Aaaaaaaaaand, we’re back! After a great holiday in Australia, I’m completely ready to continue and recommend you the best new tracks. Most of them are too good for the radio, but as a music missionary man, I see it as my duty to provide them with a platform. In the end, of course, it’s you who decides.

October wasn’t only a great month to take some time off, it was also a great month for new music. Traditionally, in anticipation of the year-end period, October is a month with many releases. This year is no exception. Throughout my holiday, I updated my Carte Blanche Music Spotify playlist regularly. Head over there for an overview of recent new tracks you wouldn’t want to miss. Today, I’ll also resume my recommendations on this blog. But for a start, let me present to you the Carte Blanche Music Wildcards of the past four weeks:

Week 40: Client Liaison – The Beat Supreme

It only felt appropriate that the first Wildcard during my holiday would come from an Australian act. Enter indie-pop duo Client Liaison, consisting of Monte Morgan (vocals), and Harvey Miller (keyboards, producer). I wrote about their earlier single The Real Thing before. The band are influenced by late ’80s and early ’90s electronic and house music, as can be heard again on their new single The Beat Supreme.

Week 41: Sheila & The Kit – Mike [Edit]

Easy Lover by Philip Bailey & Phil Collins was the very first Wildcard in 1985. Mike by Sheila & The Kit was #1800! It’s a track off the Dutch alternative synth-pop outfit’s first EP, appropriately titled EP. Since it lasts 7’39 on there, I suggested it should be edited and put out as a single. And ta-dah… someone listened 😉. Although four and half a minute have been chopped off, the song still has the same great vibe and energy. It now fits the dance floor and the radio!

Week 42: Kasador – Givin’ It Up

You may know Canadian indie-rock band Kasador from their recent track High Rise. This is one of the 12 tracks on their debut album Brood And Bloom. The long-player was partly produced by Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair of The Tragically Hip, and partly by Graham Walsh (Sam Roberts, Lights, Wintersleep). The latter produced the band’s new single Givin’ It Up.

Week 43: Lizzo & Ariana Grande – Good As Hell [Remix]

In 2016, Lizzo recorded Good As Hell for the soundtrack of the movie ‘Barbershop: The Next Cut’. It also served as the lead single from her debut EP Coconut Oil. Following her performance at the MTV Music Video Awards, it’s climbing up the Billboard charts. A new version of the song, as a duet with Ariana Grande, will only enhance this success. A well-deserved belated hit.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

Werner Schlosser

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.