Browsing Tag indie
Annie Hamilton – Kitchen
Annie Hamilton was lead guitarist in Sydney band Little May, and currently plays guitar in Jack River. But she is also active outside the music business. She studied textiles and graphic design, and started her own clothing label. Next to that, she recently also started a career as singer-songwriter.
Hamilton started working her own music during a creative residency in the tiny, isolated Icelandic town of Ísafjörður. She spent two months holed up in her apartment, writing new songs. Fade and My New Tattooed Chameleon were the first fruits of that period, and she just released her third effort, Kitchen. A melodic, accessible rock song with a sound halfway Heather Nova and The Breeders.
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.
Annabel Allum – When The Wind Stopped
Guilford singer-songwriter Annabel Allum is making a name for herself with her relatable brand of slacker rock. She came to my radar last year, with her single Beat The Birds, which was also remixed by Rat Boy. It eventually ended up on her second EP Sorry I’m Not Perceptible.
She just returned with When The Wind Stopped, the second single (and title track) to be taken from her forthcoming third EP, due for release this autumn. A song with propulsive basslines, anthemic rhythms and the singer’s signature, matter-of-fact tone, it’s a passionate ode to not giving up on your childhood dreams as we mature.
Allum says of the inspiration behind it: “When I was a kid I had such big expectations of how life was gonna be. I think most people do, but somehow we lose track of our dreams and what we really want from life. It’s so easy to shut yourself in a societal box and put your dreams to bed. I say fuck that. If you want something, go fucking get it. Less moaning, more chasing.”
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.
Alfie Templeman – Tragic Love
Only 16 years ago, Alfie Templeman was born in a household full of musical stimuli. His sister is a pianist and plays trumpet, and his dad collects guitars. It was inevitable that Alfie would ask for drum lessons aged just seven years old, and at 13, he installed recording equipment in his bedroom. This is where he writes, records and produces everything he makes.
Templeman just released his second EP, Sunday Morning Cereal on Chess Club Records, home to MØ and Sundara Karma, and renowned for early releases from Wolf Alice, Jungle, and Mumford & Sons.
He tells about the EP: “There’s a lot of r&b and indie coming together in this record. I wanted to experiment a little more with groovy drum beats and ‘90s hip hop synths, while keeping the indie slacker vibe of my first EP.”
Alfie plays every instrument on the EP, and my favourite track off it is Tragic Love, a mid-tempo, bluesy song about a doomed relationship.
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.
Alex Lahey – Isabella
Only in the autumn of 2017, a year and a half after she broke through in her native Australia, Alex Lahey was picked up in the rest of the world. Her debut album I Love You Like A Brother was an up-tempo trip down guitar lane, but her new album The Best Of Luck Club is a more varied affair.
Isabella, to me, is one of the stand-out tracks, with lyrics as playful as the piano melody it’s built around. Lahey explains: “Isabella doesn’t really need much of an explanation. It’s about a vibrator of which the brand is called ‘Izzy’. The song is about what I think Izzy would be like if it were a person. Basically, she’d be a fucking legend.”
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 26)
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:
- Flay – Sister (Wildcard this week)
- Jay Som – Superbike (Wildcard last week)
- Akiva – Broken Ships
- Ceylon Ceylon (feat. Graziella) – Why Don’t They Love You
- Kasador – High Rise
- Montaigne – Ready
- Yorke – Thought I Could
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: !!!, Cold War Kids, The Cult, The Kooks, Robyn, Two Door Cinema Club, 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.
The Beautiful Monument – Reaper
Australian all-female rock quartet The Beautiful Monument consists of Lizi (vocals), Andy (guitar), Alex (guitar) and Amy (bass). On 28 June they’ll follow-up on their debut album I’m The Sin (2017) with their second long-player I’m The Reaper. You can expect energetic songs, powerful hooks and moody grooves, with influences from the likes of PVRIS and Evanescence.
Reaper, more or less the album’s title track, is The Beautiful Monument’s new single. It’s about the passing of a close friend of the band.
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.
Kasador – High Rise
Kasador is a Canadian indie-rock band. The quartet was formed in 2012 as the Will Hunter Band, until the group’s name was changed in early 2015. Members as of March 2019 are Will Hunter, Cam Wyatt, Boris Baker, and Stephen Abudofuor.
The band is currently getting ready for the fall release of their debut album Brood And Bloom, produced in part by Graham Walsh (Sam Roberts, Lights, Wintersleep) and by Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair of The Tragically Hip. The long-player will feature the two tracks Kasador released in 2017 (Come Get Yer Money and Skeleton Park), title track Brood And Bloom from earlier this year, as well as brand-new single High Rise.
“This song came out of a few middle-of-the-night writing sessions, where my mind could not sleep and would race until morning. My only relief was to get up and write,” the band explain. “High Rise is written from the perspective of feeling pressure, self-doubt, and questioning your future through that wave of midnight anxiety.”
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.
Friedberg – Go Wild
Anna Wappel uses Anna F. (short for the Austrian town of Friedberg, where she was born) as her artist name. In 2009, she was discovered by Lenny Kravitz, who asked her to open for him on his European tour. Signed by Universal Music, she released two commercially successful and award-winning solo albums: For Real (2010) and King In The Mirror (2014). Nevertheless, she decided to break away from the major label and take the indie road.
This road led her to London, where she formed the all-female band Friedberg with Emily Linden, Laura Williams and Cheryl Pinero. After debuting with the song Boom, their new single Go Wild is only their second offering. Despite its title, it’s a cool and relaxed tune.
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.
Akiva – Broken Ships
Akiva is a Bedfordshire (UK)-based band, comprising youth friends Malcolm Carter (guitar, vox), Rob Mercel (bass) and Dave Mercel (drums), alongside singer, guitarist and synth programmer Dave MacKenzie. 11 months ago, I wrote about their single Ammunition. A song with a strong message, just like any of this band’s tunes. “We’ve always believed music should stand for something and carry a message,” the band explain. “There’s a lot to shout about in the world today, and we’ve got a lot to say.”
Their new single is no exception to that rule. It’s nothing less than an angry takedown of the forces behind Brexit Britain. “Broken Ship is about the importance of consequences for actions, and how quickly things start to fall apart when these get lost,“ says MacKenzie, whose rhythmic lyricism is one of the ear-catching elements in this song. The video adds an eye-catching element to the already impressive song.
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 25)
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:
- Jay Som – Superbike (Wildcard this week)
- Rammstein – Ausländer (Wildcard last week)
- Altered By Mom – Hear That Sound
- Jesse Merineau – She Knows
- Flay – Sister
- Sløtface – Telepathetic
- Sorcha Richardson – Don’t Talk About It
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: Black Honey, Eckhardt & The House feat. Bella Hay, Kaiser Chiefs, Volbeat, 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.
