Browsing Tag electronic
Fickle Friends – Pretty Great
Fickle Friends are from Brighton. So, unsurprisingly, ‘bright’ is one of the first words that spring to mind listening to their new single. But you can also file it under ‘fresh’ or ‘vibrant’.
Pretty Great (pretty great title for a pretty great song) is an addictive synth-pop tune, full of charming, relatable lyrics. Singer Natti Shiner explains: “This one is about getting wasted at a party and waking up the next day with a faint glimmer of a memory. And that memory is of falling in love with the coolest person you can imagine. And you just hate yourself for getting so out of control, because now you have no idea if it even happened, if they’re even real… or if you’ll ever see them again.”
Following last year’s Amateurs, Pretty Great is the second taste of music to come from their forthcoming second album. It’s due later this year.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Lush Puppy – Kill For Fun
Only four months after their hilarious Carte Blanche Music Wildcard Ms. Grey, Lush Puppy return with another stomper. Kill For Fun is the first single off their upcoming second EP, which will come out in May. Another song with attitude, built around a synth bass, fuzz guitar, stabs of electronica and tribal chants.
That may sound as a vague description, but what did you expect of this Dutch-Italian duo? Vocalist, artist and stylist Roos Ooteman takes inspiration from Bat For Lashes to the Spice Girls, while Gabriel Vezzola (a.k.a. DJ Gabriel) worked with Sam Feldt, Robin S. and Todd Terry. This couldn’t have ended up in anything other than an exciting, genre-defying collaboration. And that’s exactly what Lush Puppy is.
Recommended as well:
Lush Puppy – Ms. Grey
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Werner’s Weekly (week 3)
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:
- Overcoats – The Fool (Wildcard this week)
- Harry Styles – Treat People With Kindness (Wildcard last week)
- Beverly Girl – I’m Your Girl
- Charmplay – Hurry
- Pet Shop Boys – Monkey Business
- Rat Boy – Victim Of A System
- Set It Off – So Predictable
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: Ash, Circa Waves, Deacon Blue, Georgia, Halsey, Selena Gomez, Tame Impala, The Wombats, and many more.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Beverly Girl – I’m Your Girl
They don’t come any more eighties than this, and I love it. Beverly Girl use drum machines and synths to rebuild the pop era feel. The resulting sound includes elements of disco, soul, r&b and funk. For fans of The System, Janet Jackson, and The Brand New Heavies.
The Finnish trio features singer Yohanna (who changes her appearance with nearly every new track), Artur and Tracy. After releasing two hands full of singles, they’re now working on their upcoming debut album The Unstoppable Force. I’m Your Girl, which sounds like a 2020 version of Deniece Williams’ Let’s Hear It For The Boy, is the final song to be released ahead of it.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Pet Shop Boys – Monkey Business
Legendary duo Pet Shop Boys, who scored hits in the ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s and ‘10s, just entered their fifth decennium. They do so with new single Monkey Business, which features a prominent bassline. This makes it sound funkier than they usually do. As soon as the vocoder drops in, the Daft Punk comparison is complete.“We’ve actually written, almost for the first time in our career, a groove song”, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe say of the track.
Following Dreamland (feat. Years & Years) and Burning The Heather (feat. Johnny Marr), Monkey Business is the third single off their upcoming 14th album. Entitled Hotspot, the long-player (out on 24 January) is their third in a row to be produced by Stuart Price.
Recommended as well:
Pet Shop Boys – What Are We Going To Do About The Rich?
Pet Shop Boys – Undertow
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Holy Fuck (feat. Nicholas Allbrook) – Free Gloss
17 January 2020, Toronto quartet Holy Fuck release their new album Deleter. If the first two singles are anything to go by, it will be a star-studded affair. Last September’s Luxe was a collaboration with Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor, and new song Free Gloss features former Tame Impala bassist and current Pond frontman Nicholas Allbrook. It’s a genre-defying track, which blends krautrock and electronic music with psychedelic elements.
Holy Fuck say about it: “Our music can be dark and pummeling at times, unrelenting even. Free Gloss was designed as a way for us to shed some light, and bring some bliss and buoyancy to the table whilst still maintaining that ecstatic energy and intensity that we love. We started tinkering with the main riff and structure on this one as an idea to take the listener on a euphoric sonic journey and explore the push/pull, tension and release you can take people with on the dance floor.”
But of course the best way to enjoy music is not to read about it, but to listen to it.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Werner’s Weekly (week 50)
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:
- Julie Zenatti – Tout Est Plus Pop (Wildcard this week)
- Sebu – The Secret Is Out [Lucas Vidal Arrangement] (Wildcard last week)
- Corine – Un Air De Fête À Tokyo [Japanese Version]
- Fitz & The Tantrums – I Just Wanna Shine
- North Parade – Keepthingscasual
- Peggy Sue – Validate Me
- Spacey Jane – Head Cold
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: Alanis Morissette, Polish Club, Regina Spektor, and many more.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Werner’s Weekly (week 49)
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:
- Sebu – The Secret Is Out [Lucas Vidal Arrangement] (Wildcard this week)
- Deacon Blue – City Of Love (Wildcard last week)
- Alma – Bad News Baby
- Circa Waves – Jacqueline
- Hazel English – Shaking
- Nasty Cherry – Brain Soup
- The Heavy – Last Man Standing
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: Corine, Fitz & The Tantrums, Videoclub, and many more.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Wildcard (week 48):
Sebu – The Secret Is Out [Lucas Vidal Arrangement]
Armenian-American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer Sebu Simonian may not be a household name (yet). But I’m sure you know some of his music. As a commercial jingle writer, he co-wrote a demo for a cola ad. It was called Safe And Sound. When it got rejected, he formed the band Capital Cities and released the single independently. It became a worldwide hit, and the cola brand came back around to license the song for an ad after all.
Now, Sebu has his first solo single out: The Secret Is Out. A song with an equally impressive story. He says about it: “Engrossed by news about wars in the Middle East, I learned more about veterans struggling with PTSD. I decided to tackle the unconventional topic. (…) The animated music video depicts a female war veteran suffering from PTSD. She returns to the comfort of her home and the arms of her loved one, but can’t escape visions of war. It is directed by Italian animator Marco Pavone.”
The song itself features a prominent beat and fierce synth bursts, with beautiful strings on top, courtesy of Lucas Vidal. A great companion to the current autumn weather, The Secret Is Out by Sebu is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
Wonderluxe feat. Cultra – Daffodils
Artists who prefer to start their careers in anonymity, whether or not hiding behind masks, are a thing of all times. Apparently, Wonderluxe has chosen this path as well. We know hardly any more about him, than that he’s from Melbourne, Australia.
Daffodils is his debut single, sung by the equally obscure singer Cultra. Led by an irresistible piano line, this fun and cheeky affair is a refreshing salute to big beat raves. At the same time, it’s incredibly radio-friendly. The song is co-written by Paul Brandoli, who wrote 7 Australian club #1’s in the past years. Don’t be surprised if that tally rises to 8 any time soon.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
