Browsing Tag electronic
Werner’s Weekly (week 49)
Although the same number of new tracks is released on Spotify as in other parts of the year, the quality shows the end of 2018 is near. Or perhaps it’s just me getting more critical as another great music year is drawing to a close 😉.
Anyhow, last week I only added brand new songs by Alice Merton, Def Leppard, Joe Jackson, MØ (feat. Foster The People) and a few others to my constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
The absolute highlights, however, are reserved for Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters. The links point to my earlier recommendations, and all of the tracks are in the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar for your listening pleasure as well.
- The Lighthouse – Catch Fire (Wildcard this week)
- Starcrawler – Hollywood Ending (Wildcard last week)
- Bent Van Looy – Make Believe
- Caezar – Somewhere New
- Corine – Un Air De Fête
- Jenifer – Hey Jen
- The Smashing Pumpkins – Alienation
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.
Wildcard (week 48):
The Lighthouse – Catch Fire
Last week, I introduced you to The Lighthouse’s new single. In the meantime, this great song really ‘caught fire’ with me (pun intended). Therefore, Catch Fire is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard! This means that The Lighthouse, as a true beacon, will feature prominently on the site for a whole week, shining its light upon all of us.
The Lighthouse are 5 Belgian guys who share the love of melodically well-written pop songs. They describe their musical cocktail of polyphonic vocals, guitars, keys and swinging drums as ‘songs that feel like Fridays’.
So far, the band put out two EPs: the self-released Let’s Make A Scene, and Joyride, which was backed by Sony Music. Despite the latter EP’s success, and the doors it opened to stages, festivals and radio stations in Belgium and abroad, The Lighthouse decided to go back to the indie-route for upcoming releases. Their debut album is already planned for the autumn of 2019.
In the Wildcards 2018 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.
Werner’s Weekly (week 48)
As musically diverse as Andy Burrows & Matt Haig, Harts, Metric, Sam Fender, Weezer, Within Temptation (feat. Jasper Steverlinck) and Youngr may seem, they all have one thing in common: all of them released new music last week, which I added to my Carte Blanche Music playlist. They are in very good company, for it’s not at all my intention to add all new releases to this collection. And tracks that are only so-so in my ears, don’t make the list either. After a very heavy selection procedure, I only added 20 new songs last week.
Only the very best of those additions can be found in my definitive round-up Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters. Check them below and/or via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. Follow the links for more information.
- Starcrawler – Hollywood Ending (Wildcard this week)
- Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry (Wildcard last week)
- Broods – Everything Goes (Wow)
- I Wear* Experiment – Almere
- Navarone – The Strong Survive
- The Lighthouse – Catch Fire
- Yonaka – Death By Love
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.
Broods – Everything Goes (Wow)
You may not know this great live version of Inna’s Wow, but Kylie’s single Wow is probably better-known. What do these two have in common? They’re both brilliant pop songs and, well, the title of course. Here’s another one that fits the profile…
Everything Goes (Wow) is the new single of New Zealand sibling duo Broods, which consists of singer Georgia Nott and her older multi-instrumentalist brother Caleb Nott. “It’s about accepting the mortality of everything and finding peace in that,” Georgia says of the song.
Broods have just announced details of their third album. It’s entitled Don’t Feed The Pop Monster, and will be released on 1 February 2019. It features both the previously-revealed single Peach, and the new track Everything Goes (Wow).
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.
The Lighthouse – Catch Fire
The Lighthouse are 5 Belgian guys who share the love of melodically well-written pop songs. They describe their musical cocktail of polyphonic vocals, guitars, keys and swinging drums as ‘songs that feel like Fridays’.
So far, the band put out two EPs: the self-released Let’s Make A Scene, and Joyride, which was backed by Sony Music. Despite the latter EP’s success, and the doors it opened to stages, festivals and radio stations in Belgium and abroad, The Lighthouse decided to go back to the indie-route for upcoming releases. Their debut album is already planned for the autumn of 2019.
This week marks the release of the long player’s first single. Catch Fire finds two people waking up after a wild night re-connecting with each other, asking the question if their relationship will ever really ‘catch fire’. A well-crafted sophisticated pop song that will surely delight the fans of bands like The 1975.
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.
I Wear* Experiment – Almere
I Wear* Experiment are an electro-pop trio from Tallinn, Estonia, consisting of Johanna Eenma, Hando Jaksi, and Mikk Simson. They felt the punch and aggressiveness in their genre has gone missing over time and decided to bring that back. This resulted in a sound that leans towards experimentation and cinematic soundscapes. The band cites Chvrches’ edgy big banger beats and Florence & The Machine’s graceful vocals among their influences.
