Browsing Tag melancholic
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.
Isaac Dunbar – ferrari
Isaac Dunbar is an only 16-year-old singer-songwriter and producer from Barnstable, Massachusetts. He debuted last year with the single freshman year, and put out five more singles since then. All of these now appear on his 8-track debut EP balloons don’t float here (apparently, he’s not a big fan of capital letters).
With ferrari, Dunbar releases a sixth single off his EP. A tune with distorted vocals, grungy guitars, hard-hitting beats, and quiet melodies that build into an anthemic chorus. “Ferrari is about friends in your life who spread your secrets around after your friendship ends,” Dunbar explains.
I know this is a dangerous thing to say, and I don’t want to raise too many expectations for this talented young man, but to me, he sounds like a male Billie Eilish. There, I said 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.
Wyke van Weelden – Make You Mine
In 2014, two years after competing in a Dutch TV talent show, singer-songwriter Wyke van Weelden released three beautiful songs. All of them had a strong cinematic (James Bond-like, dare I say Adele-esque?) sound, and not without a reason: Kenau was written for the movie of the same title, the revenues of World Of Blue were donated to the World Wildlife Fund’s Seastars campaign and Make You Mine was the title track of horror movie ‘De Poel’.
After a short absence from the streaming platforms, the latter song has now been re-upped and most deservedly appeared in last week’s New Music Friday playlist. Could and should be a hit as yet…
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.
IBE – Table Of Fools
Winning TV talent show ‘The Voice’ earned Ibe Wuyts (17) a sum of 25.000 euro, a new car, and a record contract. Within a week after being crowned ‘The Voice of Flanders’, he released his debut single Table Of Fools.
The simple song showcases only two instruments: a piano and IBE’s remarkable voice. Lyrically, it’s about people who live together, but still feel lonely. They both know it’s time to let go, but aren’t ready for it yet. Not exactly a light-hearted story for a 17-year-old, but he performs it very credibly. A true talent, which is rare at TV talent shows, nowadays 😉
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.
IAMJJ – My Two Eyes
IAMJJ is the artist name of a 25-year-old Danish singer-songwriter, who writes and performs in English. Following in the footsteps of his heroes Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen, his tracks are drenched in melancholy. Both musically and lyrically. A modern crooner!
He now drops My Two Eyes, the first new track since his 2018 debut album Bloody Future. Where he previously wrote songs full of pictorial metaphors and poetic lyrics, My Two Eyes is a more direct story of love. Easier to relate to than his earlier output, this might be just the song his career needed to expand beyond his current fan base.
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.
Bess Atwell – Swimming Pool
Bess Hildick-Smith, known by her stage name Bess Atwell, grew up in the English countryside, one of four children to an eclectic family of artists, songwriters and doctors. Soon after starting her own musical career, she was described in the press as ‘a promising folk poet of suppression and inner anxiety’ and ‘a gifted singer-songwriter with a voice like slow, cool water’. Eventually, her former solo project evolved into a full band affair, incorporating traces of traditional folk music with newer indie-rock influences.
Atwell’s just-released EP Big Blue includes the new tracks Harvested and Ventnor Villas. The other three songs have been issued as singles via Spotify, but were never actively promoted outside her home country. Swimming Pool, which was met with praise in late 2018, now gets a proper promotional treatment outside the UK. A romantic yet realistic song, influenced by the likes of The National, Fleet Foxes, and Sharon Van Etten.
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 13)
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:
- Shanguy – Toukassé (Wildcard this week)
- Sam Fender – Hypersonic Missiles (Wildcard last week)
- Hot Like Sushi – Go Anywhere
- Jonas Brøg – All Across The Sky
- Nasty Cherry – Win
- Pi Ja Ma – I Oh I
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: Broken Social Scene, Panic! At The Disco, Rat Boy, Roosevelt, Tame Impala, 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.
Jonas Brøg – All Across The Sky
Born in Denmark and based in the Netherlands, Jonas Brøg is a very talented producer, songwriter, singer and musician. After working behind the scenes for numerous artists, his solo career is only three songs old.
All Across The Sky is the latest of his first trio of tunes. A classic pop song with a modern touch. Where other current singers and producers apply tons of voice effects just because they can (not to mention the side effect of concealing bad vocal techniques), Brøg adds just enough to give the track an edge. Think of it as I Am The Walrus with a ponderous drum beat (or whatever other combination that springs to mind).
Talking about vocals: just like in his latest single I Think Of You I Cry, the singer’s voice is contrasted by a wonderful female counterpart, courtesy of Astrid Lagerstedt, who also co-wrote the song. And to continue the namedropping: famous Dutch composer Jochem Fluitsma lent his talents also, as well as playing some instruments. A great collaboration that adds an additional touch of quality to Brøg’s slowly expanding repertoire. We want 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.
Garbage (feat. John Doe & Exene Cervenka) – Destroying Angels
While on tour with Blondie and LA punk band X, Garbage worked with John Doe and Exene Cervenka of X to write and produce Destroying Angels. The track, which Garbage describe as a murder ballad, was released as a 7” single on 23 November 2018 for Record Store Day: Black Friday. The initial physical release was limited to only 3.000 copies, but now, the song is available digitally for everyone interested.
The B-side is the band’s take on David Bowie’s 1972 classic Starman, originally recorded for American DJ Howard Stern’s all-star Bowie tribute, which aired in February 2018.
Beyond Destroying Angels, Garbage is also working on their 7th studio album. Last summer, No Horses was our first taste of where this new record is going…
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 48)
As musically diverse as Andy Burrows & Matt Haig, Harts, Metric, Sam Fender, Weezer, Within Temptation (feat. Jasper Steverlinck) and Youngr may seem, they all have one thing in common: all of them released new music last week, which I added to my Carte Blanche Music playlist. They are in very good company, for it’s not at all my intention to add all new releases to this collection. And tracks that are only so-so in my ears, don’t make the list either. After a very heavy selection procedure, I only added 20 new songs last week.
Only the very best of those additions can be found in my definitive round-up Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters. Check them below and/or via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. Follow the links for more information.
- Starcrawler – Hollywood Ending (Wildcard this week)
- Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry (Wildcard last week)
- Broods – Everything Goes (Wow)
- I Wear* Experiment – Almere
- Navarone – The Strong Survive
- The Lighthouse – Catch Fire
- Yonaka – Death By Love
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.
