Browsing Category wildcard
Wildcard (week 33):
Terouz – Outstanding
Born in Cairo, professional illustrator/singer-songwriter Karim Terouz moved to Montreal in 2008. With his brassy, folk/rock quintet The Rising Few, he released two albums. Then, after losing his father, he decided to re-emerge under the guise of Terouz.
His debut single Outstanding is a great piece of pop noir. Driven by muscular, groovy bass lines, and with Karim’s Bowie-esque vocals throughout. “It’s like Cohen on a treadmill”, the Egyptian/Canadian artist summarizes.
Terouz calls his first single ‘an ode to my journey of renewal’ and ‘an empowering Rocky-esque anthem’. He explains: “Last year felt like a never ending s#%t storm. With the shadow of my father’s passing laying over me, my musical aspirations were hitting a wall with my band and I was pretty close to pulling the plug on it all. I stopped everything to take care of myself. I dove deep into writing, belted out (in despair!) improvised vocal lines to recorded melodies while running up and down the Mont Royal… every day, like an obsessed work-out maniac. I focused on getting clear.”
This song is, indeed, Outstanding. And I’d like to make it stand out even a little bit more, by featuring it here prominently for a whole week. Outstanding by Terouz is 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 32):
The Howl & The Hum – Human Contact
The inspirations of The Howl & The Hum range from Leonard Cohen and Phoebe Bridgers to Lizzo and Kendrick Lamar, and they have also been likened to Massive Attack, Radiohead and Alt-J. To be honest, I hear neither of these influences shine through in their own music, and that is meant to be a compliment. The Howl & The Hum created their own style, while playing live, a lot.
Hot on the heels of recent single Hall Of Fame, the band unleash the furious follow-up track Human Contact. A damn tight piece of music! “Human Contact is a fast-paced miserable disco touching on mental health and what it means to be alone in a digital age,” frontman Sam Griffiths explains. “The lyric deals with the idea of alienation vs. technology. When there’s so much communication going on around us at all times, can we ever feel a true connection?”
A great song with an important message. Does is get any better? Yes it does. Human Contact by The Howl & The Hum 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 31):
Tape Toy – Sad Girl
Two years ago, Roos van Tuil (vocals, guitar), Wesley Fransen (guitar, vocals), Maurice van de Graaf (bass) and Marc van Dongen (drums) were put together by their teacher at the Amsterdam school of music. The assignment: “Just show us what you’ve got.” Well, they did.
The quartet clicked and the school project turned into a real band, with quite a bunch of catchy, up-beat songs in their bag. All of them guitar-driven, with great synth melodies and smart lyrics. Tape Toy call their music ‘bubble-grunge’. Within a year after forming, the band amassed an agenda full of festival gigs, and recently supported Skunk Anansie.
Sad Girl is the band’s most recent single. It was released alongside new track 020, which is the area code of their hometown Amsterdam. Following the funky opening riff, dreamy verses alternate with energetic choruses. Near the end, trippy synths build up to the ‘grande finale’, where the huge singalong chorus shines one more time.
This whole week, Sad Girl by Tape Toy will shine at the top of the Carte Blanche Music blog as 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 30):
Baker Grace – Sad Summer
How is your summer, so far? Is it a time of joy where you go to the beach, hang out with friends, travel or just have a jubilant time in the sun? Or is it less exciting, and is that only made worse by what we see on social media? If you’re in the latter group, Baker Grace is with you.
The 18-year-old New Jersey pop songstress wrote a song that speaks to the introvert in all of us. “Sad Summer is an anthem for the people who need a break from social media”, she shares. “The pressure to be happy all the time, to look good all the time, and to always be doing something cool.”
The intro sounds like the theme song of an ‘80s TV series. Then, Baker starts singing in a staccato style, reminiscent of Lizzo’s performance in Juice. Next, she comes up with a hook that’s unlikely to leave your brain anytime soon: “Gonna be a sad sad summer, such a bummer / I could be falling in love but baby I don’t give a fuck.”
Eventually, Sad Summer is the ultimate anti-summer anthem. A colourful tune for the introverted Instagram generation of today. Also, it is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard! So maybe it isn’t such a sad summer for Baker Grace, after all.
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 29):
Call Me Loop – Self Love
Brixton-based British singer-songwriter Georgia would rather have you call her Loop. Her alias came about from nicknames her mum gave her: Georgie-Lou, then Loopy-Lou, then Loop.
