Browsing Category wildcard
Wildcard (week 18):
MisterWives – Rock Bottom
MisterWives came together in New York at the end of 2012 when singer Mandy Lee wanted an ’80s cover band for her birthday party. When she couldn’t find one, she decided to start a band herself with some friends. They came on my radar in 2015, when I thought Our Own House was one of the best singles of that year.
The band never disappointed me ever since. I love their high-energy, radio-friendly pop songs and the air-tight production that comes with them. It landed MisterWives earlier Carte Blanche Music Wildcards with their singles Machine and Never Give Up On Me.
Rock Bottom is their brilliant new tune. Mandy Lee explains: “Rock bottom is where I’ve spent most of my time these last couple of years, but this song is about getting up and out of that dark and painful place and knowing you never want to get to that lowest low again.”
It’s got a real fun dance groove and I absolutely love the horns on it. As far as I’m concerned, radio stations that don’t program this gem, should turn in their license immediately. For a whole week, Rock Bottom by MisterWives will feature prominently and proudly on the Carte Blanche Music blog as our new Wildcard.
Recommended as well:
MisterWives – Whywhywhy
MisterWives – Never Give Up On Me
MisterWives – Machine
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 17):
Grand Corps Malade – Effets Secondaires
Frenchman Fabien Marsaud originally wanted to become a basketball pro, but an accident prohibited him from fulfilling that ambition. This is reflected by his artist name Grand Corps Malade, which means ‘large sick body’. Now that a virus turned the whole world into a large sick body, the singer recorded a charity song. All of its proceeds will be donated to two French hospitals.
Effets Secondaires (‘side effects’) features Grand Corps Malade’s characteristic speak-singing style. It sits on top of an impressive composition by Swiss DJ/producer Quentin Mosimann, who also produced GCM’s upcoming album.
Obviously, the song applauds the real heroes of the Corona crisis, the healthcare workers. But it also points at other global disasters taking place. It warns that if Corona showed us one thing, it’s that we’re all in this together. Sooner or later, the problems of total strangers will become your problems as well. We’re all in the same boat, fighting the same threats.
A universal message that transcends the current pandemic. It’ll feature on top of this blog for a whole week as the 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 16):
Dive In – Give Me A Reason
Dive In released two EP’s in 2015 and a handful of singles the year after. The Glastonbury band just put out their first track in four years. ‘And certainly not the last’, they promise on social media.
Let’s hope so, for new single Give Me A Reason has an epic sound. Equal parts electronic and guitar-pop, it’s made for festivals. The one in their backyard for starters, although that’ll have to wait until 2021.
By the way: also check out the artwork to Dive In’s releases, which has been remarkably consistent (as well as beautiful) throughout the years.
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 15):
Izo FitzRoy – Red Line
I recommended Red Line by Izo Fitzroy before, but some songs just can’t get enough attention. An ultimate spring track, it’s this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
On Red Line, alongside her own band, FitzRoy is backed by The Haggis Horns and The Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir. Already a great track on her album How The Mighty Fall, the radio version is a beefed up affair. It’s got even more drive than the original and puts greater emphasis on the horns (which is never a bad idea). You might want to check this live version as well, by the way!
The long-player was produced by Colin Elliott, who worked with Richard Hawley, Jarvis Cocker and Paul Weller amongst others. Disco don Dimitri From Paris and Young Gun Silver Fox’s Shawn Lee lent a hand as well. With this album on repeat, you won’t even think about leaving the house!
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 14):
Roquemore – Blame
Nicolas Carette was the lead singer of Canadian band The Vasts. The past tense in this sentence does not apply to the frontman, he’s still very much alive. The band however has been disbanded. Carette will from now on be known as Roquemore.
On its Facebook page, Roquemore is described as ‘a beat-driven, baroque-orchestral rock project’. It was ‘born of a desire to recklessly reframe personal turmoil and world events’. Alrighty then… WTF?!?
I guess the best you can do is listen to Roquemore’s debut single, which is plain wonderful. Entitled Blame, it sounds like a cross of early Arcade Fire and Massive Attack. Expect tragic string arrangements, compact grooves and tormented vocals, but boy, what a beauty. Blame was engineered by Jean Massicotte, who worked with Bran Van 3000 and Patrick Watson before.
I truly can’t wait for more! Until then, Blame by Roquemore 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 13):
The Spitfires – (Just Won’t) Keep Me Down
Nothing is as effective in beating negativity – even in these trying times – as a ska song. This great new single by The Spitfires, for instance. Even the title, (Just Won’t) Keep Me Down, sounds like a message of hope (and a middle finger to COVID-19). It’s a powerful, infectious, brass-infused stomper of a song.
