Browsing Tag indie
Werner’s Weekly (week 14)
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:
- The Spitfires – (Just Won’t) Keep Me Down (Wildcard this week)
- Hollie Col – She Knows (Wildcard last week)
- Izo FitzRoy – Red Line
- Lime – Surf N Turf
- Magnus Bechmann – What Do You Know
- Saint Motel – A Good Song Never Dies
- Shingai – Coming Home
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: Dua Lipa, Pearl Jam, Sondre Lerche, 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.
Eskobar – When Your Heroes Fall
Daniel Bellqvist, Frederik Zäll and Jocke Brunnberg formed Eskobar in 1994, after their love for music finally inspired them to start a band together. They only released their debut album ‘Til We’re Dead in 2000. Their finest moment came a year (and an album) later. In 2001, their collaboration with Heather Nova, Someone New, became a pan-European hit. It even reached American viewers via MTV.
Fast forward to 2020. Eskobar still exists and just released a new single: When Your Heroes Fall. A fine pop song once again, with PM Dawn kind of vibes. It reminds me a little of their Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, which can only be a good thing.
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.
Kakkmaddafakka – Moonshine
Will Kakkmaddafakka ever stop releasing super catchy indie-pop tunes? Probably not. That’s why I like them so much. And on top of that, they’re a prolific bunch. They’ve released music during each and every year of the last decade. And by the looks of it, they’ll continue to do so in the ‘20s.
Just like Kakkmaddafakka’s recent tracks Baby and Echoes, their new single was not on the band’s latest album Diplomacy. Moonshine is another happy, radio friendly, summery song. Sure to bring some sunshine in your life.
Recommended as well:
Baby
Get Go
Sin
Runaway Girl
Young You
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.
James Righton – Start
Klaxons frontman James Righton has been writing for the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Arctic Monkeys and Honeyblood. But he didn’t release a solo album yet. Until now, that is. His first long-player The Performer is out now via the Deewee label, which is run by David and Stephen Dewaele (a.k.a. Soulwax, a.k.a. 2manydjs), who also mixed it. Part of the record was recorded in their Belgian studio as well, alongside Righton’s home studio and Bryan Ferry’s Studio One. The Performer is full of timeless songs, influenced by classic artists like Roxy Music, R.E.M., and The Beach Boys.
Fatherhood has changed Righton’s life. It’s altered the relationship with his wife Keira Knightley, which he explores on the ‘90s-tinged pop-rock of new single Start. “It’s a song about remembering the things you love in one another during times of great change”, he explains. “I wanted to write about the nature of relationships. How they are constantly evolving and how it’s always important to keep in mind those moments when you first met.”
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.
Áslaug – In My Head
Singer-songwriter Áslaug Vigfúsdóttir was born in the Netherlands, but obviously has Icelandic roots. Her 2019 debut single Take From Me was enough to be invited for showcase festival Eurosonic Noorderslag. Last week, streaming platform Deezer chose Áslaug as the Dutch entry for their talent programme Next 2020. This will secure her editorial support throughout the year.
Her self-titled debut EP just came out. Fans of artists like Haim and The Japanese House will love its mix of dreamy synth chords, polyphonic drifts and catchy hooks. All of these elements are also presents in Áslaug’s new single In My Head. A track with international potential.
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.
Pacific Estate – She
If you’re as old as I am (ouch), ‘Pacific Estate’ may wrongly remind you of Pacific State by 808 State. An electronic music track from 1989 that stood out because of its birdsong and saxophone melody. However, Pacific Estate has absolutely nothing to do with it, so you might as well forget about this introduction.
This Canadian rock band was formed in 2013 by a few high school kids looking to play Rush covers. They released two tracks in 2016 and are currently recording their debut album. She is the first single to be released ahead of it. Pacific Estate’s trademark high powered vocals and air tight rhythm section make for an energetic track, which slows down for the last 40 seconds.
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.
Hope D – Second
Hope Defteros is a 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Brisbane, Australia. During high school, she released three albums under her full name. Since then, a lot has changed. Her debut single as Hope D, Swim, landed her the QMusic Emerging Artist Award, last year. It also led to various festival performances, as well as sold-out headline shows in her hometown.
Hope D’s sophomore track is aptly-titled Second. Now with a full band behind her, it’s an edgy, pulsing track with driving guitars, whirling synths, and angsty vocals. Or, to put it short and snappy: it’s an indie pop-rock banger.
“Second is about a period of time in my life where I was going out partying too frequently and not being able to recall much from the night before”, Hope D explains. “It emphasises the thought of wanting to have a good time for at least a second. But I was doing this for so many ‘seconds’, that the time added up to what felt like years of forgotten nights.”
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 13):
The Spitfires – (Just Won’t) Keep Me Down
Nothing is as effective in beating negativity – even in these trying times – as a ska song. This great new single by The Spitfires, for instance. Even the title, (Just Won’t) Keep Me Down, sounds like a message of hope (and a middle finger to COVID-19). It’s a powerful, infectious, brass-infused stomper of a song.
Frontman Billy Sullivan, bassist Sam Long, and drummer Matt Johnson formed The Spitfires five years ago. When playing live, the three-piece is augmented by three more musicians. Listening to their music, it isn’t hard to imagine their concerts being one big party.
The band recently signed to the legendary Acid Jazz Records label and just announced their upcoming album. Life Worth Living is set to be released on 5 June. It was produced by Simon Dine, who was behind the desk for several Paul Weller albums.
(Just Won’t) Keep Me Down, The Spitfires’ new single, is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2020 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 13)
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:
- Hollie Col – She Knows (Wildcard this week)
- Bée – Nothing Alike (Wildcard last week)
- Miya Miya – Underwater
- Deluxe – Barcelonnette
- Tones & I – Bad Child
- The Dears – The Worst In Us
- Mathea – Wollt Dir Nur Sagen
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: Badly Drawn Boy, Circa Waves, Nothing But Thieves, 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.
Magnus Bechmann – What Do You Know
It’s been three years since Norwegian singer-songwriter Magnus Bechmann delivered the EP Loners Get Lonely Too and single Bruises. Thankfully, he’s back with another great song: What Do You Know. It’s the first single off his forthcoming debut album.
Refreshing and vibrant, What Do You Know is an indie-pop song with hints of Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats and Phoenix. An uplifting and well-produced track with a driving rhythm and a thumping bass. Wouldn’t it be great if this kind of music was all over the radio, like it should?
Speaking about his latest offering, Bechmann said, “Situations in everyday life that are usually not a big deal, can grow totally out of proportion whilst laying awake in bed at night, unable to sleep. What Do You Know is about just one of these situations, where you find yourself in a relationship that is better to get out of than to stay in.”
Recommended as well:
Magnus Bechmann – Bruises
Magnus Bechmann – It Bothers Me
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.
