Browsing Tag gospel
Werner’s Weekly (week 34)
What’s the similarity between the brand-new songs by Christine & The Queens, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Janet Jackson & Daddy Yankee, Ladytron, Paul McCartney, The Mowgli’s, Novastar and Suede? The were all added to my constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist, which features only the best new tracks of the year so far. Of course, it features many younger artists as well, like Blossoms, Pale Waves, and a few I’ll introduce to you in the coming week.
But on Mondays, we look back upon last week. Below, you’ll fine the highlights of recent releases in Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters. If you can spare 23 minutes, you’ll be able to check them all in full through the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. But you can also perform the gentle art of cherry picking by clicking some of the links below:
- Cookin’ On 3 Burners feat. Kaiit – Warning (Wildcard this week)
- Jade Bird – Uh Huh (Wildcard last week)
- Arcade Hearts – Humble
- Broods – Peach
- Sean OB – Trouble
- Sir Notch – Gimme That Sunshine
- The Struts – Primadonna Like Me
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Sir Notch – Gimme That Sunshine
Sir Notch is one of the aliases of Dutch singer-songwriter/producer Christon Kloosterboer, who has been working with Hardwell, Sam Feldt and Dash Berlin, and recently co-wrote Go For The Gold by Rudenko & Aloe Blacc.
After tracks like Please Don’t Go and Depth Of My Mistakes (feat. Steffen Morrison), Gimme That Sunshine is his latest single under the Sir Notch guise, released on his own Exquisite label. An uplifting song with C2C-like scratching vocal effects, that’s equal parts jazz, gospel and soul, and has a great summer vibe.
The tune was written to accompany a television commercial for juice brand Appelsientje, but the music alone is utterly refreshening as well. Taste it below via the streaming platform of your liking. Sure to put a smile(y) on your face!
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Cesár Sampson – Nobody But You
I’m not a connoisseur as far as the Eurovision Song Contest is concerned. It’s a game with rules I don’t understand. What I do know, however, is whether or not I like a song. And in recent years, in my opinion, the number of decent pop tracks in the competition has been growing.
This year, I already wrote about Mercy by Madame Monsieur (the French entry) and A Matter Of Time by Sennek (who will sing on behalf of Belgium). This being the ESC week, I thought I’d give you one more recommendation…
Austria sends in Cesár Sampson. Early this century, he toured the world as the lead singer from bands like Kruder & Dorfmeister and Sofa Surfers. Since then, he preferred working behind the scenes in music production, song writing and as a vocal producer. The last two years, Sampson and his production collective Symphonix International helped the Bulgarian entries Poli Genova and Kristian Kostov reach a historic fourth and second place in the Eurovision Song Contest respectively, with If Love Was A Crime and Beautiful Mess. He also provided backing vocals for both tracks.
This year, Sampson gets back in the lime lights again with Nobody Like You, a track written by himself and Symphonix International. It’s a catchy, modern song, with a piano hook that sounds like the one in James Blake’s Limit To Your Love (2011). Great entry! (so, not a winner, presumably 😉 ).
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 7)
Although the year had a good start with a well-filled month of January, it looks like the music industry has now really awoken from its hibernation. Last week saw new musical releases from The Aces, Ash, Coasts, eels, MGMT, Morrissey, The Fratellis, Miike Snow and many others, all of which found their way onto my 2018 container playlist Carte Blanche Music. But the best of them all are reserved for Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters, containing the top of the pops:
- We Are Scientists – One In, One Out (Wildcard this week)
- Fall Out Boy – Church (Wildcard last week)
- Angèle – Je Veux Tes Yeux
- Millie Turner – The Shadow
- Paramore – Rose-Colored Boy
- Peggy Gou – It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)
- Rat Boy – Public Identity
Click the links to learn more about each song and listen to them all via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. 24 minutes well spent! ?
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 6)
After a week full of new music in all the genres you can think of, it’s time to draw some conclusions and decide which songs will and will not make it onto Werner’s Weekly. And here it is, your compass to the music that matters. In other words: the best tracks from the past week:
- Fall Out Boy – Church (Wildcard this week)
- The Nectars – Heaven (Wildcard last week)
- Anderson East – Girlfriend
- Chvrches – Get Out
- Clara Luciani – La Grenade
- Desi Valentine – Higher Heart
- Glen Hansard – Roll On Slow
- Mylène Farmer – Rolling Stone
You can listen to each of the songs via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar and read about them by clicking the links above.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist, with recent additions by Albert Hammond Jr., Blue October, Kate Nash, The Mowgli’s, Pale Waves, Paramore, Stereophonics, Vance Joy and many more.

