Browsing Tag indie
Ivan & The Parazol – Changin’
For some strange reason, record labels, radio makers, music directors (and as a consequence: consumers) hardly look beyond bands from Great-Britain, the United States and their own country. While there is so much more to enjoy! Take Kelemen Kabátban, Margaret Island, and Punnany Massif for instance. All very different acts, with a few things in common: they make great music, they’re from Hungary, and I featured them here at Carte Blanche Music.
Garage rock band Ivan & The Parazol are another group from Hungary, incorporating the spirit of 70’s glam-rock and modern psych-rock into their music. Their third album Exotic Post-Traumatic will drop in March and was produced by Wil Anspach, who worked with acts like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, Justin Timberlake and Frank Ocean before.
Changin’ is Ivan & The Parazol’s new single. A song with great guitar licks and a groovy bassline. Could have been a Reef track!
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.
Superbird – Cola Bottle Fizz
Prince may have passed away, but his legacy is alive and kicking. Artists like Janelle Monáe and Harts don’t hide their admiration for the purple one, and you can add Superbird to that list.
Superbird are a British trio, consisting of Joe Sin (lead vocals, guitar), Alex Ash (drums, vocals), and Freddy Sidero (bass, vocals). Their debut single Cola Bottle Fizz is an uplifting slice of funky pop, with a groovy retro 80’s vibe that’s sure to make you dance. They’re a welcome arrival in a world that takes itself way too seriously. Superbird will make you happy!
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.
Judah & The Lion – Over My Head
In December last year, Nashville-based band Judah & The Lion released their first new music since their latest album Folk Hop n’ Roll. Not one, but two tracks: Quarter-Life Crisis and Pep Talk. Only a month later, they keep the vibe going with yet another new track.
Over My Head is an energetic, synth- and banjo-driven track (but far from country music), which offers a deeply personal look into vocalist Judah Akers’ mindset during a time that was both professionally exciting and personally turbulent. “I was on the road and homesick,” he recalls. “So that feeling’s rushing in, mom’s not doing well, not talking to dad, my sister’s sad. All these thoughts were happening and I was so overwhelmed with life. I was medicating and distracting myself in different ways so I could get through.”
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 4)
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:
- Jon Tessier – For A Little Eye Candy (Wildcard this week)
- Lizzo – Juice (Wildcard last week)
- American Authors – Stay Around
- Jesse Hite – When It All Comes Down
- Stats – Lose It
- Videoclub – Roi
- whenyoung – Never Let Go
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: The Cranberries, The Dandy Warhols, Hozier, Jade Bird, Joe Jackson, Sigrid, Yungblud 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 3):
Jon Tessier – For A Little Eye Candy
Jon Tessier is a Brazilian-French singer-songwriter and music producer, who spent childhood and most of his teenage years in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The last three years however, he’s been working on his music from Ibiza (Spain) and Paris (France).
He draws inspiration from a diverse range of musical heroes, including Mötley Crüe, Depeche Mode, The Doors, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers as well as the Brazilian bossa nova artist João Gilberto. None of them are overtly present in the music Tessier makes himself, which can be described as guitar-driven pop music with an alternative rock edge. A new artist with a fresh sound, that I like very much.
For A Little Eye Candy, Jon Tessier’s new single, is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, which means it features prominently on this blog for seven full days.
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.
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:
- Lizzo – Juice (Wildcard this week)
- The Lottery Winners – That’s Not Entertainment (Wildcard last week)
- As December Falls – On The Edge
- Chateau Chateau – Evidence
- Evil Edna – Isle Of Dogs
- Mamas Gun – Golden Days
- Uncle Frank – Lay It All At His Feet
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: Blood Red Shoes, The Chemical Brothers, Janelle Monáe, Joe Jackson, Radiohead, White Lies 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.
Uncle Frank – Lay It All At His Feet
Even though Fun Lovin’ Criminals released a new single as recent as last November, spin-off project Uncle Frank – based around FLC drummer Frank Benbini and his mate Naim Cortazzi – just came up with a new song as well. It’s part of a project where the duo release a new track on the first Friday of every month, until they drop their brand-new, third album Soul On The Battleground, in March.
Benbini has his own radio show ‘Uncle Frank – Funk and Rare Grooves’, airing every Sunday 7-10PM on BBC Radio Leicester, but with his band, he practices what he preaches. Lay It All At His Feet is a groovy affair, which brings back memories of The Isley Brothers classics like Summer Breeze or That Lady (partly triggered by the sound of Cortazzi’s guitar solo). Wonderful stuff!
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.
Chateau Chateau – Evidence
Only a year ago, in the beginning of 2018, Chateau Chateau was formed in Tucson, Arizona. It took the 7-piece band exactly one single, Crisis Party (released in early summer), to get the attention of Amsterdam-based music label TCBYML (This Could Be Your Music Label).
The parties signed an agreement to release Chateau Chateau’s first 5-track EP, Evidence, in early 2019. It will be preceded by three singles, the first being the EP’s title track. A wonderful up-tempo indie pop song that sounds like a love child of Satellite Stories and Vampire Weekend.
What more do you need to know to hit the play button?
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.
Evil Edna – Isle Of Dogs
Evil Edna are Paul Cockerham (vocals, harmonica), Joe Thompson (drums), Sam Taylor (bass), and Simon Land (guitar), a rockabilly punk band from London. They have a unique, genre-crossing sound, which blends gypsy harmonica, psychobilly guitar, thumping bass and upbeat drums, as if Madness, The Pogues and the Bintangs were put in a blender. Gogol Bordello fans will be delighted!
If you’re ready to stomp your feet and shake your hips, please meet Evil Edna!
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.
Bear Hands (feat. Ursula Rose) – Blue Lips
Since the release of their 2007 debut EP Golden, and first full album Burning Bush Supper Club three years later, Bear Hands did a lot of touring, including opening slots for like-minded larger bands like Vampire Weekend, Passion Pit, and MGMT. In 2013, they scored their first real hit, when Giants became a surprise Top 10 hit on Billboard’s Alternative Chart.
Now, the Brooklyn indie band kickstarts 2019 with laid-back, groovy new single Blue Lips, which features Ursula Rose. She also co-wrote the track, and a couple of other ones to be released later. Lead singer Dylan Rau says about Blue Lips: “The song is about listening to someone’s problems over and over and over until you die and your lips turn blue. Excuses, promises, optimism crashing on the rocks of reality and getting bored with someone’s schtick and hanging up on them.”
The song is part of an EP, that also contains new track Ignoring The Truth, as well as 2016 single 2AM, and Back Seat Driver (Spirit Guide), which was released last 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.
