Browsing Tag melancholic
Blanche – City Lights
Quite honestly, I never expected I’d mention the Eurovision Song Contest as much as I have recently. Earlier I mentioned the B side to Levina’s Perfect Life and recommended Swedish runner-up Nano. Today, I want to point your attention to Blanche, who will represent Belgium in Kiev.
Blanche’s real name is Ellie Delvaux. She’s only 17 years old and hails from the Belgian bilingual capital of Brussels. However, her track City Lights is sung neither in Dutch nor in French. I think this could very well have been a track by Birdy, but although it bears resemblance to Éclat by Alexe Gaudreault, it’s claimed to be an original song (which is one of the requirements for participating the Eurovision Song Contest). I really like it!
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 12)
It’s that time of the week again… Out of all the great new music I dragged into my container playlist Carte Blanche Music last week (tracks by 311, Black Honey and Kasabian, to name but a few), I hand-picked the very best. Those are proudly collected in my alphabetically ordered ‘best of’ playlist, called Werner’s Weekly. For my Werner’s Weekly playlist on Spotify, click the player in the sidebar. By clicking the links below, you can read my recommendation per track.
- John Adams – Things That Make You Beautiful (this week’s Wildcard)
- Fatboy Slim – Where U Iz (last week’s Wildcard)
- Avi On Fire – Win
- Black Stone Cherry – Cheaper To Drink Alone
- Lukas Graham – Drunk In The Morning
- New Politics – One Of Us
- Public Service Broadcasting (feat. Tracyanne Campbell) – Progress
- Welshly Arms – Legendary
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 11): John Adams – Things That Make You Beautiful
After Aberdare singer-songwriter John Adams sung Cannonball by Damien Rice on The X Factor UK in 2011 (bringing the original back in the charts at a higher position than at first release, a first in chart history), he went on to crowdfund his debut album The Pavement Is My Stage by busking across the UK in 2013.
This week, he releases not one, but two new singles. My personal favourite – and this week’s Wildcard – is Things That Make You Beautiful. This is in part due to its simple but touching video.
No doubt this has to do with the fact that last week, after over 30 years, an old class-mate came back into my life. She suffers from progressive eye-trouble, but is incredibly optimistic and strong. She recently entered a comprehensive program to help her remain as independent as possible. Walking with a stick, taking the bus, working on the computer, using her cell phone… things that are so self-evident for most of us. Of course, all of the confronting situations involved also bring up feelings of insecurity. That’s exactly what needs to be overcome.
The video for Things That Make You Beautiful captures both the freedom and the insecurity, and shows what you are capable of when you have self-confidence. I’m sure my friend is going to get to that point!
With or without this story in mind, enjoy this week’s Wildcard on Carte Blanche Music: Things That Make You Beautiful by John Adams!
This is his other single, See You Again:
Both tracks are taken from John Adams’s forthcoming EP, due out in June/July 2017.
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.
Me & That Man – My Church Is Black
If you like the impressive, dark music of the likes of Nick Cave and Johnny Cash, Me & That Man are your new best friends.
Me & That Man is a collaboration between Nergal, the frontman of Polish extreme metal band Behemoth and British/Polish rocker John Porter. Not your obvious collab, but it works.
24 March they’ll release their album, with the self-explanatory title Songs Of Love And Death. A collection of stories about individualism, rebelliousness and darkness, musically rooted in blues and rock. Let’s say: a 2017 version of American Recordings. Or, as Nergal concludes: “This is not happy music, but it’s liberating.”
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.
Banner. – Compass
In the ‘About’ section of this blog you can read: ‘Carte Blanche is all about great new music’. I like to live up to that promise. Therefore, today I proudly present Banner., a new Dutch singer-songwriter, who was born and raised in The Hague. He is a self-taught musician since he started playing guitar at the age of 14. His songwriting career began when he was 18 and currently, he is studying vocals at the Herman Brood Academy in Utrecht.
Banner. names Queens Of The Stone Age, Fink and Sticky Fingers as his influences. But Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Japan and David Sylvian are never far away either. This makes it difficult to describe his music. Something like ‘indie folk’ or ‘indie pop’ comes close, but doesn’t do right to the outbursts of guitar that are present as well.
You know what? You’d better listen! To whom? To Banner.! That’s Banner with a dot. Point taken…
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.