Describing her sound as ‘sassy, emotive electronic pop’, I’d like to summarize it with one word: ‘cool’. But ‘infectious’ would do as well. To give you a hint of what to expect, she names Rihanna, Amy Winehouse and Christina Aguilera as some of her influences. But Loop adds an extra touch of freshness to it all.
On her new pop banger Self Love, she proclaims she has a ‘new lease of life’ after letting go of a toxic relationship. I’m glad she wrote this tune about it! Self Love by Call Me Loop is this week’s 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 28):
Frank Turner – Sister Rosetta
A stadium act in his home country Great Britain, Frank Turner has yet to reach the general public abroad. But his popularity is steadily growing through constant touring.
His new single Sister Rosetta is a very ‘90s-sounding guitar pop song (Fountains Of Wayne’s Stacy’s Mom springs to mind, but without the power chords) and an ode to Sister Rosetta Tharpe. A musical and spiritual example for artists like Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, she was nicknamed the ‘Godmother of rock ‘n roll’.
The single precedes Turner’s new album No Man’s Land, which will count 13 songs: 12 about historically important women and one about his own mother. A release date has not yet been set, but what I can announce, is that Sister Rosetta by Frank Turner 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 27):
Miki Núñez – Celébrate
By winning Spanish TV talent show Operación Triunfo, Miguel ‘Miki’ Núñez Pozo was selected to represent his country at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. With the song La Venda he only ended 22nd, but all of that could be forgotten if his new single becomes the international (summer) hit I think it should be.
Celébrate is an ode to good, healthy living, but if you don’t speak Spanish, it’s still a great, uplifting ska-pop anthem. A well-produced song with horns, acoustic guitars and all of the other elements that bring out the sun.
Miki Núñez’ new single is the best way to celebrate the summer. Therefore, it’s 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 26):
Videoclub – En Nuit
Historically, English has always been the language in charts all over the world. But this is slowly changing. In recent years, we’ve seen songs in Spanish crossing over to non-Spanish-speaking territories, and it’s my guess that French will be next. The number of great acts from France (and from the French-speaking part of Belgium) is overwhelming. And the fun part is: really young artists appear to lead the way to global stardom.
Remember Belgian singer-songwriter Angèle (23), whom I wrote about many times? Allow me to remind you she’s one to watch! But equally impressive is the career that Videoclub are building. The duo consists of Adèle Castillon (17), a YouTube phenomenon with over 650.000 followers, and her friend Matthieu Reynaud. With only two singles under their belt, they built a large fanbase, mainly in the US. I can see that from the huge number of Americans that read my recommendation of their second single Roi, and who find Carte Blanche Music via organic searches through terms like ‘videoclub roi’ (duh) and ‘videoclub french band’.
Now, the up and coming electro-pop teens are back with their third single. It’s called ‘En Nuit’, which means ‘at night’, but it’s also a play at ‘ennui’, meaning ‘boredom’. Another ultra-catchy song with sweet synth-pop sounds and gripping ‘ooh-ooh’s, that serve as a pleasant backdrop to Adèle and Matthieu’s youthful and sultry vocals. Don’t forget to check the video as well. It’s made by Aube Perrie, who also directed the clip for La Thune by Angèle.
This week, En Nuit by Videoclub is the 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 25):
K.Flay – Sister
K.Flay is an Illinois born-and-raised, hip hop-inspired alt-pop artist. After two independently released albums in 2009 and 2014, she broke through with her 2017 major label debut Every Where Is Some Where. It received two Grammy nominations. So, the bar has been set high for her next album Solutions, due out 12 July.
If her new single is anything to go by, K.Flay is about to live up to the expectations. Sister is a genre-blurring song, incorporating analogue synths along with live bass and guitar, while shifting between pop, rock, hip hop, and electronic moods. This is the kind of track the word ‘banger’ is made for.
K.Flay’s new single Sister will feature prominently on the Carte Blanche Music blog for one whole week as 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 24):
Jay Som – Superbike
One to look forward to: on 23 August, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Melina Dutertre releases her new album Anak Ko, which means ‘my child’ in the Filipino language. It’s the 25-year-old’s third full length since recording as Jay Som. As always, she produced and engineered it all herself.
Let’s be honest: what can go wrong when an artist cites acts like Prefab Sprout, The Cure and Cocteau Twins as her main influences? As a consequence, Jay Som’s new single Superbike sounds familiar from the first note on. About this song, Duterte says she wrote it ‘aiming for a combination of Cocteau Twins and Alanis Morissette’. To me, it sounds as if Natalie Imbruglia were into shoegaze. It’s indie music, drenched in Californian sunshine.
This week, Superbike by Jay Som is 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.
