Carte Blanche Music | Pagina 4 van 216 |

In the 1990s, alternative rock band Kent was one of my favourite acts from Sweden. Next to his band (which disbanded in 2016), lead singer and guitarist Joakim Berg also worked with other artists. These collaborations had much more of a pop signature. He wrote for and recorded with artists like Titiyo (Come Along), Morten Harket (of a-ha fame), and Avicii. The latest song he co-wrote, is Smith & Thell’s new single Radioactive Rain.

Smith & Thell are Swedish duo Maria Jane Smith and Victor Thell. They’ve only been around for five years now, but are already mega stars in Scandinavia. Radioactive Rain is the pair’s latest single to be released ahead of their sophomore album Pixie’s Parasol, which will follow in February.

Follow Smith & Thell on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

pop

single track

Daði Freyr & Ásdís – Feel The Love

January 2nd, 2021

If 2020 wouldn’t have been dominated by an unexpected inconvenience, Daði Freyr would have easily won the Eurovision Song Contest for Iceland. Although the competition didn’t take place after all, Freyr’s star has been rising throughout the year. He continued to release ultra catchy and uplifting nu-disco tracks and took the world by storm.

His new single Feel The Love is probably the best and most accessible song he put out so far. It’s sung almost entirely by another hidden gem from Iceland: Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir. The production, although handled by Freyr himself, sounds very Scandinavian, which – as you know – is pop heaven. While ‘80s synths, tights beats, funky guitars and handclaps alternate, Ásdís’ voice cuts like a knife through butter.

If this is Freyr’s submission for the 2021 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, it’ll undoubtedly be a strong contender for the victory. If it isn’t, he’ll have to settle with a worldwide hit.

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

disco | funk | indie | pop

single track

You Me At Six – Adrenaline

January 2nd, 2021

In recent years, You Me At Six changed their sound more than once. Not ready to become predictable, the British band embraced experiments. Although they continued their working relationship with Dan Austin (Biffy Clyro, Massive Attack, Pixies), who produced their 2018 album VI, they pushed themselves even further while recording their upcoming seventh album Suckerpunch, which will be out on 15 January.

Adrenaline is the band’s fourth new song to be released ahead of the long-player. It’s big, bold and bombastic. Driven by saturated bass, it adds electronic elements to their rock sound. For reference, think Awolnation or Imagine Dragons.

Lead vocalist Josh Franceschi says of the track: “Adrenaline is about understanding and accepting the capacity we all have as humans to have split personalities. Coming to terms with the idea of co-dependency.”

Recommended as well:
What’s It Like
Back Again
3AM

Follow You Me At Six on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

electronic | indie | rock

single track

Päter feat. Alexandra Willett – MTL

January 2nd, 2021

Iran-born, Canada-based singer-songwriter Päter is a young artist with currently only nine songs on her repertoire. But by the sound of them, she has a bright career ahead of her. If that might not happen, she can always look back upon being a good person. For instance: she makes a habit of doing fundraisers, giving away her modest income from music to good causes like the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources. This social attitude is also reflected in her lyrics, like the ones for her recent single Earth In Revolt.

MTL (which is short for Montreal) is Päter’s new single. She recorded it with fellow Canadian artist Alexandra Willett, who adds a francophone element to the song. MTL is a joyful and catchy track. A great way for Päter to end the year 2020, which saw her deservedly grow her audience.

Recommended as well:
Päter – Earth In Revolt
Päter – Sleep

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

indie | pop

single track

Graham Colton – Let’s Spend The Night

January 2nd, 2021

Graham Colton is a talented American singer-songwriter. His second album Pacific Coast Eyes was his first I came across. I played much of its tracks in my then radio show Carte Blanche, especially the title track and 1981. I also visited one of the many living room sessions he played by then. But he also shared stages with artists like Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Kelly Clarkson, Counting Crows, and Maroon 5.

Since his most recent album Inside Out, released earlier this year, Colton put out two brand-new songs. Well, not quite, for Everybody’s Talkin’ was a cover of the Harry Nilsson classic. But Let’s Spend The Night is an original, and a damn fine one. Both lyrically and musically, it’s a light-hearted song that sounds like it was made for the radio.

Follow Graham Colton on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

indie | pop

cover, single track

† † † (Crosses) – The Beginning Of The End

January 2nd, 2021

At the end of the 1980s the American electro-pop band Information Society came up. I was a huge fan of their (US) hit What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) and of later singles like Think. Shortly after, another American band fished in the same musical pond: Cause & Effect. Their 1991 debut album Another Minute is another favourite of mine from that period. The following year, the two bands were to go on a club tour together. The remainder of that trek was sadly cancelled after Cause & Effect frontman Sean Rowley died of complications from an asthma attack during a soundcheck.

