Browsing Category single track
Wildcard (week 46):
Keleketla! – International Love Affair
Keleketla! is an expansive collaborative project, initiated by Coldcut. It started as a musical meeting ground between the Ninja Tune cofounders and a cadre of South African musicians. This included the raw, South African-accented jazz styles of Sibusile Xaba, and rapper Yugen Blakrok. From those initial sessions, the project grew bigger and bigger. Other artists that joined the group were the late Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen, esteemed percussionist Thabang Tabane, legendary LA spoken word pioneers The Watts Prophets, West Papuan activist Benny Wenda and many more.
They draw from a multitude of musical styles, most notably jazz, soul and African music, accumulating into world music of the purest kind. Recording sessions took place both in South Africa and London.
International Love Affair is Keleketla!’s new single. A track with a title as multicultural as the project itself. And as you might have expected, it grooves like a mean machine!
This week, International Love Affair is the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2020 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.
Don’t Bring Stacey – Waiting For It
Waiting For It is only Don’t Bring Stacey’s fourth single to date. They’re striving to be constantly improving and that shows. Waiting For It is easily the Australian quartet’s best song yet. It’s got a richer sound than their earlier singles, because of the addition of a fourth bandmember. Kyle is now the new drummer and Jordy switched to playing the lead guitar. Angus is the singer of the band and Nik plays the bass.
Waiting For It is supposed to be ‘a song that sounds like a happy anxiety attack’. In the studio, Don’t Bring Stacey wanted to step up their game in every way possible. This resulted in spending a lot more time on production ideas than they have in the past. Time well spent, for their driving new single is a stadium-sized rock song, waiting to be played live. Bring it on!
Recommended as well:
Don’t Bring Stacey – Changed My Hair
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.
Blossoms – It’s Going To Be A Cold Winter
Blossoms are a prolific band. Not only did they release three studio albums since their 2016 debut, this year they also put out a dozen covers they recorded in isolation. They bundled these tracks as an album, with a second disc of recent live recordings. Also, they released a new documentary this week. Back To Stockport will look back at the band’s homecoming show at Stockport County FC’s Edgeley Park in June 2019.
And now, they’ve come up with not one, but two festive tracks. A good old double A-side, so to speak. Christmas Eve (Soul Purpose) is on the A-side, but I like AA-side It’s Going To Be A Cold Winter best. A short and upbeat self-produced ditty, including chimes, shalala’s and a children’s choir. Both songs are on streaming platforms already, before coming out on a limited edition, 7” vinyl single on December 11.
Recommended as well:
Blossoms – Cool Like You
Blossoms – There’s A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)
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.
Lime – Fever
Coming together from across the UK, Lime are currently a Brighton-based band. Brighton is really one of the hotspots for great new British music at the moment. Singer Chloe Howard, guitarist Leila Deeley, bassist Tippi Morgan and drummer Annabel Whittle first met at 16 at music college. They became best pals pretty quick, and the music then naturally followed when hanging out. The girls cite Courtney Barnett, FEET, Squid and Sports Team as some of their influences.
Fever is only their second single. It follows Surf N Turf, which I loved a well. Just like their debut single, Fever crams several genres in a 3-minute song. With more than just a little nod to the ‘80s, it’s equal parts funk, pop, disco and rock. A great cocktail that begs for more!
Recommended as well:
Lime – Surf N Turf
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.
Banji – Listen
Morris Brandt, Gilles van Wees, Twan de Roo and Jasper Meurs are four Dutch musicians. They played in indie bands like Radio Eliza, Wies and Palmsy before. Now, they form brand-new band Banji.
Debut single Listen is a great introduction to the quartet and their music. It’s a hyperactive track that will be loved by fans of Beck, Darwin Deez and The Dandy Warhols. The colourful track combines quirky 8-bit sounds, spikey guitars, and joking lyrics.
Listen was co-produced by Banji and Jeroen De Pessemier (Oscar & The Wolf) and recorded in Brussels’ legendary ICP Studios.
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.
James Vincent McMorrow – Gone
Four albums into his career, James Vincent McMorrow is currently working on long-player #5. This record will see the Irish singer-songwriter work with producers like Paul Epworth (Adele, U2), Kenny Beats (Ed Sheeran, Slowthai), and Moon Willis (Anne-Marie, Hare Squead).
