Browsing Category single track
single track
pop
Laura Mvula – Got Me
2 July, Laura Mvula will release her third album Pink Noise. But to her, it’s more than just that. The Birmingham artist describes it as ‘the album I always wanted to make’. As the first two singles Safe Passage and Church Girl already made clear, it’ll be heavily influenced by 1980s synth-pop.
That’s only confirmed by the third song to be released ahead of the long-player. Got Me is a great track that wouldn’t have been out of place on a Michael Jackson album. The bass line brings tracks like The Way You Make Me Feel or Leave Me Alone to mind, while the horns and the funky guitar could’ve been sampled from an early ‘80s record by The Jacksons. A colourful song that makes you want to dance.
Slightly over the top, a press release describes Got Me as ‘a funk-fuelled release of inhibitions’, and ‘another taste of the euphoric feel-good sonics Laura explores without fear on her new album’. Can’t wait for 2 July!
Follow Laura Mvula on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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 trackindie | pop
Lahos x Svea – Bad Thing
Leonard Biwer is an upcoming Cologne-born and Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist and producer. As Lahos, he worked with Younotus, Alle Farben, The Rasmus, Eli and others in recent years. Hot on the heels of his debut EP Youth Pattern, he just released his best song, so far. Once again, it’s a collaboration, this time with emerging Swedish singer and songwriter Svea Kågemark.
Bad Thing is an up-tempo tune with cutting-edge beats, funky guitars and catchy choirs. Svea’s strong vocals fit this massive musical backdrop like a glove. A danceable track, but 100% pop. Only just over 2 minutes long, there’s no reason whatsoever not to playlist this one. Hit!
Follow Lahos on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
Follow Svea on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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 trackfunk | indie | pop
St. Vincent – Down
Since March, St. Vincent (née Annie Clark) releases a single every month. Each of them was meant to be a teaser for her new album Daddy’s Home, which came out last week. Just like Masseducation, the one before, it was produced by fun.’s Jack Antonoff. Clark explained that the new album was inspired by her father’s release from prison for white-collar crime, as well as his vinyl collection from the ’70s.
By the sound of her latest single, Down, her dad liked his music slick and funky. The song opens with a minimalistic synth riff in the vein of Stevie Wonder. Later on, we also hear touches of soul, electronic music, r&b and indie. Vocally, Kate Bush and Joss Stone appear to have been sources of inspiration. All in all, it’s a diverse track that doesn’t bore for one second.
Follow St. Vincent on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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 trackindie | pop
Edouard Landry – Words
Edouard Landry is a Canadian artist who, thus far, recorded his music in French. This resulted in nominations for Francophone Artist of the Year and Best Album by a Francophone Artist, among others. Now, after four long-players in French, he’s ready to release his first English-language album. Entitled Be Here Now, it’ll be out on 4 June.
Despite the title of his upcoming record, Landry makes timeless pop music. With a prominent role for the piano, it brings Elton John and Billy Joel to mind. New single Words is a great example. It describes an analogy between building and song-writing. He had almost finished it, when he visited the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. There, he saw a quote from Philip Guston about artists needing to ‘make concrete how [they] feel’. Landry found this to be the final missing piece of Words, which tied the story up nicely.
In the lyrics, Landry references his former career in French: ‘En Français, ‘cause maybe I like to hide’. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no need to be shy. Words is a great step forward, and is likely to appeal to a larger audience than he ever had before.
Follow Edouard Landry on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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 trackindie | pop | rock
Rebecca Lou – Lovesick
Technically, Rebecca Lou are a Danish trio, but there’s no doubt Rebecca Louise Armstrong is its front woman. If you thought their music so far was too punky, too dark and/or too sad, here’s your chance to start and love them. New single Lovesick is the first track to be released ahead of the band’s upcoming sophomore album Heavy Metal Feelings. An upbeat, fun, powerful, playful and bright love anthem, it could give Pink a run for her money. In the piano melody, Clock Opera’s Belongings shines through. Now that’s one hell of a recommendation!
When I just described Lovesick as a love anthem, I didn’t mean your usual love anthem. Talking about the track, Rebecca explains: “The inspiration for Lovesick came after I met my friend’s tarantula Jenny. I thought she was so adorable and creepy cute, that I started daydreaming about her becoming a real human being and how we would fall in love and the whole world would turn into a big thunderstorm of pure romance. That’s why the chorus goes ‘Jenny come alive / all your colours make me high’. It was a very weird and funny way to kick-start the track thematically, and I ended up sticking with it, because I thought it was funny.”
Follow Rebecca Lou on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
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, wildcardpop | rock
Wildcard (week 19): Niko Rubio – You Could Be The One
Following her first single I Dreamt About You Last Night (2019), things got quiet around Niko Rubio. But now she’s back with what a press statement calls her ‘debut single’. In other words: forget about the other one, the future starts here.