One of the ten songs on Another Minute was The Beginning Of The End. This track has now been covered by an unlikely act: † † † (Crosses), a side project of Deftones frontman Chino Moreno’s. This band had been on hiatus since their eponymous 2014 debut album.

Moreno recently indicated their were some ‘unreleased’ songs he’d like to finish. This cover is the first fruit of these intentions. † † † (Crosses) kept the original composition mostly intact. This results in a beautiful, Depeche Mode-like rendition of The Beginning Of The End.

Follow † † † (Crosses) on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

electronic | indie | pop

single track

Beks – The Thing About Us

January 2nd, 2021

She used to be the frontwoman/guitarist of all-girl punk band Rackett, and drummer of Bec & Ben. Now, Sydney’s Rebecca Callander is on a songwriters journey as Beks. Her new single The Thing About Us is a catchy pop tune. It’ll make fans of Kylie Minogue and Dagny beg for more.

The singer explains: “I wrote this with my friends Cam Nacson (Sad Boii) and Tamika Nacson (Xira) during a songwriting session for my mixtape in October 2020. This song encapsulates the feeling of being in love and then out of love with your best friend. Your best friend that you party and wake up hungover with and then realise that you’ve crossed a line of no return, blurred the boundaries and you’re desperate to find a way back. The thing about us is there was never an ‘us’, it was only ever ‘you and I’.”

The mixtape Beks mentioned is a project she’s been working on for the last months. It’ll feature 12 tracks she wrote and produced with people like Jim Eliot (Ladyhawke, E^{^}ST), and Kim Moyes (The Presets). Her debut mixtape is set for release mid-2021.

Follow Beks on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify

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

electronic | indie | pop

single track

Hotel (feat. Obi Ill Terrors) – Loose Change

January 2nd, 2021

Andrew Tudehope, from Sydney, made music under a string of monikers and pseudonyms before. He used to be known as Archie Buck & His Kick Ons Crew, Lars & The Never Ending Journey Of Friendship, Paper Squared, Afternoon Jack & His Pumpkin Patch, What About Yellow? and Topsi Turvi. In other words: he isn’t new to the music scene. His latest musical project is simply called Hotel. That name was drawn from his years working as a porter in one of Sydney’s finest hotels.

Loose Change is only Hotel’s debut single. With its crunchy guitars, new wave synths and hip hop beats it’s best described as glam-pop. Gorillaz fans are sure to love this. The song was produced by Billy Gunns and features a verse by Obi Ill Terrors. Both are childhood friends of Tudehope’s and established hip hop artists. Another close friend, Nick Hutt from the band Johnny Hunter, provided some of the backing vocals.

Follow Hotel on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
Follow Obi Ill Terrors on Facebook | Spotify

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

electronic | indie | pop | rock

single track

Harry Styles – Treat People With Kindness

January 2nd, 2021

Let’s pretend 2020 didn’t happen, and start this new year exactly like the previous one: with the best of intentions. I believe you get what you give. Therefore, I believe in the adage ‘treat people with kindness’. For that reason, my first post of 2020 was my favourite track of Harry Styles’ then brand-new album Fine Line. Although it wasn’t a single yet, I made Treat People With Kindness my Wildcard, and presented it here prominently for a whole week.

Fast forward to 2021: early on New Year’s Day, the track was announced as the long-player’s sixth single. Lyrically, it’s an uplifting mantra, while musically, it’s a funky beat-driven pop tune. A clever song with a simple message. As I wrote a year ago: a good choice for a single, even though all the fans will probably have the album by now. Nevertheless, this will sound great on the radio.

Follow Harry Styles on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

pop

chart, year-end chart

Your Favourites (2020)

December 30th, 2020

My container playlist Carte Blanche Music 2020 doesn’t only include all of the 994 songs I recommended last year. It also holds the 100 best tracks in my opinion, the Carte Blanche Music Top 2020, which I published yesterday. But that’s only my selection. Isn’t it more interesting to see which of my recommendations you read the most? In other words: what were Your Favourites in 2020?

I think it’s funny to see the Carte Blanche Music blog has a strong archive function. That’s apparent from the number of older posts you still like to visit (and which you find via search engines). A good example is the best read article this year: Toukassé by Shanguy. It stems from 2019, just like 24 other entries in the list below. Even more impressing is La Roi De Murphy, Belgian songstress Angèle’s debut single from 2017 (also her break-through), which is still among the 20 most read blogs in 2020.

Thank you for being such loyal visitors of Carte Blanche Music. Don’t miss a single recommendation by following me on Twitter, Facebook or, new for 2021, Instagram! I’ll do my best to make sure those accounts will soon be your favourites too, just like the tracks below:

^(WC) ex Carte Blanche Music Wildcard

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