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wildcard (week 5):
Fall Out Boy – Church
Does a band with hundreds of millions of streams and views to their name need a Carte Blanche Music review? Of course not. But on the other hand: this blog is about great new music, and Fall Out Boy happen to have made a great new song. ‘Great’ in every way: it’s fantastic, but it’s also full of grandeur. It’s epic. A cinematic track.
Fall Out Boy has never shied away from bombast, but with this new single they outdid themselves. Church is equal parts rock and gospel. Its lyrics go: “If you were a church, I’d get on my knees.” But what follows may very well be the loudest prayer ever.
Church by Fall Out Boy is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. You can find all of them in the Wildcards 2018 playlist. If you’re interested in how this song came about, you should definitely check out this video of Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump explaining the ‘making of’. If not, just enjoy the regular clip:

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 5)
A week with new music by The Aces, Buffalo Tom, Franz Ferdinand, The Fratellis, and The Go! Team can only be a good week. And to let you join in the fun, I put all of these tracks in the Carte Blanche Music playlist.
But there was more, as you may have read here throughout the week. If you haven’t, don’t worry. Each Monday morning I present you with Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters. The songs aren’t only below (in alphabetical order), but also in the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. The links point you to my original recommendations. What a way to start the working week!
- The Nectars – Heaven (Wildcard this week)
- Paloma Faith – ‘til I’m Done (Wildcard last week)
- Lissie – Best Days
- Stalking Like Candy – Can You See The Light
- Tom Grennan – Sober
- Youngr – Ooh Lordy
- Yungblud – Polygraph Eyes

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 4)
Beth Ditto, Bleachers, Editors, eels, Fall Out Boy, George Ezra, Hailee Steinfeld, Kylie Minogue, Maroon 5, Mylène Farmer, Rudimental, The Wombats and many more were added to the Carte Blanche Music container playlist last week. But apart from these well-known names there was also a wealth of music by lesser-known artists to be discovered. Exactly that is what I try to facilitate on these pages.
The best of last week’s recommendations are collected in Werner’s Weekly, your alphabetically ordered compass to the music that matters. Listen to all the tracks through the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar and read more about each song by clicking the links below:
- Paloma Faith – ‘til I’m Done (Wildcard this week)
- Shanguy – La Louze (Wildcard last week)
- Jerry Williams – Grab Life
- Lilly Among Clouds – Listen To Your Mama
- The Chordaes – Something New (Remix)
- The Nectars – Heaven
- The New Schematics – Who Do You Think You Are?
- US Girls (feat. James Baley) – Pearly Gates

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Wildcard (week 3):
Paloma Faith – ‘til I’m Done
When Paloma Faith released her debut single Stone Cold Sober in 2009, it was immediately clear she was an incredible talent. But despite scoring hits in recent years like Can’t Rely On You (co-written by Pharrell Williams) and Only Love Can Hurt Like This, I was surprised to find out her fourth album The Architect was only her first to hit number one in her home country Great Britain.
The album already produced the singles Crybaby and Guilty, but I bet she’s third time lucky. Paloma Faith’s new single ‘til I’m Done sounds like it could do well everywhere: on the radio, in your car, on the dance floor and in the charts. This gospel disco stomper, that sneakily references Donna Summer’s (well, okay, Donna Summer’s version of Barry Manilow’s) Could It Be Magic, deserves to be a hit!
This week, Carte Blanche Music is the first place where ‘til I’m Done scores big. It features here prominently as the new Wildcard (all of which you can find in the Wildcards 2018 playlist).

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 3)
Werner’s Weekly, a.k.a. ‘the best of the Carte Blanche Music blog’, is your compass to the music that matters. It features a wide variety of genres, even though it only holds five tracks this week:
- Shanguy – La Louze (Wildcard this week)
- Saveus – Time Can Heal A Man (Wildcard last week)
- Lume – Tip Of Your Thumb
- Mamas Gun – I Need A Win
- Wee Beasties – In The Dark
Click on the links to read the original recommendations and listen to the tracks via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar.
If this made you hungry for more, please subscribe to my container playlist Carte Blanche Music, a.k.a. ‘the best of 2018’. Only last week, I added Belle & Sebastian, Fall Out Boy, Franz Ferdinand, Hailee Steinfeld, The Hunna, Kakkmaddafakka and many other top tracks to it. Only two weeks into the new year, the list is already over two and a half hours of great new music long. A promising start!

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.