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Dizzy – Sunflower

March 5th, 2020

Dizzy are a quartet including three young brothers from suburban Ontario, Canada: Charlie, Alex and Mackenzie Spencer. Their neighbour Katie Munshaw is the lead singer of the band. Winning the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year in 2019 with their debut album Baby Teeth wasn’t exactly a bad way for them to start their career.

Moving into a new episode, they just released a new single: Sunflower. It’s described by Munshaw as ‘a three and a half minute ‘snap out of it!’ to myself when I’m feeling low, unconfident or not myself’. The band produced the track themselves. It was mixed by Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Florence & The Machine). A song with a pleasingly vibrant sound, that sits somewhere midway Maggie Rogers and Soccer Mommy.

Recommended as well:
Dizzy – Heavy
Dizzy – Backstroke

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

single track

Samuel Jack – Gonna Be Alright

March 5th, 2020

Samuel Jack was born in London, moved to Johannesburg aged 12 and has now settled down in Dorset, UK. He once described himself as ‘a poor man, with a rich mind’ and he used to write and record in a caravan. The first fruit of those sessions was his debut EP Live From My Caravan (I’m not making this up).

A few EP’s and numerous separate tracks later, he’s finally ready to unveil his debut album Empty Pockets, Crowded Heart. Out in March, it combines the blues, Motown, soul and roots music from his childhood with his new love for hip hop and pop.

Lead single Gonna Be Alright is a celebration of recovery. The song stands as a reminder that we have to keep telling ourselves we can overcome anything and that all is going to be alright. It touches on very personal issues about dealing with anxiety and depression. However, Jack juxtaposed this heavy concept with an upbeat, joyous feeling, gradually building the track into a huge, anthemic chorus.

Recommended as well:
Samuel Jack – Let It All Out

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

indie | pop

single track

Oklou – Entertnmnt

March 4th, 2020

French producer, vocalist and composer Marylou Mayniel goes by the stage name Oklou. She started her career producing boundary-pushing electronic underground music. Currently however, she’s moving towards chart-worthy pop music.

Her new single Entertnmnt is a bewitching single that glides across a strange, haunting aural landscape. It’s a well-built love song about ‘when people see you as strong and proud but you’re crying on the inside, putting up a fake smile’. The song’s co-producer Mura Masa calls Oklou ‘an amazing songwriter and this song isn’t any exception to that’.

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

electronic | indie | pop

single track, wildcard

Wildcard (week 10):
Ren – I Drive Me Mad

March 4th, 2020

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.

pop | rock

single track

Daði Freyr & Gagnamagnið – Think About Things

March 3rd, 2020

Icelandic-born, Germany-based singer Daði Freyr Pétursson and his band Gagnamagnið will represent their country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. They won Söngvakeppnin, the music competition that selects Iceland’s entries. Appearing in the local competition with the song Gagnamagnið (Icelandic for ‘the amount of data’), but will participate in the European contest with an English version, titled Think About Things.

In an interview, Daði stated that the meanings of the two versions’ lyrics differ. The Icelandic version’s lyrics talk about ‘the band Gagnamagnið coming from the future and outer space to save the world with their brand new dance’. He claims however that the English-language lyrics are ‘the real version of the song’. These are about his new-born daughter and ‘being excited to know what she thinks about all kinds of things’.

Musically, the fun track leans heavily on the current new wave of disco. Might be a surprise contender for a high placing in this year’s ESC.

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

disco | indie | pop

single track

Baxter Dury – I’m Not Your Dog

March 3rd, 2020

If Baxter Dury wouldn’t have been the son of Ian ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’ Dury, I’m Not Your Dog would still have been a great song. Based around an ‘80s-inspired, Pet Shop Boys-like synth line, it‘s a bilingual piece of class. Beautiful strings, as well! Lyrically, the song’s about social media-enabled stalking.

Following Slumlord and Carla’s Got A Boyfriend, it’s the third single ahead of his new album The Night Chancers. Out on 20 March, it was co-produced by Dury and Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, John Grant, Artic Monkeys).

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

indie | pop

chart

Your favourites (February 2020)

March 2nd, 2020

Last month, an incredible (probably unprecedented) amount of new music came to the market. After trying to listen to as much of it as possible, making choices proved more difficult than ever. This means of course that the quality of the submissions was high, which can only be a good thing.

Meteorologically, February was a month that saw several storms raging over Europe, causing considerable damage. Isn’t it appropriate, then, that the two most read recommendations on Carte Blanche Music were Perfect Storm by IBA and Toukassé (‘ruin it all’) by Shanguy? 😉
The Belgian Perfect Storm performer even had another track among your favourites of the month: his debut single Table Of Fools returned to the Top 10. The chart hosts even more ‘fools’, courtesy of IBE’s fellow-countrymen Neo Minor. Apparently, craziness was something of a theme in February, as Mad With The Moon by Lux Lyall was liked a lot as well.

Your full Top 10 of favourite blog posts in February is below. For an overview of the latest and greatest new music, check my 2020 container playlist Carte Blanche Music. It contains well over 200 pieces of damn fine music, good for over 12 hours of listening pleasure. Have a listen and/or follow it through this link.

^(WC) = former Carte Blanche Music Wildcard

werner's weekly

Werner’s Weekly (week 10)

March 2nd, 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:

Sports Team – Here’s The Thing (Wildcard this week)
The Magic Gang – Think (Wildcard last week)
Betty Who – The One
Efecto Pasillo feat. O’Funk’illo – Chacho [2020 Version]
Elle Exxe – Rose Gold
Papooz – Figs And Gorgonzola
Tout Va Bien – This Is How We Say Goodbye

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: Christine & The Queens, Half Moon Run, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, and many more.

single track

Kingswood – If Only

February 28th, 2020

If you’re lucky enough to live in Adelaide, Sydney or Melbourne (Australia), I’ve got a great night out to recommend. Early March, Aussie alt-rockers Kingswood will throw launch parties for their new album Juveniles. Fans will have the opportunity to secure a physical copy of the record, and enjoy free beer and pizza. Devotees in any other country of the world can only wait for the album until 13 March, and will have to arrange their own booze and food.

For warming-up purposes, Kingswood just put out the single If Only. A melodic rock song with classic vocal harmonies.

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

indie | pop | rock

remake, single track

Efecto Pasillo feat. O’Funk’illo – Chacho [2020 Version]

February 28th, 2020

Ten years ago, Canarian band Efecto Pasillo released their first, self-titled album. In 2020, the band will celebrate this jubilee. They’ll release updated versions of ten tracks from their four albums to date, which haven’t been singles yet. In addition, Efecto Pasillo is working on three brand-new songs.

Each new version will include a contribution by a befriended band. The first of these singles is Chacho, originally a track on their debut album. This fierce new version features a band that served as a huge inspiration for them to start making music: O’Funk’illo. For fans of Red Hot Chili Peppers in their early days.

Recommended as well:
Efecto Pasillo – Las Banderas

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

funk | pop | rock

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Dizzy – Sunflower

Samuel Jack – Gonna Be Alright

Oklou – Entertnmnt

Wildcard (week 10):
Ren – I Drive Me Mad

Daði Freyr & Gagnamagnið – Think About Things

Baxter Dury – I’m Not Your Dog

Your favourites (February 2020)

Werner’s Weekly (week 10)

Kingswood – If Only

Efecto Pasillo feat. O’Funk’illo – Chacho [2020 Version]

Wildcard (week 13)

Werner’s Weekly (week 14)

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Wildcard (week 13)

Werner’s Weekly (week 14)

Spotify playlist

Social Media

Subscribe via email

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