Search results for "say lou lou"
single trackPixey – Take Me On
Pixey – Take Me On
The more music Pixey puts out, the better you can hear she’s developed her own vibrant sound. Based on anything from the good old Madchester sound, breakbeats and bubblegum pop, but with a fresh and modern twist to it. Pixey writes and co-produces her songs herself, and also plays all the instruments, which she records in her Liverpool bedroom. I imagine it’s a lot of fun to make, and it’s definitely a pleasure to listen to.
Pixey releases her singles fast and furiously, and ultimately collects them on EP’s. Her third EP Sunshine State is set to be put out on 29 October. Take Me On is the third single to be unleashed ahead of it. It opens with a riff that reminds me of Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. But when the drums kick in, it’s immediately recognisable as a Pixey track.
She says about it: “The song is about taking back control when nobody is listening to you or taking you seriously, which I’ve definitely had to deal with a lot in the past. I’ve always wanted to write an empowering anthem with a simple hook, so I was so pleased when the song came together like it did.”
Recommended as well:
Sunshine State
Electric Dream
Free To Live In Colour
Just Move
Follow Pixey on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
single track
Foxes – Sister Ray
Sister Ray is a legendary record store in London (worth your visit!), named after a lengthy Velvet Underground song. Now, it’s also the title of Foxes’ new single but sonically, it couldn’t be further away from the VU track.
Coming from Foxes, Sister Ray is a euphoric, carefree dance tune, that sounds like it’s been heavily influenced by Robyn. And that, my friends, is never a bad thing. Drenched in pulsating synths, this banger will most certainly have you put on your dancing shoes.
Foxes, real name Louisa Rose Allen, says of the single: “Sister Ray came from a wild part of me during lockdown that was craving a night of freedom and fun again, a longing to let go. The Velvet Underground reference is a nod to describing the most debauched night you could ever imagine but in its spirit it’s a celebration of the people you can have those indescribable times with. I wanted to encapsulate that energy in a song so I could imagine that feeling forever.”
Sister Ray is the first taster of Foxes’ third album The Kick, due for release on 11 February 2022.
Follow Foxes on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
single track
siné – 2Good2U
If you’re a regular follower of Carte Blanche Music, you know Denmark bursts with musical talents. Copenhagen, especially, is fertile ground in this respect. Just like recent recommendations RoseeLu, Mina Okabe, School Of X, mags and Dopha, newcomer siné is based there as well.
That hasn’t always been the case, by the way. At a very early age already, she left Denmark (including all worries, expectations and future plans) behind. She started to travel the world as a backpacker. However, upon return siné discovered nothing had changed, really. That may sound as a disillusion, but the experience was priceless. Playing street corners, bars and clubs, she made new friends around the globe. And equally important: she developed her own musical style, inspired by ‘90s R&B and hip hop, the legendary Motown-feel and carefree sunshine pop.
2Good2U, only siné’s second single, is a great example. It’s playful and full of funky chord changes, spacey horn sections and break beats. Throughout, it’s held together by her incredibly soulful voice.
Siné says about the song: “It was really meant to be the ultimate break-up song. But while I was going all Girl Power and feeling free, I was hit by the insecurity that always haunts you when you’re trying to leave someone for good. And so instead, I ended up feeling totally miserable about myself. 2Good2U is about the inner fight that comes with not being able to stand up for your ridiculous self when life needs to change. It’s a reminder that you are the one in your life who can make the chance to move forward from what might seem like a catch-22.”
Follow siné on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
single trackPixey – Sunshine State
Pixey – Sunshine State
Taking DIY to the next level, Pixey writes and produces her own songs, plays the drums, bass and guitar, and sings. Hailing from Liverpool, other artists from her hometown and from Manchester are her main influences.
Take euphoric new single Sunshine State for instance. It’s her first new music since her debut EP Free To Live In Colour, that came out last March. The song has no trouble to live up to its title. With it’s lush guitars and breakbeat-like drums, Sunshine State has a distinct baggy Madchester sound. Only 2’18 long, it’s upbeat from start to finish.
Pixey co-wrote the tune with Pete Robertson, the former drummer of The Vaccines. Since he left the band in 2016, he co-produced beabadoobee’s second EP Space Cadet.
“Sunshine State is a celebration of people coming together through music and being free to start whatever revolution they want, big or small”, says Pixey. “It’s also about that power and mood that music can give you.”
Recommended as well:
Electric Dream
Free To Live In Colour
Just Move
Follow Pixey on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
single track
Madison Olds – If You Wanna
Born in a musical family, Canadian singer-songwriter Madison Olds has been playing music for as long as she can remember. In her songs, she addresses topics such as anxiety, loneliness, and ‘mental disparity’ with lighthearted music to back her vocals.
In an interview with Beyond The Stage magazine Olds explains: “If I had to describe my music (…) I would say it’s gritty alt-pop that’s drawn from lots of personal experience. I’m a pretty happy person as well, so I like to keep the mood relatively light and happy.”
2020 was challenging, but yet, the upcoming artist managed to put out an impressive six singles throughout the year. They are compiled on the new EP Drowning In My Thoughts. It also holds a new track: the bouncing tune If You Wanna. A great pop song with hands clapping and fingers snapping. Meanwhile a thumping bass and loud drum fills provide a fun groove.
Olds cites Julia Michaels, Ed Sheeran and Billie Eilish as her main influences. In my ears, her single If You Wanna is just as accessible and radio-friendly as those artists’ output.
