Browsing Tag indie
Stats – Naturalise Me
13 November, only a year and a half after their debut album Other People’s Lives, Stats put out opus #2. The London-based band’s sophomore record is titled Powys 1999. It was recorded in a residential studio close to where frontman Ed Seed grew up in Powys (Wales). On the album, Seed (vocals, guitar) is joined by Nicole Robson (vocals/keyboards), Stu Barter (vocals/bass), John Barrett (drums), Duncan Brown (guitar), Iso Waller-Bridge (vocals/keyboards) and Ant Whiting (keyboards).
Naturalise Me is the long-player’s first single. It’s a funky, danceable pop song with an industrial, Depeche Mode-like feel to it. The track finds Seed questioning his roots. “Growing up I felt like I didn’t fit in or belong where I was born and raised”, he says. “When it comes to the countryside we often talk about the natural – and by implication the unnatural – as if we are talking about the real, and by implication the fake. I felt somehow fake in Powys as a born incomer, un-local, neither Welsh nor English. But by looking at the landscape, I started to realise the construction and extraction behind it, and the myth of its naturalness.”
Recommended as well:
Stats – The Family Business
Stats – Lose It
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.
Miss Machine – Tout Autour
Here’s more proof that the French music scene is full of talent at the moment. Today, I’d like to introduce you to Miss Machine, the alter-ego of young singer-songwriter Éloïse Boisseau. She grew up in a home where music was all around. Apart from the artists she heard via her parents, she discovered her own heroes as well. Arctic Monkeys, for instance, or Metric.
Miss Machine’s first 4-track EP, Tout Autour, comes out on 28 September. Ahead of it, its title track is her debut single. A beautiful song, combining ‘90s rock nostalgia, electronic pop sounds, and French chanson. Highly personal music, with lyrics that are both expressive and impressionistic.
While studying Philosophy, she continues recording new music in her home studio in Nantes. A new EP, or even a full album, will come out in 2021.
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 38):
Penfriend – The Only Way Out Is Through
Penfriend is the solo project of Bristol’s Laura Kidd. She’s not only an upcoming artist, but also a successful podcast maker. In the first series of her podcast Attention Engineer, she interviewed guests like Belly’s Tanya Donelly, Frank Turner, Charlotte Hatherley, Public Service Broadcasting, and Tom Robinson. It shot to #10 in the Apple Podcasts top music shows on launch. Series 2 will launch on 7 October.
Following Everything Looks Normal In The Sunshine, The Only Way Out Is Through is only Penfriend’s second release. Sonically, her new single is a nod to the powerpop that ruled the airwaves in the early 1990s. Its grungy guitars give it a rock touch, but it’s sugar-coated by an icy synth melody. Lyrically, Penfriend delivers the message of hope and determination that we all need after a tough six months.
She says: “The choice to release music in a universally dark time isn’t one I take lightly. The Only Way Out Is Through is the most resonant and useful song I have to offer right now, a rescue raft for whoever needs one. That’s what this song is for me.”
The Only Way Out Is Through by Penfriend is the new Carte Blanche Music Wildcard!
In the Wildcards 2020 playlist you’ll 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 38)
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:
- ONR (feat. Nile Rodgers) – Kill TV (Wildcard this week)
- Red Rum Club – Ballerino (Wildcard last week)
- Baxtr – Feathers
- Lova – One Day Left
- Monowhales – All Or Nothing
- San Mei – Midnight
- The Radar Station – Zanzara [2020 Version]
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: Bruce Springsteen, Dua Lipa, Janelle Monáe, The Killers feat. k.d. lang, New Order, and 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 Wannadies – Can’t Kill The Musikk
The Wannadies are a swindie (Swedish indie) band from Skellefteå. They were very successful in the UK for a few years, following their 1995 breakthrough single You And Me Song. It was one of very few songs by non-British bands that made an impression on Britpop lovers in Great Britain. It’s still a cult classic and a favourite tune at many a wedding.
18 years after their last album Before & After, The Wannadies make a surprise return with the joyful new single Can’t Kill The Musikk. They started working on the song in 2002 as part of the recording sessions for their next album. Alas, they broke up before it was finished.