Almere is I Wear* Experiment’s new single. An intriguing title. Not only because it’s named after the Dutch city of Almere (I presume)(*), but also because the title isn’t mentioned in the song’s lyrics at all. Nevertheless it’s a great synth-pop song!
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(*) After posting the above blog, I Wear* Experiments Hando Jaksi sent me this explanation:
“Thank you for the good words. Why the song is called Almere – We had just finished our tour in Asia, started the European leg of the album tour and had some free days in between the concerts. Our manager lives in Almere and offered us to stay at his place for a few days. So, coming from weeks of heavy scheduled touring in places where many people don’t speak any English and there are always little difficulties here and there, the few days off were like a spa treatment for us. All we had to do was to eat, sleep & see the local sights.
It was also the first time after a long period when I could sit behind a table and create some music which is much more enjoyable than trying to do it mid-flight somewhere over China. So, sitting behind our manager’s kitchen table, the song Almere was created (I named all the new song ideas with the name of the city we currently were).
The first time we had the chance to try out the song was on big festival in Vietnam named Monsoon Music Festival and it seemed to work well for the 10.000 people there. And when choosing songs for the new release, Almere was one of the first favourites of us all.
The song itself is pretty dark & gloomy and that actually was not the emotion we got from the time we spent in Almere but in a way, at least for us, the contrast works.”
Thanks for making this clear Hando!
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 47)
Last week a great diversity of new music saw the light. There were very good releases in every thinkable genre. After applying heavy criteria, I added the likes of Chvrches, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Hozier, The Kooks, Rita Ora, and The Vaccines to my Carte Blanche Music playlist on Spotify, alongside a host of emerging artists you probably haven’t heard of before. And Jennifer Lopez as well. Listen to her new single Limitless without prejudice and you’ll hear it’s a really good song.
And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Below, you can find my ‘best of the best’ selection Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters. Via the links you can access my original recommendations and you can listen to all six of the tracks via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. Here you go:
- Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry (Wildcard this week)
- Jade Bird – Love Has All Been Done Before (Wildcard last week)
- 1010 Benja SL – Ultimaybe
- Audio Adam – Emma Watson
- Hollydays – Minuit (La Baie Noire)
- Moscow Apartment – Orange
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.
Hollydays – Minuit (La Baie Noire)
Hollydays are Elise Preys and Sébastien Delage, a pop duo from Paris. Seven years ago, they came together in high school. At first, they were playing covers, but in 2012, they started writing their own songs as Hollydays. Pop songs, that is, by its original meaning, being ‘popular’. The band love melodies that everyone can sing, all together. Their musical vision: a good melody can make the difference.
After releasing a single and three EPs over the years, Hollydays have finally put out their debut album Hollywood Bizarre. Four of their old songs are on it, next to nine new ones. I’m particularly fond of Minuit (La Baie Noire). A Vive La Fête kind of electronic pop song with great instrumentation and catchy vocals. Frencher than French.
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.
Georgia – Started Out
One of the first recommendations I wrote, in January 2017, was for Georgia’s single Feel It. Since then, the daughter of Leftfield’s Neil Barnes has been working on new music, with Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips, for instance. Although there is no album in sight yet, she does give us a new single.
Started Out is an upbeat and euphoric track. It has a throwback feel, caused by electronic claps, squelchy bass lines and dreamy, misty-eyed vocals. “I used a 909 drum machine, an SH-101 synth… Everything you hear on the recording is analogue,” she says, “But I also wanted it to be poppy. As well as being nostalgic, I wanted stuff to be quite modern, because otherwise it’s just a cheap copy. I wanted to add my flare.”
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.
Eckhardt & The House – Funeral
For those who grew up in the 1980s (like me), the current eighties revival must be music to their ears. Thanks to the use of vintage instruments and sounds, many contemporary songs have something instantly recognizable.
Take Eckhardt & The House, for instance, who’s If She Cannot Talk and Put Me In A Cape I recommended here before. They just released their twelfth single Funeral and I can’t help but hearing a mash-up of Falco’s Der Kommissar and Tom Tom Club’s Wordy Rappinghood in it. Which were brilliant and revolutionary songs, by the way.
Funeral is another slickly produced funk pop tune. At the same time however, lyrics like “Let’s have a funeral for all the sad news, let’s bury it all” and “We read the papers, read the facts, they bomb the desert, we pay tax” show social engagement (and even cynicism) as well.
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.
