Carte Blanche Music

And there’s another talented little band from Australia. Dear Charlie are Katie Grigg (vocals, song-writing) and Trevor Deng (guitars, arrangements), an upcoming indie pop duo from Melbourne. Katie’s songs capture raw and real moments in life, exploring emotions from heartbreak, love and trying to be a better person.

Their debut single In Front Of You has been a few years in the making. On SoundCloud you can find an early rendition from 2019. Since then, it’s gone through many versions, recorded with two different producers. Now, at last, the final version is available everywhere. In Front Of You is a delicately produced song, whose sparse instrumentation and subtle synths leave plenty of room for the heartfelt vocals to stand out.

The duo promise this debut single is ‘the first of many releases’, with their first EP ‘coming soon’.

Follow Dear Charlie on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify

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

single track

Dual – Wipe Your Tears Away

November 6th, 2021

Auckland-based duo Dual is made up of lead vocalist Maurice Miller and guitarist Jamie Pyne. After years of honing their euphoric indie-electronic sound, they recently signed to Warner Music New Zealand. High time the rest of the world got to know this two-man band.

Talking about the way he writes, Miller says: “I often find that my subconscious articulates things through my song-writing. Things that I haven’t readily admitted to myself yet, which makes things kind of scary cos you don’t realise until after. This song is a true testament to that.”

The subconscious element he speaks about, may very well be the inclusion of a U2 lyric and melody in their new single. The phrase ‘Wipe your tears away’ is borrowed from the Irish mega act’s Sunday Bloody Sunday. Anyway, they discovered the similarity well ahead of their tune’s release. Not too hopeful, they asked U2 for permission to use the fragment. And then, the waiting begun. A few months later, to their surprise, Dual received an email signed by all U2 members. The clearance was in! Musically, Stardust’s Music Sounds Better With You shines through as well, but that reference is more subtle.

Miller goes on explaining Wipe Your Tears Away is about ‘a personal moment in my life, a stage where I was at a real crossroads’. “My parents had broken up and I wasn’t sure if I could/should quit my job and decide to really give this music thing a crack. I knew I had to break free though. The whole message of the track is ‘do what I want when I like – this is my new life right now’. It’s about breaking free, it’s about us being vulnerable and being okay with that. We hope that people can connect to this message.”

Wipe Your Tears Away could sound great on radio stations, if only music directors were prepared to take the bananas out of their ears. Elsewhere, this song is sure to start parties on dancefloors and festivals alike.

Follow Dual on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

electronic | indie | pop | rock

single track

The Ramona Flowers feat. Nile Rodgers – Up All Night

November 6th, 2021

Since the last time I suggested there’s something in the water in Bristol, the number of great artists from the city had only grown. The Ramona Flowers aren’t a new band though. They released their debut EP Dismantle in 2012. But I believe their finest moment has yet to come, and they just released the track that might accomplish that.

Up All Night is the band’s first release in three years’ time. It’s an anthemic, up-tempo song with stadium-size horn elements, beautiful strings and of course Nile Rodgers‘ signature funky guitar licks.

“Essentially, it’s a song about my love of a good party and the fact I seem to somehow always be the last one to want to leave. Have there been occasions where I should have gone home for an early night? Absolutely! But that’s just not in my make up and life’s too short to worry about tomorrow too much…”, comments the band’s front man Steve Bird.

Nile Rodgers says about the collaboration: “It’s possible that I’ve made more music during the pandemic than at any other time in my life and almost all of it remotely. In the early dark days of this crisis this song made me feel good and put a smile on my face so when the band asked me to play and produce on it, it was a delight to say yes.”

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

disco | funk | indie | pop

single track, wildcard

Wildcard (week 44):
Smith & Thell – Pixie’s Parasol

November 3rd, 2021

I once had a cat named Pixie, so every time her name pops up somewhere, my attention is drawn. For example when Swedish duo Maria Jane Smith and Victor Thell released their sophomore album Pixies’s Parasol, early this year. I already wrote about the single Radioactive Rain. It’s one out of two songs on the long-player that was co-written by Joakim Berg. He used to be the front man of one of my favourite ‘90s bands, Kent.

Funnily, there was no track on the album called Pixie’s Parasol. Now, out of the blue, it’s the title of Smith & Thell’s new single. Once again co-written by Berg, it’s a super catchy song. Not in the least because of its resemblance to France Gall’s Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son. If you like upbeat guitar-pop songs and sing-along choruses with an edge, this one’s for you.

Pixie’s Parasol by Smith & Thell is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, so it’ll feature prominently on the blog for seven full days!

Recommended as well:
Radioactive Rain

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

In the Wildcards 2021 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.

pop | rock

chart

Your favourites (October 2021)

November 1st, 2021

Below, you can find all 10 of your favourites in the month of October; my recommendations that you read the most during that month. Great choices!