Danielle Rubio, better known as Niko, is an emerging singer, songwriter and guitarist from the South Bay of Los Angeles. The 20-year-old began her love affair with music when she was just a kid. In her early teens, she listened to artists like the XX, Bob Dylan and Shakira. Later on, she added Vampire Weekend, Lana Del Rey, Erykah Badu and Twenty One Pilots to her tastes. Growing up in Mexican culture, Niko liked the mariachi and banda music her grandparents played at home as well.
This diverse set of influences translates into her own eclectic style. Take her new single You Could Be The One, for instance. A kicky pop-rock track with a shimmering chorus, accentuated with pulsating guitars, groovy percussion and Rubio’s soulful vocals. It’s the first song from her forthcoming debut EP, due out this Summer.
This week, You Could Be The One by Niko Rubio is the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. As such, you’ll find it at the top of the blog for a full week.
Follow Niko Rubio on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
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 trackindie | pop
Telenova – Tranquilize
Telenova is a new Australian super group. In both senses of the word. First of all, the band is made up of front woman Angeline Armstrong, and producer/multi-instrumentalists Edward Quinn and Joshua Moriarty. They made a name for themselves before as parts of notable Aussie acts Beachwood, Slum Sociable and Miami Horror. But second of all, after only two releases we may conclude this group is really super!
Just over a year ago, the trio met at a songwriting camp, curated by Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla. They immediately clicked and decided to start a band. You may remember me praise Telenova’s debut single Bones, and now its follow-up is out as well. Another great song, with mesmerising vocals and a prominent bass line, producing a brooding atmosphere.
The lyrics are inspired by the mythological sirens, likening falling in love to the intoxicating and transfixing attraction of a siren’s call. It does so in such an addictive way, the song turns into a siren’s call itself. The musical version of the Droste effect! 😉
Recommended as well:
Telenova – Bones
Follow Telenova on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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 trackindie | pop
Super db – Wait For Me
Allow me to start with the bad news: the fade-out is making a comeback in today’s pop music. I’ve once heard a studio technician explain: ‘A fade-out gives the impression a song can go on endlessly, whereas a cold ending clearly indicates a song has really finished’. That’s all very well, but to me a fade-out just sounds plain lazy.
But hey, let’s skip to the good news… Super db have a great new single out!
Super db are a 4-piece band from London, whose sound is a distinctive mix of pop, disco, funk, rock and jazz. Their band name has a double meaning: it plays on the positive, upbeat nature of their music, but it also includes the band members’ initials. Super db are twin brothers JM Sutcliffe (guitars, vocals) and JP Sutcliffe (drums, vocals, keys, percussion), joined by Matt Dibble (keys, vocals, sax, clarinet) and Lorenzo Bassignani (bass).
Their new single Wait For Me sounds like a Westcoast take on Olivia Newton-John & ELO’s Xanadu. That’s not a coincidence. The audio style of the track is a homage to Jeff Lynne’s productions of the late ‘70s, featuring falsetto vocals, dense production, and classic ‘vocoder’ sounds in the chorus. Lyrically, it’s about a man caught in a love triangle.
Following Kool Funk and Open Line To Me, which the band released in 2020, Wait For Me is the third single to be released ahead of their new album. Entitled Ecoute Ça (French for ‘listen to this’), it’ll come out in the summer; the perfect season for this sunny kind of music!
Follow Super db on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
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 trackdisco | funk | indie | jazz | pop | rock
Babe Rainbow – Ready For Tomorrow
The last time I wrote about Babe Rainbow, the Australian band was yet to release their debut album. Four years later, they have more than two hands full of singles and three albums to their name. And the fourth, Changing Colours, comes out this week. The record was once again produced by Wayne Connelly, who previously helmed classic records by The Vines, Neil Finn, and You Am I.
Babe Rainbow’s music has an undeniable link with the past. Their new single Ready For Tomorrow, for instance, combines funky disco with jazzy guitars and a Tame Impala kind of psychedelia. Groovy, baby!
Singer Angus Dowling says about the track: “It’s about 21st-century life, finding relief from the stress of both the future and the past. It is about Persephone running into her mother Demeter’s comforting arms.”
I’ll just take another beer then…
Recommended as well:
Babe Rainbow – Johny Says Stay Cool
Follow Babe Rainbow on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
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 trackindie | pop | rock
Ryan Downey – Half Light
Whatever happened to Chris Isaak? Or to Concrete Blonde for that matter? Well, this is a track that sounds as if Chris Isaak were the lead singer of Concrete Blonde. It isn’t, though. Half Light is the latest single of Ryan Downey.
This week, the Melbourne singer-songwriter will put out his second album A Ton Of Colours. And that’s exactly what it is: a wide variety of songs. Following Heart Is An Onion and Contact, Half Light is the third track to be released ahead of it. A dramatic song, that puts Downey’s crooning singing style in the spotlights. Produced by Burke Reid (Julia Jacklin, Courtney Barnett), it blends together elements of indie and art rock.
In a statement, Downey explained the song was about ‘facing fear and feelings of inadequacy head on’. “Sometimes fears have been around so long they feel warm and protective, making them even harder to overcome.”
Follow Ryan Downey on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
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.
