Browsing Category single track
single track
Anna Leone – If You Only
Late last year, Swedish singer Anna Leone released her first two singles My Soul I and I Never Really. Together, they amassed 5 million streams. Now, it’s time for her third single (and another one with a title that sounds like half a sentence 😉 ).
If You Only is a folky, but dynamic song, with subtle verses that are counterbalanced by more powerful choruses. The track is part of her debut EP Wandered Away (out on 20 April), that was produced by Grammy-nominated producer Bryan Wilson, who has worked with the likes of Florence + The Machine, Wolf Alice and Lianne La Havas.
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.
remix, single track
Portugal. The Man – Feel It Still (‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Remix)
Usually, I’m not too fond of remixes. At the same time, I’m a huge fan of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s, especially of his often hilarious polkas. And once again, ‘Weird Al’ proves to be the exception to the rule. I adore this ‘polkafied’ version of Portugal. The Man’s Feel It Still.
Just to remind you, the original version stands as the biggest rock crossover hit since Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know (both of which are far from rock hits in my book, by the way). It went on to break the record for most weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart.
I’m looking forward to see where Yankovic’s remix will bring 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, wildcardWildcard (week 12):
Wildcard (week 12):
Echosmith – Over My Head
In 2013, American pop siblings Sydney (vocals/keyboard), Noah (vocals/bass) and Graham Sierotas (drums) broke through big time with their debut single Cool Kids. This worldwide hit appeared to be a hard act to follow, but Echosmith’s new single sounds like another smash to me.
Over My Head has an inescapable synth-driven chorus and bold drum beats. It is the first taste of their next album, which will be released this summer.
Next week, Over My Head by Echosmith is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard (all of which you can find in the Wildcards 2018 playlist)!
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
Kate Nash – Life In Pink
Kate Nash’s career started around the same time as Lily Allen’s, and they have often been compared in the beginning. I still like her playful early singles, like Pumpkin Soup, Mouthwash, and Foundations (all from 2007).
After a few non-album singles in recent years, Nash is now working towards her next, Kickstarter-financed album, Yesterday Was Forever. Her first album in five years’ time, which Nash calls ‘an excerpt from a teenage diary’, is to be released on 30 March. It features her recent single Drink About You and this equally great follow-up.
Life In Pink is a dynamic power pop track about mental health. As Nash states: “The concept of the video is balancing the sane and what I’m told are ‘insane’ parts of my brain and how I think you need a balance of the two to really make it in this life.”
It’s hardly coincidence this track appears on Carte Blanche Music the same day as Liza Anne’s Panic Attack…
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
Arcade Fire – Put Your Money On Me
Several radio stations had already started playing Arcade Fire’s Put Your Money On Me as an album track. And rightly so, it’s the best song on their album Everything Now. In other words: excellent choice for it to be their next single.
The video Money + Love, which has a running time of almost 16 minutes, is more of a mini movie, combining Put Your Money On Me with another album track: We Don’t Deserve Love. The video was directed by David Wilson, whom the band works with since their Reflektor single, and features actress Toni Collette (well-known for her roles in Little Miss Sunshine and The Sixth Sense).
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
Joel Sarakula – In Trouble
Born in Sydney and now based in London, Joel Sarakula is a modern-day soul singer. His impeccable taste (Curtis Mayfield, Gil Scott Heron, Marvin Gaye) shines through in his own music. ‘Shines through’ in the most literal sense: it brings out the sun!
In Trouble is the first single off Sarakula’s upcoming album Love Club (20 April). He co-wrote the song with Michele Stodart of The Magic Numbers. It touched subjects like strikes, terrorism and despotism, that were just as present in his beloved ’70s as in our current age.
Sarakula says about it: “In Trouble was my attempt at doing an updated politically conscious song for these dark times. But don’t worry it’s still hopeful and positive, it’s a pop song after all!”
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
Yuksek & Bertrand Burgalat – Icare
French electronic music producer, remixer, singer and DJ Pierre-Alexandre Busson chose Yuksek as his stage name, after the Turkish word ‘Yüksek’, meaning ‘high’. It’s hard to think of an artist he didn’t make a remix for, but he’s also a recording artist himself. After starting off his career fishing in the same pond as Daft Punk, he gradually developed a more poppy style, without losing his electronic roots.
Bertrand Burgalat is a French multi-talent as well, who produced and remixed leftfield acts like Laibach, Renegade Soundwave and Depeche Mode in the ’80s and ’90s. Over the years, he developed the ‘Burgalat sound’, which sounds like a French response to Phil Spector, and has influenced acts Like Air and Daft Punk to a great extent.
The track Icare (French for ‘Icarus’) brings the two together for the first time. It’s a lovely slice of nu disco, that consists equal parts of both artists’ styles. Funky!
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 trackLissie – Love Blows
Lissie – Love Blows
Elisabeth Corrin Maurus is the real name of the acclaimed American singer-songwriter we’ve come to know as Lissie. She moved out of the music industry machine and settled down in her native Midwest, where she now lives on a farm. It’s there, in her home studio, where she wrote and recorded most of her fourth studio album Castles, which comes out 23 March.
You may already know the tracks Boyfriend, Blood And Muscle and Best Days off the new record, as these were already made available previously. Love Blows, a powerful self-love anthem, is the fourth taster of an album that – by the sound of the singles – promises to be beautiful!
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.
border breaker, single track, wildcardWildcard (week 11):
Wildcard (week 11):
BC Unidos (feat. US Girls & Ledinsky) – Take It Easy
In June last year, I wrote about Bicycle by BC Unidos (feat. Shungudzo). A week later, I made it Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, and it subsequently appeared among Your Favourites for four months in a row, ending 7th in the year-end chart. After this runaway success, the duo, consisting of Swedish hit composers Patrik Berger and Markus Krunegård, collaborated with the likes of Santigold, Carly Rae Jepsen and Charli XCX on their Bicycle EP.
Apparently, they had more great names in their Rolodex: their new single Take It Easy features US Girls, who appeared on this blog multiple times, and fellow-Swede Ledinsky, whose DonaldTrumpMakesMeWannaSmokeCrack was something of a cult hit in 2016.
The track somehow reminds me of Long John Baldry’s version of (Walk Me Out In The) Morning Dew (but I’ve got a vivid imagination). Anyway, it’s a modern soul song that deserves to be embraced by many radio stations, but most importantly: by you!
For starters, Take It Easy by BC Unidos (feat. US Girls & Ledinsky) is embraced by Carte Blanche Music as this week’s Wildcard (all of which you can find in the Wildcards 2018 playlist). As a result, the track appears prominently on top of this blog until next Wildcard Wednesday!
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
James Bay – Pink Lemonade
I liked James Bay’s debut album Chaos And The Calm, but the up-tempo songs in particular. Craving, for instance, and especially Best Fake Smile. Alas, the record company decided to market him as a balladeer and only released Craving digitally in an acoustic version (sigh). Best Fake Smile was put out as his 6th single (a minor success, obviously).
At the beginning of February, James Bay made a comeback. Without the long hairs and without the hat. And without a hit, so far. The ballad Wild Love had a new sound, but apparently didn’t win him any new fans. I like Pink Lemonade a whole lot better. His best single to date, I dare to say. It’s the second effort off his second album Electric Light, to be released on 18 May. A great song, that I’d love to hear in a version mastered by someone who doesn’t like to fight the loudness war (which makes songs sound hard on the radio, but tough on the ears as well).
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.