Pretenders feat. Neil Tennant – Let’s Get Lost
This is not the first pairing of legends and it won’t be the last. But it sure is beautiful! Let’s Get Lost was already a ‘Pretenders only’ track on their latest album Alone. This is the new single version, featuring the unmistakable vocals of Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant. And that’s not all. They blend together wonderfully with Chrissie Hynde’s voice. Let’s Get Lost is part of a double a-side single with the rock track Gotta Wait, but this ballad is the one for me.
The video below is not the original clip by the way, but a great animation by ‘MrPopov’ I stumbled upon, which uses Let’s Get Lost as its soundtrack. I like it as much as the song itself 😉 .
- 24 Feb. ’17 – Rather disappointing update: this appears to be a Disney animation, only uploaded by this ‘MrPopov’. Just so you know…
- 1 March ’18 – Another disappointment, sorry guys: a year after this post, ‘MrPopov’ suspended his YouTube account; probably a rights thing. Therefore, I added the audio-only ‘video’
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.
Laura Marling – Next Time
Laura Marling (not to be mistaken for Norwegian singer Lene Marlin) is a British (nu-)folk singer-songwriter who also plays guitar, bass, piano and ukulele. She was part of the original line-up of Noah & The Whale and collaborated with the Mystery Jets, while her own band included Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwane and Winston Marshall, who would go on to found Mumford & Sons.
In March, Marling will release her sixth album Semper Femina. Next Time is the beautiful new single off it. The clip is the second (after Soothing) from a trio of Laura Marling’s self-directed videos.
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.
Adna – Thoughts
Born in Bosnia, raised in Sweden and currently living in Berlin. Now this is a real European artist! Adna Kadic her music is being described as pure beauty with a darker side. Her debut album Night, released in 2014, was quickly followed up by Run, Lucifer. And now she is ready to unleash her third album Closure, although we’ll have to wait until 17 March.
The first single off it is already here. Early fans may recognise Thoughts, as it was the closing track on her debut album. However, that version was mostly instrumental and this is a greatly updated recording.
Speaking about the song, Adna explains: “I wrote this when I was 16 as some kind of declaration of love to the place where I have my roots. Despite all the sorrow and the melancholy, it’s the most beautiful place I know about. And I wanted to make this song again, because it feels important to also see and think of the beauty in the things that otherwise are shown as something sorrowfully.”
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.
Blackfield – How Was Your Ride?
In 2001, Steven Wilson (founder of British prog rock band Porcupine Tree) and Israeli rock singer Aviv Geffen started working together in a new project: Blackfield. Their new album Blackfield V (their fifth, obviously), will be released 10 February.
Three of the tracks have already been put out on the EP Family Man. One of them in particular, How Was Your Ride?, got me on the tip of my chair. Not in the least because it sounds like a long awaited return of Alan Parsons to the music scene. Well… it actually is! After producing a solo album by Steven Wilson in 2013, Parsons also recorded and produced some songs for the new Blackfield album.
How Was Your Ride? has ‘Alan Parsons’ written all over it. When you listen to the track his name automatically starts to flicker in big red neon letters. In capitals, that is. It’s a classic pop rock song, drenched in string arrangements performed by the London Sessions Orchestra. Flat out beautiful!
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.
Christon feat. Maxime Barlag – Perfect World
If you never heard of Christon Kloosterboer before, you’re not to blame (yet). He’s a Dutch singer-songwriter who had his share of success in the Netherlands with his band Rigby. While the band is in hibernation, Christon lends his composing talents to befriended artists and EDM producers, as well as writing music for commercials and tv series. In the meantime he started a solo career.
Last year he recorded his solo debut album Towns & Cities, due for release later this spring, in Nashville, USA and Hannover, Germany. The first six songs off the album will be released digitally tomorrow on the EP Towns (suggesting another EP called Cities will follow later). This first EP will feature the singles SOS Warning, Bonfire and Icarus as well as three album tracks. One of them, Perfect World (not a single, but a New Year present), features Maxime Barlag, the front woman of Mister & Mississippi (a band certainly worth checking as well!).
This is the clip in full effect. I love it!
(update 15 January: because of the positive reception, it has been decided Perfect World will be released as a proper single after all)
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.