Follow Madison Olds on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
single track
The Zen Arcade – High Fidelity
From 2010 to 2018, The Strypes were a successful Irish quartet. They put out three critically acclaimed albums, which they promoted with gigs from Glastonbury to Fuji Rocks. They also performed on TV with Jools Holland and The Late Show With David Letterman, as well as being support act of Arctic Monkeys.
After The Strypes split, three of its members formed the band The Zen Arcade in late 2019. They first attracted an audience with their own zine Cro Mag Non and podcast Higher Fidelity. On behalf of the zine, they publish the PDFs online, which the fans print and piece together themselves. The podcast focuses on ‘music analysis’. Episode ‘When Should They Have Stopped’ for instance, discussed great bands that continued past the moment they ruined their legacy.
The Zen Arcade just released their first EP High Fidelity. It contains last year’s debut single Don’t Say A Word and a bonus episode of their podcast. Also included is the band’s new single High Fidelity. This track started life as the intro to their podcast series and has since been expanded into a proper song. ‘From jingle to single’, as the band say themselves. The same way I’ll Be There For You by The Rembrandts evolved from the ‘Friends’ theme song into a hit track.
Musically there are similarities between both bands’ sounds as well. Furthermore, The Zen Arcade name Hoodoo Gurus, The Jesus & Mary Chain, XTC and Graham Coxon as their influences. Bands that make my heart ‘pound in 5.1 surround sound’, to cite a lyric from High Fidelity.
Follow The Zen Arcade on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
single track
King No-One – Obsolete
Around eight years ago, three musicians from all over the UK met in York. Zach Lount, Joe Martin and James Basile went on to form King No-One. They started out busking for money, building a loyal fanbase. Now, in ‘normal’ times, they sell 8.000 concert tickets a year.
Obsolete is the band’s new single. A great song that combines ‘00s R&B and ‘90s grunge with drum computer sounds straight from the ‘80s. It takes inspiration from artists spanning genres as well as decades, which results in a song full of energy.
Lount says Obsolete is about ‘the pursuit of hedonism to mask the shame that depression can leave you with. And the first acknowledgment that you kinda suck and don’t want to suck anymore’.
Recommended as well:
King No-One – Bad Porno
Follow King No-One on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
single track
Babe Rainbow – Ready For Tomorrow
The last time I wrote about Babe Rainbow, the Australian band was yet to release their debut album. Four years later, they have more than two hands full of singles and three albums to their name. And the fourth, Changing Colours, comes out this week. The record was once again produced by Wayne Connelly, who previously helmed classic records by The Vines, Neil Finn, and You Am I.
Babe Rainbow’s music has an undeniable link with the past. Their new single Ready For Tomorrow, for instance, combines funky disco with jazzy guitars and a Tame Impala kind of psychedelia. Groovy, baby!
Singer Angus Dowling says about the track: “It’s about 21st-century life, finding relief from the stress of both the future and the past. It is about Persephone running into her mother Demeter’s comforting arms.”
I’ll just take another beer then…
Recommended as well:
Babe Rainbow – Johny Says Stay Cool
Follow Babe Rainbow on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
single track, wildcardWildcard (week 18):
Wildcard (week 18):
Clypso – On Our Way
Clypso is a Sydney-based producer and vocalist, whose music is as colourful as her outfits. Expect a mix of hyperactive beats, gnarly basslines and tropical inspired electronica. Prepare yourself for some African influences as well. She describes her sound as ‘troppo chilli flakes’ herself.
On Our Way is Clypso’s first new track of 2021. It’s a real sunny one, with production duties performed by Pnau’s Peter Mayes. In a press statement, the singer says about the track: “On Our Way is about setting off together on a love or buddy journey. An uplifting and joyful tune about being a steady rock of support till the end no matter what life throws at you. I think I channelled my inner Bruno Mars–John Legend on this one. So yeah, it’d be cool to see someone dance down the aisle to this one!”
Do you like feel-good songs with ’80s pop energy, bursting with big vocals, bright percussion and catchy lyrics? Then On Our Way is the one for you!
This week, it’s the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, so it’ll feature prominently at the top of the blog for a whole week.
Follow Clypso on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
single track
Devon – Warning Signs
Devon is an artist/producer from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, which he describes as ‘the middle of absolutely nowhere!’ in his bio. So it’s fair to say he was isolated even before this whole COVID-19 thing happened. This isolation led to him developing a DIY attitude towards everything music-related. Like learning how to produce his own music from his bedroom due to a lack of studio recording facilities.
With over 2 million Spotify streams to his name, he spent part of last year’s free time to explore other channels. He discovered a love for TikTok, where he developed an impressive US listener-base. In fact, it now exceeds that of his home country. Likewise he’s currently very active on Triller.
Next to connecting with his fans, he connected with other artists to co-create. Most notably, he collaborated with Bath brothers Ewan Merrett and Callum Merrett (a.k.a. Carte Blanche Music regulars Bad Sounds). They produced Devon’s single Why Do We Wake Up? (Before The Good Bit) and made a groove-laden remix of Trust Issues before. Now, they also co-wrote and produced his new single, the big alt-pop banger Warning Signs.
Devon explains: “The track has a wide meaning, which I like, but It definitely came from a time in my life when I felt like I was acting out of character and destroyed certain relationships in doing so. The song talks from a outsiders perspective looking at other people and us as a human race, and how we can sometimes destroy ourselves by living in denial of issues and sweeping stuff under the rug be it on a personal level or just on a human level.”
Recommended as well:
Devon – I Don’t Want 2 B Ur Friend
Follow Devon on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