Frontman Billy Sullivan, bassist Sam Long, and drummer Matt Johnson formed The Spitfires five years ago. When playing live, the three-piece is augmented by three more musicians. Listening to their music, it isn’t hard to imagine their concerts being one big party.
The band recently signed to the legendary Acid Jazz Records label and just announced their upcoming album. Life Worth Living is set to be released on 5 June. It was produced by Simon Dine, who was behind the desk for several Paul Weller albums.
(Just Won’t) Keep Me Down, The Spitfires’ new single, 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 12):
Hollie Col – She Knows
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Australia is a country with an incredible number of talented artists. That’s why I recommend as many of them as possible here at Carte Blanche Music. Here’s another one.
Have you heard of Hollie Col already? She’s a 24-year-old Australian singer-songwriter, who has been playing live a lot lately. Both in her home country, where she did two consecutive sold out headline tours, and in Europe. As a consequence, her devoted fanbase is steadily growing. If you weren’t familiar with her yet, allow me to introduce you…
She Knows is Hollie’s new single. Clearly, she’s heavily inspired by classic song-writing, but she gives it a modern spin. Produced by award-winning Steve Schram (San Cisco, The Cat Empire), it’s a joyous piece of summer pop. The track has an upbeat arrangement and an infectious vocal hook, which she sings with a youthful enthusiasm. Her lyrics are intelligent and insightful.
On the single, Hollie says: ”She Knows is a letter to the person who has the one you love. It’s bittersweet, bright and loud. It screams ‘you’ll never know her like I do, and she knows it‘.”
Well, I know one thing: this great song is the 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 11):
Bée – Nothing Alike
Bée (pronounced as Bae) is short for Brechtje Kooreneef, a name that will surely turn heads for readers in the Netherlands. Indeed, she’s the daughter of Han Kooreneef, a very successful songwriter and composer for some of the biggest Dutch acts. Marco Borsato, Guus Meeuwis, Ruth Jacott, Volumia!, Paul de Leeuw and many more owe him a lot.
Having spent many hours of her childhood in music studios with her father, she started making music herself at a young age. This is now starting to pay off. Just 19 years old, Nothing Alike is only Bée’s second single, and I think it’s great. The song was produced by Jake Gosling. He worked with everyone from Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga and James Bay, to One Direction, Major Lazer and Paloma Faith.
Nothing Alike is based around a playful instrumentation, a percussive backbeat, ear-warming vocals, and relatable lyrics. Musically, the keywords are: feel-good, youthful, smooth, fresh, intriguing, colourful, and catchy. I’m convinced Bée is a talent of international class.
Discover her here this week, as Nothing Alike is the 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 10):
Ren – I Drive Me Mad
After last year’s singles Waves and Mind Games, 17-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter Ren is gearing up for her debut EP. Entitled Teenage Angst, it will drop on 13 March. The EP will include the previously released songs IDC and New Way. A third track has just been revealed.
On I Drive Me Mad, Lauren Isenberg (Ren’s real name) wears her heart on her sleeve. Talking about the new tune, she says: “It’s really a look inside my brain and the anxiety and panic I deal with nearly everyday. I wrote this song after having a really bad panic attack and it made it so honest and easy to write. It’s the first song I’m putting out that I feel like has a really important relatable message.”
The verses of the track slowly build in pace, followed by fierce, guitar-driven choruses. “The production of the song is supposed to depict the feeling of anxiety”, Ren explains.
This week, I Drive Me Mad is the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
Recommended as well:
Ren – New Way
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 9):
Sports Team – Here’s The Thing
With the handful of singles Sports Team released since 2017, they created their own hype and amassed a large and loyal following. Their wild live shows, packed with energy, humour and nonchalance, sell out rapidly. All of this resulted in a steadily growing anticipation for the band’s debut album. Well, the fans don’t have to wait much longer. The London-based six-piece just announced their first long-player Deep Down Happy will come out on 3 April.
The album is preceded by another new track, Here’s The Thing, which is probably their best yet. On it, Sports Team frontman Alex Rice makes fun of politics, without exaggerating. With his youthful enthusiasm, he gets away with anything, anyway 😉. It’s an authentic, up-beat rock stomper that is bound to be a live favourite, just like the band itself.
But first of all, Here’s The Thing is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
Recommended as well:
Sports Team – M5
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.