The links bring you directly to the original posts. Each of them features a player that allows you to listen to the track via the platform of your choice. Enjoy!

werner's weekly

Werner’s Weekly (week 44)

November 1st, 2021

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:

Hope Tala – Tiptoeing (Wildcard this week)
Wallows – I Don’t Want To Talk (Wildcard last week)
Chloe Lilac – 19
Dead Anyway – Pigs In Blankets
Lemaitre & Anna Of The North – What About U
Lights – Prodigal Daughter
Miss Machine – Regarder Les Choses

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: Angèle, Chvrches, Novastar, and more.

electronic | indie | pop | rock | spoken word

single track

Mike Posner (feat. James Valentine & Jacob Scesney) – Amor Fati

October 30th, 2021

If you don’t know Mike Posner from his brilliant debut single Cooler Than Me, you’ll surely know his worldwide hit I Took A Pill In Ibiza. The latter has 1,5 billion(!) streams to it’s name. However, he started his musical journey producing records for Big Sean. Later, het began producing and writing music for other artists including Nick Jonas, Pharrell Williams, and Wiz Khalifa. He also co-wrote Sugar by Maroon 5 and Justin Bieber’s Boyfriend.

Outside of music, Posner walked across the United States in 2019, clocking in more than 3.000 miles by foot alone. In June 2021, he climbed and reached the top of Mount Everest. Pretty impressive…

In 2018, Posner launched the Amor Fati Music Academy, a one-week scholarship program where young artists are mentored by world-class musicians, producers, and songwriters. Looks like he just released the theme song to this institute, for his new single is called Amor Fati. This is Latin for ‘love of faith’.

Amor Fati is a song with several, totally different segments. It opens with a Lenny Kravitz-like funky guitar riff over a big drum beat. Half a minute into the song whoever, the music strips back to an It’s Probably Me-kind of acoustic guitar with some flute in the background.

Most remarkable though, is the change halfway. Then, the tune transforms into a piece of soulful classic rock, complete with organ, horn and guitar solos. And just when you think it’s over, it ends for real with the melody of Jingle Bells. Sounds odd, doesn’t it? Well, it is. Yet, although not likely to become a huge hit, it’s a great song.

Follow Mike Posner on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

funk | pop | rock

single track

ella jane – Calling Card

October 30th, 2021

New York native ella jane started playing the piano at the age of four and wrote her first song at seven. Now a 19-year-old, she released her debut mini album This Is Not What It Looks Like! only two months ago. Since then, its tracks have been streamed over 20 million times on Spotify alone.

The singer-songwriter hasn’t sat still following this release, for her new single is a brand-new track. Calling Card is an energetic, cinematic piece that took three years to write. “I know three years is a long time to stick with an idea before finishing a song”, jane explains. “But I think the reason I held onto it all that time was because I was so drawn to the concept of master manipulators and the way they work. The idea that people with bad intentions are often the most charming ones was so interesting to me, and it was really fun to explore in my writing.”

From the infectious ‘lalalalala’ part to the catchy drive of the guitar and the simple but effective bassline, Calling Card is an instantaneous earworm.

Follow ella jane on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

indie | pop

single track

The Book Club – Pursuit Of Happiness

October 30th, 2021

Manchester-based duo The Book Club consists of Jake Hilton and Emily ‘Em’ Price. As one can hear, Em is a classically-trained singer. She currently does a creative music technology course at The University of The West of England. Jake first picked up the guitar at the age of four, and studies Music Production at BIMM Manchester at the moment. After meeting at a National Youth Music Camp as early teenagers, they formed The Book Club in late 2019. Their sound combines elements of dreampop, indie rock and alt-pop.

Following the pair’s debut single Flowers Grow (which isn’t available on streaming platforms), their first ‘proper’ single is out now. Pursuit Of Happiness is an uplifting indie pop-rock anthem with a driving bassline and euphoric guitar melodies. On top of that, Em’s angelic vocals stand out.

The Book Club say about their new single: “Pursuit Of Happiness is about learning to stop searching for that next hit of dopamine and instead utilise the people and opportunities around you to give you happiness. Pursuit of Happiness init.”

Follow The Book Club on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

indie | pop | rock

single track

Salt Ashes – Lucy

October 30th, 2021

5 November, Salt Ashes will release her sophomore album Killing My Mind. Ahead of that, Lucy is the latest single off it. The track combines raw synth textures and reverberated guitars with a relentlessly driving and pulsating rhythm section. Lyrically, it’s equally fierce and hard-hitting. The song speaks out against violence towards women.

Salt Ashes explains: “I wrote the song after an experience I had at a petrol station when I was filling up my car. A man was opposite me getting his own fuel and was staring at me. I awkwardly, but politely, smiled at him which he took as an invitation to come over and harass me. I apparently ‘gave him a look’ and in his words ‘what I was wearing was too sexy to not be interested’. This kind of thing happens all the time and it has to stop. The change does not come from me wearing something different but from men changing their behaviour.”

Salt Ashes is Brighton-born, London-based singer Veiga Sanchez. Inspired by Giorgio Moroder’s blend of disco and epic dark atmospheres, she released her debut album in 2016. Subsequently, she toured with artists such as Alphabeat, Say Lou Lou, Tove Styrke, Little Boots and ‘80s pop sensation Tiffany.

Follow Salt Ashes on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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

indie | pop | rock

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