Browsing Category wildcard
Wildcard (week 5):
Alex The Astronaut – I Think You’re Great
A talented soccer player, Alexandra Lynn moved from Sydney to New York on a soccer scholarship in 2017. She studied Math and Physics at Long Island University, while turning her experiences into folk-inflected pop songs. Under the name Alex The Astronaut she released her first EP To Whom It May Concern. Follow-up single Not Worth Hiding was a frank letter to her 16-year-old self about gender and sexuality. It became an unofficial anthem of the Australian gay marriage referendum.
Her new single I Think You’re Great was produced by Sam Cromack and Daniel Hanson of Ball Park Music. It’s a shout out to a cherished friendship and a recognition of the need to check in on each other, opening up conversations and supporting friends through thick and thin. In the accompanying video, Alex waits tables serving demanding customers at a busy diner. When her shift finally ends, she heads home for a night of wine and board games with friends.
Mid-March, Alex The Astronaut will appear at US showcase festival SXSW. This will be followed by dates with label mates Jack River and Didirri in Los Angeles, Brooklyn NY, and Toronto. But this week already, her new single is the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. I think it’s great!
In the Wildcards 2020 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.
Wildcard (week 3):
Joywave – Half Your Age
Joywave are an American pop-rock band. In 2014, their popular remix of Big Data’s Dangerous meant their own break-through as well. In another expression of their creativity, the band’s 2016 album Swish basically only contained two tracks: Life In A Bubble I Blew and Destruction, plus nine alternative versions of the latter. These versions all had another title, jointly forming the sentence ‘Why be credible when you can be incredible?’ (after the title of singer Daniel Armbruster’s column for The Huffington Post).
Brace yourself for Joywave’s upcoming album Possession, due out on 13 March. Over the past 6 months, the band released the tracks Like A Kennedy, Obsession and Blank Slate, which will all be on the long-player. New single Half Your Age is the latest in this series of new music. A bouncing pop track with a chorus that’s sure to stick in your brain. Joy(wave) to the world! Half Your Age is this week’s new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard.
In the Wildcards 2020 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.
Wildcard (week 2):
Overcoats – The Fool
Brooklyn duo Overcoats consists of Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell. With their new single, The Fool, they complete their transition from a folk band to an electric pop/rock outfit. As a result, the single is a powerful anthem, both musically and lyrically. The song contains a strong message of empowerment, independence, and self-determination. In the video, this message is represented by the pair shaving their heads, making it both a bold statement and a bald one.
Mitchell points out: “We wrote it based on ‘The Fool’ tarot card. It signifies taking a leap of faith and jumping into the unknown. Conceptually, it felt like the beginning of the project. We wiped the slate clean and decided to jump. That’s why the video includes the footage of us shaving our heads. We’re ‘The Fool’, and we’re taking our leap.” .
In the United States, The Fool was released in September 2019. Other parts of the world, like Europe, only follow now. Great timing. Overcoats are really useful in this time of year. With its tarot reference, it’s only logical The Fool is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2020 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.
Wildcard (week 1):
Harry Styles – Treat People With Kindness
No better way to start a new year than with best wishes and good intentions. How about this one, then? Treat people with kindness. It’s simple, it doesn’t cost you any money, and it doesn’t hurt… On the contrary. Treat people with kindness, and it’ll come back to you. You get what you give. I’m convinced about that.
When Harry Styles released his second solo album Fine Line, midway December, the track Treat People With Kindness stuck out immediately as my favourite. Although it hasn’t been released as a single (yet), I think it would be a great choice. With a great, universal message, which the world needs now more than ever.
Treat People With Kindness by Harry Styles is the first Carte Blanche Music Wildcard of 2020!
In the Wildcards 2020 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far (but this only being week #1, it’s still a bit empty 😉 ).
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 52):
Barry Moore – The Tide
Some tracks that you already liked, still get better and better with each listen. One such example is The Tide by Barry Moore, an Irish singer, songwriter and musician. After spending his youth in San Francisco, he is now back in Europe. However, it’s not Ireland, but France where he starts his musical career. He got signed by Spookland Records; only their second signing after Jain.
Following his great debut single Hey Now (from the EP Lost Boys), The Tide is his new single. Definitely one to check for Twenty One Pilots fans. Expect Barry Moore to fly as high as they do when he puts out his debut album in 2020.
Ahead of that, I’d like to draw some more attention to this great new track. This last week of the year, it’s the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. Let’s turn The Tide into a tidal wave!
Recommended as well:
Barry Moore – Hey Now
In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards.
