight away I went over to the piano and the words ‘too many days, I’ve been down’ came straight out. Then the rest of the song carried on writing itself and got more positive. It became almost a ‘call of arms’ for us to get up and fight our way out of the darkness.”
Three years later, the world has gotten to know artists like Hozier and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, who operate in the same musical field as House Of Spirituals. A great moment to try and launch their career on a broader scale with this beefed-up version of the song that started it all…
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.
Adam Naas – Cherry Lipstick
Parisian singer-songwriter Adam Naas started to conquer the French music scene in 2016 with his promising eponymous EP, a year later followed by the single Please Come Back To Me, which displayed a style that can be described as dark romantic soul. He sings his melancholy lyrics with a characteristic, silken voice.
Now, he is back with his first long player, The Love Album. Last summer, it was preceded by the single Cherry Lipstick, that has now been re-released. It has just a little bit more of an upbeat and rocky edge than before, but one thing’s for sure: this is the sound of now. An artist to reckon with!
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.
Gecko Turner – Un Limón En La Cabeza
Gecko Turner (born Fernando Gabriel Echave Pelaez) grew up in Badajoz, Spain, a small town about halfway between Lisbon and Madrid. He learned English from the blues artists he loved. After a long musical journey, he started composing in a style that combined jazz, blues, samba, reggae, hip-hop, Arab music, and more into something all his own.
When he went to the copyright office to register his songs, the form had a space for both his proper name and an alias. Being nicknamed ‘Gecko’ since boyhood and loving the music of Big Joe Turner, he wrote down Gecko Turner.
His first album Guapapasea! featured the track Un Limón En La Cabeza, that grew out to become one of Turner’s signature tunes. 15 years later, ahead of the release of Soniquete, a compilation of greatest hits, previously unreleased gems and new songs by Gecko Turner (slated for release in autumn 2018), the track is re-released.
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.