18 September, Before & After will be re-released on vinyl. The first run (500 pieces) comes with a bonus 7”. This contains the recently finished Can’t Kill The Musikk, and a live recording of My Home Town, appropriately recorded in Skellefteå.
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.
Abby J Hall – All I Wanted
Abby J Hall, who turned 21 last month, is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Burlington Ontario. Taylor Swift, Julia Michaels, Alec Benjamin and Maggie Rogers are some of her musical influences. She started writing music when she was 11, and plays the guitar, keys and ukulele.
This year, after spending most of 2019 in the studio, she started releasing the new music she recorded. All I Wanted is her third single of 2020.
Abby describes the song as ‘an emotional plea to go deep and be vulnerable with someone you care about’. She further explains: “Sometimes it’s not the outcome that is the most important, but having the courage to say what needs to be said. All I Wanted encourages rolling your sleeves up and getting to the heart of past issues to rectify a relationship that you feel is worth rectifying. Tough conversations can lead to deeper friendship. (…) Life is short. If you’ve been feeling for a while like you need to tell someone something, tell them. But life is also long enough to spend the time with those who really matter to you. Let your guard down.”
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.
Eelke – Leech
Eelke (pronounced as ‘ail-kuh’) the first name of Dutch singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist Eelke Ankersmit. He recorded his new music with Stijn van Rijsbergen, Johan Huttinga, Wouter Verschoor and Joost le Feber. Don’t bother trying to pronounce those names 😉.
After graduating with distinction from the Amsterdam academy of music, Eelke started writing and releasing songs. National radio picked them up nicely. His upcoming EP Mirror is a great leap forward. First single Leech is a good example of the way he combines indie-rock with vulnerability.
The Smiths, Ryan Adams and The Cure are some of his influences, but particularly fans of Radiohead circa the mid-‘90s will be delighted.
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.
Hedda Mae – Madness
It seems as if musical talent is part of the Norwegian DNA. 21-year-old Hedda Mae (Hedda Aalvik Grønhaug) is yet another potential future pop star. Her new single was co-written and produced by Benjamin Giørtz (Tiësto, Betty Who), who did a great job as well.
Madness is an upbeat and fun pop song with a nu-disco flavour in the best Jamiroquai tradition. Full of ‘80s influences, it’s a slick and smart tune, extremely catchy and sure to make you feel good.
Hedda Mae explains: “The lyrics are about when someone suddenly becomes interested in you and gets really friendly, and you question yourself about where they’re really coming from. Because other people’s intentions often aren’t good, and you know you shouldn’t get involved really, but it can be difficult to keep yourself away.”
Her debut EP comes out on 16 October.
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.
Lucas Hamming – Falling
Lucas Hamming is a Dutch artist who is slowly but surely gaining ground in his homeland. As far as I’m concerned, his new single Falling has the potential to score abroad as well.
At the start of the song’s video, Hamming explains that, for him, 2020 is the year of pushing boundaries. “It feels like taking a leap of faith, so why not doing that for real?” Next, we see him jump from a plane. With a parachute, luckily.
The change the singer-songwriter talks about, is a shift from indie-pop to melodic pop/rock. “Production-wise this feels like the segment that used to be dominated by Robbie Williams and Maroon 5, and where Harry Styles is king nowadays. But as always, I add a bit of nineties Britpop bravado.”
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.
Smarts – Cling Wrap
Good old punk never dies. Just ask Smarts, an Aussie band comprised of members of Ausmuteants, Parsnip and The Living Eyes. Mid-October, they’ll launch their debut album Who Needs Smarts Anyway? Good question, in the best punk tradition.
The long-player, recorded in just one weekend, contains 13 tracks. Four of those are re-recorded versions of the tracks on the band’s 2018 EP Smart World, which was recorded by the band’s Billy Gardner (bass, vocals) and Mitch Campleman (guitar). Since then, drummer Jake Robertson, synth player Sally Buckley and saxophonist Stella Rennex were added to the line-up.
A saxophonist? Yes, that’s right. Smarts deliver fast-paced, sax-fuelled punk. That already sounds wicked on paper, so wait ‘til you hear the music for yourself. Cling Wrap is the band’s new single. A raucous, playful, tight, thrilling, dynamic adrenaline rush, which clocks in at just under 2 minutes. Just like a good punk song should.
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.
