Browsing Tag indie
Nouvelle Vague feat. Julie Delpy – Lalala
Nouvelle Vague is a French band, with musicians Olivier Libaux and Marc Collin as its constant factors. They surround themselves with a large rotating cast of mostly female vocalists. Some of them (like Camille, Phoebe Kildeer and Liset Alea) have also had successful solo careers, while Élodie Frégé is currently part of super group Gemme.
The outfit is best known for their bossa nova covers of new wave classics. That’s why the band name is appropriate in more ways than one. Nouvelle Vague is French for ‘new wave’, just like ‘bossa nova’ is Portuguese for ‘new wave’.
Julie Delphy is a French singer-songwriter, actress, director and screenwriter. In 2007, she produced the movie ‘2 Days In Paris’. She not only also starred in the film, she composed the soundtrack as well. She co-wrote one of the tracks, Lalala, with Marc Collin. It’s no cover, but an original song with a retro ‘60s sound and a beat you can’t help but dance to.
Although this bi-lingual tune is 12 years old, it has only just been made available on the streaming platforms. So let’s just pretend it’s brand-new, shall we?
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 33):
Terouz – Outstanding
Born in Cairo, professional illustrator/singer-songwriter Karim Terouz moved to Montreal in 2008. With his brassy, folk/rock quintet The Rising Few, he released two albums. Then, after losing his father, he decided to re-emerge under the guise of Terouz.
His debut single Outstanding is a great piece of pop noir. Driven by muscular, groovy bass lines, and with Karim’s Bowie-esque vocals throughout. “It’s like Cohen on a treadmill”, the Egyptian/Canadian artist summarizes.
Terouz calls his first single ‘an ode to my journey of renewal’ and ‘an empowering Rocky-esque anthem’. He explains: “Last year felt like a never ending s#%t storm. With the shadow of my father’s passing laying over me, my musical aspirations were hitting a wall with my band and I was pretty close to pulling the plug on it all. I stopped everything to take care of myself. I dove deep into writing, belted out (in despair!) improvised vocal lines to recorded melodies while running up and down the Mont Royal… every day, like an obsessed work-out maniac. I focused on getting clear.”
This song is, indeed, Outstanding. And I’d like to make it stand out even a little bit more, by featuring it here prominently for a whole week. Outstanding by Terouz is the new 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.
Ankathie Koi – Cats And Diamonds
When she released her latest single Royal Boy, end of June, Ankathie Koi also announced a new album. Her second long-player Prominent Libido is due out on 13 September. Ahead of it, the jazz singer turned pop diva now unleashes Cats And Diamonds.
The new single starts with a weird synth melody, which appears to have classical influences. The rest of the song, however, is drenched in ‘80s sounds. It’s both funky and electronic, very well sung (as always), and a rap is included. Swell! (as we used to say in the ‘80s 😉 ).
Recommended as well:
Ankathie Koi – Royal Boy
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 33)
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 Howl & The Hum – Human Contact (Wildcard this week)
- Tape Toy – Sad Girl (Wildcard last week)
- Ava Max – Blood, Sweat And Tears
- Client Liaison – The Real Thing
- Dirty Heads – Lift Me Up
- Ilira – Pay Me Back!
- Rider – Jump
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: Johnny Marr, Keane, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Pixies, 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.
Terence Jack – Found It
Four years ago, Canadian entrepreneur Terence Hermiston quit his day job. He had run a travel agency for 13 years, no less. However, he decided it was time to pursue his lifelong passion of playing and writing music, so off he went… From then on, he and a crew of other talented musicians would be Terence Jack.
Off to a good start, the single Eastern Rise from their debut EP Never Get Back nearly became song of the year 2016 in the Canadian Songwriting Competition. This accomplishment was followed by slots at quite a few major Canadian festivals. In other words: they’re quickly building a reputation.
Now, it’s time for new music. Currently working on a second EP, Bloom, the band offer a first glance at what it’ll sound like. Judging from this first single, they’ve established a sound of their own. Fresh and energetic, with epic dynamics and Honne-like vocals. Terence Jack ‘found it’, when will you find Terence Jack?
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.
Rider – Jump
Rider is a multi-instrumentalist, who plays, records and produces her songs herself. Half American and half English (with both passports), she was born in Pennsylvania, where she grew up in a musical family. After emigrating to the UK when she was 5, she started writing her first songs around the age of 8. From about 13 or 14, she started to produce her own tracks, using her dad’s music studio.
Obviously, no one was surprised when she decided she wanted to study at the Paul McCartney Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts, which she did. Since 2017, Rider releases a few singles a year. Jump is her seventh so far. A super catchy pop song with a huge singalong chorus. I could’ve done without the child in the middle, though 😉. A break-through would be well-deserved.
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 32):
The Howl & The Hum – Human Contact
The inspirations of The Howl & The Hum range from Leonard Cohen and Phoebe Bridgers to Lizzo and Kendrick Lamar, and they have also been likened to Massive Attack, Radiohead and Alt-J. To be honest, I hear neither of these influences shine through in their own music, and that is meant to be a compliment. The Howl & The Hum created their own style, while playing live, a lot.
Hot on the heels of recent single Hall Of Fame, the band unleash the furious follow-up track Human Contact. A damn tight piece of music! “Human Contact is a fast-paced miserable disco touching on mental health and what it means to be alone in a digital age,” frontman Sam Griffiths explains. “The lyric deals with the idea of alienation vs. technology. When there’s so much communication going on around us at all times, can we ever feel a true connection?”
A great song with an important message. Does is get any better? Yes it does. Human Contact by The Howl & The Hum is 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.
Grace Lightman – Repair Repair [2019 Version]
Before going solo, British electro-pop artist Grace Lightman fronted London psych-rockers The Hypnotic Eye. Her solo work is characterized by a somewhat detached vocal delivery, over dark beats and moody production. She describes her music as ‘one part ABBA and two parts Twin Peaks’.
One of her first solo outings, at the end of 2016, was the single Repair Repair. Lightman says of it: “The track started out as a jingle for a fictional weight loss milkshake advert but became a song about people’s fear of change, and the inevitability of becoming robots.”
A new version of this song now appears on the singer’s debut album Silver Eater, along with a new video. You can check it via the player below. The original, totally different video is harder to find, but if you’re curious: it’s here.
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.
Dirty Heads – Lift Me Up
Ahead of their new album Super Moon (due on 9 August), Dirty Heads reveal its third single. Lift Me Up follows Listen To Me and the long-player’s title track.
While their latest single copied the horns of The Ides Of March’s Vehicle, their new effort features the bassline of Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin’s Je T’aime Moi Non Plus. A great idea, which makes Lift Me Up sound like a laid-back summer jam. Vocalist Jared Watson explains it’s a weed song. “We tapped into our own lives – we used to be drug dealers, so this is our version of Curtis Mayfield’s Pusherman, the theme song for some Shaft-style weed-seller.”
The Southern California alt-rock band’s upcoming album was produced by Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb. He produced the A Star Is Born soundtrack, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, and many more).
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 32)
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:
- Tape Toy – Sad Girl (Wildcard this week)
- Baker Grace – Sad Summer (Wildcard last week)
- Kesha – Best Day [Angry Birds 2 Remix]
- Lola Marsh – Echoes
- Prince – Holly Rock
- Sheppard – Kiss My Fat Ass
- Wallis Bird – Salve!
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: Haim, Nouvelle Vague feat. Julie Delpy, MisterWives, 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.