Gone is McMorrow’s beat-driven new single, which deals with ‘the beauty of embracing the chaos’. In his own words: “Gone is about the disintegration of relationships. In my case, the disintegration of my relationship with myself. No song or lyric I’ve ever written has come as close to this one at capturing how I feel about life, how I hear it, my fear of it, my obsession with it, my belligerent belief that I can control it, my quiet acknowledgment in the middle of the night that I will never control a single thing. And there’s nothing wrong with any of it. There’s absolute beauty in embracing the chaos and the decay. I know I was exhausted pretending everything was all right.”
Gone is a smooth R&B-influenced track that marks a new direction for the artist. It’s sure to add heaps of streams to the 750 million he already amassed so far.
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.
Favvkes – Black Dove
Now that’s what I call promising. Favvkes (pronounced as ‘fox’) is an exciting, emerging Canadian artist and songwriter of the hard-hitting kind. If you like to pigeon-hole (and don’t we all?), think Garbage meets Paramore. In other words: ‘90s nostalgia meets 2020 attitude. And 2020 subjects as well, for on her upcoming debut album, she doesn’t shy away from sensitive topics like mental health. Her songs deliver strong messages on what it means to deal with social anxiety, depression, acceptance and inclusivity. Besides that, Favvkes (real name: Erica Schiopu) aims to become a strong advocate for the LBGTQ+ community.
Black Dove is only her first single. Favvkes explains: “I found inspiration for my debut single in my journey through life. Getting through all the hardships and using them as fuel for my success and growth as a person. It’s about taking all that pain, and turning it into love, ‘cause what else are we going to do to survive?”
A very strong debut by an artist that’s worth following!
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.
Phoebe Green – Golden Girl
Since her 2016 debut album 02:00 AM, Mancunian indie-pop singer-songwriter Phoebe Green released a live EP and four singles. Golden Girl is the fourth in this series. It precedes her new EP I Can’t Cry For You, which will be out in December.
Golden Girl is a deeply honest outing. It reflects on themes of self-growth, awareness and acceptance within the context of relationships. Green states: “Golden Girl is about realising that being alone can be absolutely crucial when it comes to self growth. It’s about accepting the fact that total perfection is completely unattainable. So desperately trying to meet that standard in every aspect of my life – especially my relationships – will never not leave me feeling like I’ve failed.”
It’s a stylish song that combines mournful harmonies with driving beats and a grungy bass. Classic indie-pop!
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.
Caravãna Sun – Afterlife
Caravãna Sun are Luke Carra (guitar/vocals), Ant Beard (bass/vocals), Chris Smithson (keys/vocals) and James Smithers (drums). The Australian quartet recently signed with Berlin-based label Embassy Of Music, joining a roster including Björk and Moby. The band are currently recording their new self-produced album, with help from Ian Pritchett (Angus & Julia Stone among others).
Afterlife is the second single to be released ahead of the long-player. It sees the surf-rockers abandon their signature sound for a more tuned down approach. Very fitting for a song that sparks philosophical thoughts on what follows this fleeting life. Musically, it brings Arctic Monkeys to mind.
Frontman Luke Carra says: “I feel there is light and darkness in this song, classic Yin and Yang. I sing the verses which are darker and cryptic, while Ant sings the choruses, which are lighter and more uplifting, asking the question if the afterlife exists.”
The accompanying video contrasts lightness and darkness in a similar vein as the song does. It places shots of lush, green forestry alongside charcoaled remains yet to re-blossom following this year’s catastrophic bushfire season.
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 45):
Bloxx – 5000 Miles
Young British band Bloxx released no less than five singles ahead of their debut album Lie Out Loud. These set a high standard, but the record didn’t disappoint. On the contrary: their best single was yet to be released.
Elsewhere, 5000 Miles was put out to coincide with the album release in late August. Here in the Benelux the track is only out now, but it was well worth the wait. It’s an up-tempo song with catchy guitars, a driving beat and stadium-sized vocals. Each radio station worth its salt should put this on its playlist.
“I wrote the lyrics to 5000 Miles 35,000 ft in the air, on a flight back from New York where I had just met my girlfriend for the first time”, shares vocalist Fee Booth. “I was drinking red wine and crying. It’s an heir to love and lust and how it can be hard in the beginnings of a long distance relationship where you’re thousands of miles away from each other! It’s a fun-take on it.”
5000 Miles by Bloxx is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, so it will feature here prominently for a whole week!
Recommended as well:
Off My Mind
Thinking About Yourself
Lie Out Loud
In the Wildcards 2020 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.