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 51):
beabadoobee – She Plays Bass
There’s nothing wrong with Bea Kristi’s real name. But her artist name beabadoobee is genuinely swinging. So far, the 19-year-old London singer-songwriter’s musical style has mostly been pigeon-holed as ‘bedroom pop’. A description that relates more to technical issues than to content, in my opinion. Nevertheless, more and more artists pop up in this category. Time for beabadoobee to move on…
You’re right when you presume her single She Plays Bass to feature a dominant bass line. This, along with a shift towards ’90s indie-rock, gives the song a nostalgic, New Order kind of vibe. However, according to a press release, it was inspired by Sleater-Kinney and The Breeders. No complaints there…
She Plays Bass was first released four months ago. Now, with a BBC Sound Of 2020 nomination in the pocket, it gets a new round of promotion. High time this great track became the new 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.
Wildcard (week 50):
Kakkmaddafakka – Baby
Norwegian six-piece Kakkmaddafakka had a prolific year. They released their sixth album Diplomacy and a slew of great singles, as you may have read here before. This week, they gave birth to another ‘baby’. Hopefully, the brand-new track precedes more fresh material.
With Kakkmaddafakka’s happy indie-pop music, summer is always around the corner. New single Baby is no exception. It’s as upbeat, catchy and energetic as always, with fat drums and a driving piano underpinning the sing-along lyrics. The well-crafted, feel-good kind of song radio used to fall for. And they still should.
Not only are Kakkmaddafakka’s tunes perfect for the radio, they also make for a great live party. Do yourself a favour and go see in February, March or April 2020 on their upcoming European tour. For now, Baby is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
Recommended as well:
Kakkmaddafakka – Get Go
Kakkmaddafakka – Sin
Kakkmaddafakka – Runaway Girl
Kakkmaddafakka – Young You
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.
Wildcard (week 49):
Julie Zenatti – Tout Est Plus Pop
Julie Zenatti is a French singer and actress of Algerian, Italian and Jewish descent. After being discovered in a karaoke bar in 1994, at the age of 13, she recorded two songs with Lenny Kravitz, but those were never released. She only released her first album in the year 2000.
Zenatti’s ninth album is expected to be due next spring, accompanied by concerts in April 2020. The first single off the album is Tout Est Plus Pop, a title that couldn’t have been more appropriate. It’s light, accessible, sparkling, catchy, memorable, short and snappy… an invitation to sing along. Probably the best song Lio (Amoureux Solitaires) never recorded.
In the newly-released video, the singer travels through 40 years of pop music, based on gems she finds in her record collection. About the clip she says: “It’s not meant to be nostalgic, just an ode to music entering our lives and creating memories.” This might as well have been a description of Carte Blanche Music…
Tout Est Plus Pop by Julie Zenatti is the new 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.
Wildcard (week 48):
Sebu – The Secret Is Out [Lucas Vidal Arrangement]
Armenian-American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer Sebu Simonian may not be a household name (yet). But I’m sure you know some of his music. As a commercial jingle writer, he co-wrote a demo for a cola ad. It was called Safe And Sound. When it got rejected, he formed the band Capital Cities and released the single independently. It became a worldwide hit, and the cola brand came back around to license the song for an ad after all.
Now, Sebu has his first solo single out: The Secret Is Out. A song with an equally impressive story. He says about it: “Engrossed by news about wars in the Middle East, I learned more about veterans struggling with PTSD. I decided to tackle the unconventional topic. (…) The animated music video depicts a female war veteran suffering from PTSD. She returns to the comfort of her home and the arms of her loved one, but can’t escape visions of war. It is directed by Italian animator Marco Pavone.”
The song itself features a prominent beat and fierce synth bursts, with beautiful strings on top, courtesy of Lucas Vidal. A great companion to the current autumn weather, The Secret Is Out by Sebu 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.
Wildcard (week 47):
Deacon Blue – City Of Love
Since their classic introductory album Raintown, Deacon Blue boasted 7 million album sales, two UK number one albums and 14 hit singles. The Scottish sophisticated pop band are inseparably linked to my former Carte Blanche radio show. Their debut single Dignity was one of the first songs I played in my first broadcast in 1987, while Gone was a logical choice for the very last song I ever played on the radio at the end of 2016.
Almost exactly three years on, Ricky Ross, Lorraine McIntosh and their lovely band are back once again. Not only announcing their largest tour ever, but a new album as well. City Of Love (due for release on 6 March 2020) is their tenth studio long-player. It contains 11 songs with the same theme: even in the corners of a town or a life where no light falls, hope can prevail.
The album’s title track is the band’s new single. An instantly recognizable Deacon Blue song with driving strings, Ross’s rasping voice and McIntosh’s angelic backing vocals. A band on top of their game!
City Of Love is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
Recommended as well:
Deacon Blue – Gone
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.
