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Now this is a sound we haven’t heard in the charts for way too long: funky soul. Hopefully, Joel Culpepper can undo that injustice. The south-east London native just announced his debut album, with the rather brilliant title Sgt. Culpepper, for next year.

The long-player is preceded by a double A-sided single: Return/WAR. As is so often the case, the AA-side is my favourite. WAR is an upbeat track in the best James Brown tradition. For the youngsters among you, who may think: James who? Think Learnalilgivinandlovin by Gotye.

Addressing social and political undertones, WAR details Culpepper’s frustration with the hostile environment towards marginalised groups, expressing that ‘enough is enough’. WAR is an acronym for Without Any Restraint. The track was co-written by two musical heavy-weights. Jimmy Hogarth (who worked with Amy Winehouse, Sia, Tom Grennan, Paolo Nutini, Duffy, and many more) and Shawn Lee (a very prolific artist who worked with the likes of Lana Del Rey, Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys, and is half of Young Gun Silver Fox).

Joel Culpepper. What is it good for? WAR! It’s the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard.

In the Wildcards 2020 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.

werner's weekly

Werner’s Weekly (week 47)

November 16th, 2020

This is Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:

Keleketla! – International Love Affair (Wildcard this week)
Bloxx – 5000 Miles (Wildcard last week)
Favvkes – Black Dove
Banji – Listen
Lime – Fever
Blossoms – It’s Going To Be A Cold Winter
Don’t Bring Stacey – Waiting For It

Click the links for more info and listen to each of the tracks via the Werner’s Weekly player below.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Also added last week: Billie Eilish, Haim, Kylie Minogue, Pale Waves, and more.

album track

Stats – The Truth Is Naked

November 14th, 2020

Stats’ new album Powys 1999 got its name from the Welsh town where front man Ed Seed grew up. It was recorded in a residential recording studio near that place. Seed’s idea was to make a record about where he came from. In order to create the right atmosphere for the band to ‘get’ this place, he wanted them to be able to soak in the surroundings and mountainous setting. Therefore, they all moved to this rural studio for a week.

Luckily for Stats, all of this took place in Autumn 2019. In an interview with Daily Star Online, Seed explains: “Because the point of the album was getting all the band in Wales in a room, the physicality and landscape was so important. I realised that if we had done it six months later, we wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

The band spent the week jamming and recording. Seed would then pick selections of the sessions, mash, loop and mix them together, and create songs out of them. This resulted in a sonically mind-blowing record. Influences range from straight-up electronic pop and funk to art rock and disco.

The Truth Is Naked is a stand-out track on the album. Usually, I’m not too fond of parlando (spoken word sections in songs), but here, they work very well. The spoken verses add to the dynamics of the song, as they alternate with its up-tempo choruses. Musically, I hear some echoes of Simple Minds’ Alive And Kicking in it, which is never a bad thing.

Recommended as well:
Naturalise Me
The Family Business
Lose It

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

indie | pop

single track

Eelke – I’m A Man

November 14th, 2020

When Eelke graduated from conservatory with a 9,5 (out of 10), success only just started. Dutch singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist Eelke Ankersmit (whose first name is pronounced as ‘ail-kuh’) has a loyal following. Conveniently, some of his fans are radio DJ’s and streaming curators. This landed him airplay and some major playlists with his recent releases.

As the follow-up to his latest single Leech, he just released I’m A Man. It’s the second track off his upcoming EP Mirror. Eelke calls it ‘a straightforward boasting song, inspired by old blues tunes like Mannish Boy and Hoochie Coochie Man’.

However, when I first heard the song, it immediately reminded me of Tom Petty. My ears didn’t deceive me, as Eelke explains: “Musically I wanted to write something just as straightforward as the lyrics. At the time I was listening to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Greatest Hits a lot, and that became a big influence on the music.”

Great to see Petty continues to inspire new generations of musicians, who turn his legacy into fine new songs. This one in particular is well worth a spin!

Recommended as well:
Eelke – Leech

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

indie | pop | rock

single track

Slum Sociable (feat. Kye) – You’re In My Head

November 14th, 2020

Australia has by far my favourite music scene at the moment. The amount of talent it produces is unbelievable, and their success abroad rather underwhelming. I do what I can (and will continue to do so) to introduce you to as many of them as possible.

Did you know Slum Sociable already, earthling? This Melbourne duo, comprised of Ed Quinn and Miller Upchurch, have been around since their 2015 debut single Anyway. That same year, they put out the EP TQ, follow by their self-titled debut album in 2017.

You’re In My Head is their second single of this year. It’s an incredibly catchy affair, that brings you straight back to 1989. It’s groovy beat finds itself halfway If Only I Could and Fool’s Gold.

Co-produced by Xavier Dunn, this track marks the first time Slum Sociable collaborate with another artist. It features Melbourne based, Zimbabwe born, London raised Kye to great effect. “Working alongside Kye was a dream come true”, Quinn said of the collaboration. “She took this track to another level. We’ve always wanted to make a stomper like this, so it feels good to finally release it.”

