Browsing Tag indie
Deva St. John – The Information Age
Deva St. John was born in London to American parents. Likewise, her sound is a bridge between British and American pop culture. She’s a great vocalist with authentic lyrics, set to a lo-fi alt-rock production. A very promising new artist!
The Information Age is only her third single since she made her debut in October 2018. It’s a sarcastic salute to the often oppressive nature of social media, and how it distracts and divides us as quickly as it informs and connects. The song examines the consequences of our internet addictions on our personal wellbeing.
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.
Mondo Cozmo – Come On
Singer-songwriter Joshua Ostrander‘s career began as part of the alt-rock band Laguardia. After one album, he started Eastern Conference Champions with friend and long-time bandmate Greg Lyons. In April 2016, Ostrander released his first solo single under the Mondo Cozmo name: Hold On To Me.
His new single Come On is a star-studded affair. Co-written by Dan Wilson (Semisonic), it features guitarist Peter Hayes (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) and drummer Sean Friday (Dead Sara). It was produced by Lars Stalfors (Cold War Kids, Foster The People) and mixed by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent (U2, Madonna). Ostrander’s second solo album is due out next year.
On the single, he says: “I went to Dan Wilson’s house and asked him if we could write a song like Low by Cracker. The song that came from that attempt was Come On. During this time the Malibu fires were burning, the idea of watching the city burn was where this imagery came from.”
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 46)
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:
- Halie – Good Kids (Wildcard this week)
- Palaye Royale – Hang On To Yourself (Wildcard last week)
- Clara Luciani – Ma Soeur
- Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
- Field Music – Only In A Man’s World
- Jonas Brøg – That Feeling
- Sophie & The Giants – Runaway
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: Ash, George Michael, Róisín Murphy, Tom Walker, Zucchero, 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.
Parov Stelar feat. Lilja Bloom – Go Wake Up
Marcus Füreder, better known by his stage name Parov Stelar, is one of Austria’s internationally most successful artists. He is called the founder of ‘electro swing’ and his music is the soundtrack for numerous movies, TV shows and ads.
But professional success doesn’t lead to personal happiness per se. He recently wrote on his Facebook page: “My last two years were full of personal ups and downs. But it’s during the hard times we learn the most. Music has always been one of my best buddies. It carried me and opened doors to hidden worlds. I am now ready to present to you the Voodoo Sonic Trilogy, my journey through that time. It’s an album in 3 parts and Part 1 will be coming this November.” By now, we know a little more: Part 1/3 will be released on 15 November, while the second and the third part can be expected in the first half of 2020.
The first single off the upcoming trilogy is called Go Wake Up. It’s sung by Austrian singer, designer and painter Lilja Bloom. The two started working together in 2007, when Bloom became Stelar’s muse. She co-produced his album Shine and sang on all of his albums ever since. Stelar returned the favour by making remixes of several of her solo singles.
Go Wake Up is the pair’s new single. A soulful affair with a Motown kind of vibe. In true voodoo fashion the song’s groove grabs you immediately, never letting go again.
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.
All We Are – L Is For Lose
Comprised of Guro Gikling from Norway (vocals, bass), Luis Santos from Brazil (guitars) and Richard O’Flynn from Ireland (drums, vocals), All We Are are based in Liverpool. The band adopts a new sound on each album. Between the long-players they put out in 2015 and 2017, they shifted from late-night grooves to psychedelia. In an attempt to summarize, they call their music ‘psychedelic boogie’.
Earlier this year, All We Are released their first track since 2017. Heart Attack featured Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos. And this week, the trio comes with L Is For Lose, which sounds like a funk ballad. Talking about the song, All We Are explain: “L Is For Lose is a psychosexual, off kilter tune that is an ode to that weird dance, the push and pull, that a sexual relationship moves to.”
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.
Camino 84 – Standing Back Up
Camino 84 is the moniker of producer/songwriter Ryan Lucht, from Boston. He makes power pop and indie rock, but with jazz and disco as his main inspirations. A bit like Steely Dan, but you may also recognize hints of Ben Folds, Jason Mraz and Phoenix.
Camino 84 have long been ‘a man and his laptop’. However, Lucht gradually started working with others to bring his imaginative songs to life for live performances. By now, it’s an actual band.
Standing Back Up is their new single. An ultimately hopeful and upbeat song, although the lyrics are cutting with every line. It’s already proven to resonate with fans, prompting dozens of messages about how meaningful the song has been to those struggling with their own challenges in life.
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.
Jonas Brøg – That Feeling
Danish-born, Dutch-based Jonas Brøg is a very talented songwriter, mixer and producer himself. Yet, he isn’t too shy (or too arrogant) to collaborate with other talented people to optimize his songs. More than anything else, he is a perfectionist.
For his latest single That Feeling, he teamed up with producer and mixer Oscar Holleman. He is renowned for his work with Kovacs, Within Temptation and, more recently, Eurovision Song Contest winner Duncan Laurence. Holleman turned an already beautiful demo into a song that will sound great on radio and computer alike.
With That Feeling, Brøg wants to inspire listeners to slow down in the moment, fully experience life, and let love in. Just like he learned to do himself, during the depression he got into. He started writing songs as a remedy, and each new track makes more clear he’s getting there.
Recommended as well:
Jonas Brøg – All Across The Sky
Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry
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 45):
Halie – Good Kids
Now that Sigrid and Aurora have been embraced by worldwide audiences, Norway’s next superstar is ready for take-off. Hannah Emilie Grung is only 18 years old and off to a great future. Her 2018 single Youth already attracted over 1 million listeners on Spotify alone.
Halie used a short radio silence to finish school and write some new songs. The first of this bunch is out now. Good Kids sounds more mature and edgy than her earlier work. Imagine a combination of Charli XCX and early Lorde. Over a bed of thumping beats, Halie sings about everyday teen issues. A message that sticks, since the singer is only a teen herself.
Good Kids is the first single off her upcoming debut EP, and this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
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.
Clara Luciani – Ma Soeur
22 November, talented French singer Clara Luciani re-releases her debut album Sainte Victoire for the second time. This ‘super edition’ contains five additional tracks.
One of them is Ma Soeur, a funky pop song, produced by Yuksek. As you might have guessed from its title, Ma Soeur is an ode to her older sister, Lea. Performing as Ehla, she recently released her own single Cool.
Recommended as well:
Clara Luciani – La Grenade
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.
Field Music – Only In A Man’s World
Only In A Man’s World is Field Music’s first new music since their 2018 album Open Here. The single sets the stage for the band’s tenth album Making A New World, which arrives 10 January 2020. The long-player grew out of a project they undertook for the Imperial War Museum. Thematically, it’s about the after-effects of the First World War. Lyrically, however, it isn’t about war itself or remembrance. Believe it or not, the single is about sanitary towels.
David Brewis explains: “I found myself researching the development of sanitary pads – not a statement I’ve ever imagined myself making – and was surprised at how little the advertising material has changed in a hundred years. It’s still, Hey Ladies! Let’s not mention it too loudly but here is the perfect product to keep you feeling normal WHILE THE DISGUSTING, DIRTY THING HAPPENS. And you realise that it’s a kind of madness that a monthly occurrence for billions of women – something absolutely necessary for the survival of humanity – is seen as shameful or dirty – and is taxed MORE than razor blades?!”
If you’re more into how it sounds than the lyrical subject, you’ll be delighted to hear this could have been a Talking Heads song. At least, I was.
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.