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

indie | pop

single track

Big Ideas – Hurricane

November 14th, 2020

The Boxer Rebellion front man/guitarist Nathan Nicholson and bass player Adam Harrison started a new project. Teaming up with writer, director, and photographer Ben Lankester, it’s a truly audio-visual venture. They called it Big Ideas, after a 2016 Boxer Rebellion track.

27 November, the trio unveil their debut EP The American Dream. Only two weeks after its title track, they release second single Hurricane. A track with a haunting beat that bears some resemblance to a-ha’s Take On Me.

In a statement, Big Ideas say about Hurricane: “The lyrics are about confidence. Many people feel that they are unworthy somehow, and even with the smokescreen of bravado, most people are just trying to fit in and feel loved. The two lines of the chorus ‘And I love that you’re unaware, every room you go into is better ’cause you’re there’ sum up the song’s sentiment: you may not always know it, but you’re appreciated and we’re all the better for your presence.”

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

indie | pop

single track

Scabz – Pressure

November 14th, 2020

Ahead of the release of their debut album Pressure (out on 27 November), Scabz put out its title track. Fierce and furious, it’s a frantic garage punk anthem. Punk may not be the first genre that springs to mind thinking of Australian music, but the country does have a vibrant punk scene.

Lead singer Siobhan Poynton elaborated about the track in a press statement. “Pressure is about what it actually feels like to live in a world where you have no power and no control. Not necessarily the anger but the actual feeling of being under pressure to understand and fix something you didn’t choose.” More to the point, the track deals with the pressure of expectations.

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

indie | punk | rock

single track

Raye – Love Of Your Life

November 14th, 2020

This week, Raye will release her EP Euphoric Sad Songs, a seven-track music project exploring the cycle of grief. Love Of Your Life is the embodiment of the final stage of grief. It represents coming to terms with the trauma and hurt you’ve experienced, and realising that you feel ready to turn a negative into a positive and grow through it.

True to the EP title, it’s a euphoric tune, and true to its theme, it’s as uplifting as can be. This should be the song that propels Raye’s solo career into true stardom.

If you like Dua Lipa’s latest tunes or Kylie’s nu-disco sound, Raye could be the next Love Of Your Life…

Recommended as well:
Raye – Natalie Don’t

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

disco | pop

single track

Shaka Ponk feat. Cypress Hill – Pure 90 (Rapping Queen)

November 14th, 2020

Celebrating 15 years on the scene, French rock band Shaka Ponk just put out their triple album Apelogies. It features all of their hits, live tracks, covers (from Nirvana, Kim Wilde, De La Soul and even Dalida) as well as new songs.

One of those new tracks is good old-fashioned rock tune in every sense of the word. Entitled Pure 90, it’s exactly that: a throwback to the ‘90s. Funky horns, a fat groove and a collab with Cypress Hill’s Sen Dog… all ingredients are there. Lyrically, it references Insane In The Brain, House Of Pain and Public Enemy as well, to complete the picture.

If you can’t stand explicit lyrics, don’t click below. If you’re in for a motherf*cking party, please do!

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

funk | hip hop | indie | rock

single track

Just – Dark Days

November 14th, 2020

At an early age already, Justin Kniest was fully focused on music. He played the guitar and performed live with his bands all over the Netherlands for several years. In his professional career, he was an innovator and a creative in the entertainment and marketing business. Kniest received award after award for his brain child Fabchannel, a ground-breaking video streaming platform for concerts. Eventually, a lack of music industry support killed the project.

Now, he returns to his first love…

Actually, it was Kniest’s wife who triggered this step. She gave him a writers’ camp as a gift for his 50^th birthday. He met with fellow music enthusiasts at the coast of Spain, where he wrote his first track The Saddest Song. The positive feedback he received, encouraged him to finally pursue his dream. Just was born.

Dark Days is his new single; the first off his upcoming debut album. Once again, it’s a highly autobiographical song, which tells the story of the hard lessons that several setbacks in life taught him. Dark Days is a beautiful, melancholic song, delicately produced by Minco Eggersman, using analogue equipment. Musically, it finds itself somewhere midway Talk Talk and David Sylvian. Just the right soundtrack for leaves falling.

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

indie | melancholic | pop

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Wildcard (week 47):
Joel Culpepper – WAR

Werner’s Weekly (week 47)

Stats – The Truth Is Naked

Eelke – I’m A Man

Slum Sociable (feat. Kye) – You’re In My Head

Big Ideas – Hurricane

Scabz – Pressure

Raye – Love Of Your Life

Shaka Ponk feat. Cypress Hill – Pure 90 (Rapping Queen)

Just – Dark Days

Wildcard (week 48)

Werner’s Weekly (week 48)

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Wildcard (week 48)

Werner’s Weekly (week 48)

Spotify playlist

Social Media

Subscribe via email

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