Browsing Tag orchestral
Werner’s Weekly (week 47)
Last week a great diversity of new music saw the light. There were very good releases in every thinkable genre. After applying heavy criteria, I added the likes of Chvrches, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Hozier, The Kooks, Rita Ora, and The Vaccines to my Carte Blanche Music playlist on Spotify, alongside a host of emerging artists you probably haven’t heard of before. And Jennifer Lopez as well. Listen to her new single Limitless without prejudice and you’ll hear it’s a really good song.
And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Below, you can find my ‘best of the best’ selection Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters. Via the links you can access my original recommendations and you can listen to all six of the tracks via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. Here you go:
- Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry (Wildcard this week)
- Jade Bird – Love Has All Been Done Before (Wildcard last week)
- 1010 Benja SL – Ultimaybe
- Audio Adam – Emma Watson
- Hollydays – Minuit (La Baie Noire)
- Moscow Apartment – Orange
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 Charts.
Wildcard (week 46):
Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde – I Think Of You I Cry
Full disclosure: Danish-born, Holland-based Jonas Brøg is not only a very talented singer-songwriter, drummer and producer, he’s also a friend of mine. A guy that I knew as happy and light-hearted. Then, three years ago, he sunk into a depression. It was (and is) heart-breaking to see his sadness, especially since there appears to be no reason for it; he crafts great songs with an extreme ear for details, he has a wonderful wife, a beautiful child… and this damned depression…
Lucky for him, Jonas also has his music. He picked up drumming again, stopped (temporarily, I hope!) producing songs for others and started writing for himself, as a therapy. However delicate his own songs are, he decided to share them for the first time, taking us along on his journey back into the light. And with his character and attitude, I’m very confident he’ll get there!
Jonas is not the only talented musician in the Brøg family. On a holiday in Denmark, he was stunned when he heard his 15-year-old niece Laura Mathilde sing. He convinced her to sing on one of his songs and the result is breath-taking. As Jonas explains: “Although merely 15 years young at the time of recording this song, I’m convinced her soul is older than a few thousand years and I personally love the depth of her voice.”
This final version of I Think Of You I Cry may very well be its 50th incarnation. Jonas is a perfectionist and he tweaks his songs endlessly. In my ears, he reached perfection this time, with distorted synth notes, a dry drum sound, beautiful string arrangements, captivating vocals, and lyrics about a destructive, half-hearted, jealous and unhealthy kind of love. For you didn’t expect this to be an optimistic song, did you? 😉
If you like Hooverphonic (whom I adore), you should definitely listen to I Think Of You I Cry by Jonas Brøg feat. Laura Mathilde. It’s this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, so it’s only one mouse click away for a whole week.
In the Wildcards 2018 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 Charts.
Werner’s Weekly (week 38)
Out of the many, many new songs that were released last week, I added only the 29 very best to my 2018 container playlist Carte Blanche Music. Among them well-known artists like Richard Ashcroft, Ben Folds, Hooverphonic, Lenny Kravitz, Amy Macdonald, Novastar and The Smashing Pumpkins, but also a lot of emerging acts and other artists that haven’t yet been embraced by the media and/or the public yet. It’s those acts that this blog focuses on, but I don’t shy away from recommending great new songs by established artists.
Today’s edition of Werner’s Weekly offers the latest two Carte Blanche Music Wildcards plus a fine collection out of all of the categories I mentioned, presented in alphabetical order. This makes it your compass to the music that matters, as always…
- Sigala feat. Ella Eyre, Meghan Trainor & French Montana – Just Got Paid (Wildcard this week)
- Bernhoft & The Fashion Bruises – Humanoid (Wildcard last week)
- Alice Merton – Why So Serious
- Confidence Man – Try Your Luck
- Corine – Maquillage
- Florence & The Machine – Patricia
- Hozier (feat. Mavis Staples) – Nina Cried Power
The links above point you to more information about the songs, all of which you can listen to via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar.
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 Charts.
Florence & The Machine – Patricia
Beware of hurricane Florence! Florence & The Machine that is, the musical hurricane that has been around for four albums now. Their latest long player High As Hope was preceded by the singles Sky Full Of Song, Hunger and Big God, but since the release of the album, at the end of June, nothing much happened. Now, finally, one of the best songs off it – Patricia – has been brought to radio as an official single.
The song starts as an acapella track. But as soon as the second voice appears, after 25 seconds, you feel there’s more to come. Less than 40 seconds into the song, a big beat sets in, and you know: this will be huge. 1’10”: enter the strings. Florence raises her monumental voice and you know she’s serious. What a great and grand song! In the last 30 seconds, only the strings and an opera-like vocal remain to add a final touch of epic.
Not that she needs to prove anything, for you know: if you like bold, anthemic songs, Florence & The Machine never disappoints.
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 Charts.
Werner’s Weekly (week 19)
Biffy Clyro, Black Honey, DMA’s, Frank Turner, Guns N’ Roses, Kailee Morgue and Liam Gallagher… They all came out with great new (or newish) music last week. Missed it? Then check my 2018 container playlist Carte Blanche Music, that is constantly updated with the best new tunes. All of the above – and 393 more – are there. Nearly a full day of highly recommended stuff for your listening pleasure.
Seven of the featured songs are below. The best of the best new music, compiled in Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters:
- Hooverphonic – Romantic (Wildcard this week)
- Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Bad Dreams (Wildcard last week)
- Blossoms – Cool Like You
- Foé – Qu’est-Ce Que T’as Là?
- Meg Myers – Numb
- Parcels – Tieduprightnow
- The Nectars – We Will Run
Follow the links for more info and hear the tracks in full via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar!
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 Charts.
Wildcard (week 18):
Hooverphonic – Romantic
Belgian band Hooverphonic started in 1995 as trip hop act Hoover, but they needed to change that name to avoid legal issues with the vacuum cleaner company of that name. Since then, the name of that company collected more dust than the devices that once made them famous.
Ever since the beginning, Hooverphonic has two constants: bassist/programmer Alex Callier and guitarist Raymond Geerts. Their choices for vocalists have always been outstanding, although most of them didn’t last long. After five female singers – Esther Lybeert (1995-1996), Liesje Sadonius (1996-1997), Kyoko Baertsoen (1997), Geike Arnaert (1997-2008) and Noémie Wolfs (2010-2015) – they tried some male vocalists for the first time on their 2016 album In Wonderland. But now, they’re back with their success formula, presenting their sixth front woman. One that the Belgians among you may already know…
17-year-old Luka Cruysberghs won The Voice Van Vlaanderen in 2017, where she was part of team Alex Callier, who happened to be one of the show’s coaches. She even sang the band’s Mad About You during the competition.
Romantic is the first Hooverphonic song with their new leading lady. A typically melancholic, orchestral pop song with ‘James Bond’ written all over it. Cruysberghs’s voice blends beautifully with Callier and Geerts’s symphonic backdrop. It once more underlines the duo’s great talent to find the right singer, time and time again. Let’s hope this trio will last for many years.
Hooverphonic is one of my favourite bands of all time. Listen to their Best Of album to hear why. Their new single Romantic is this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, all of which you can find in the Wildcards 2018 playlist.
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 Charts.
Werner’s Weekly (week 11)
Wow, an enormous amount of new music has been unleashed last week! For my Carte Blanche Music playlist, featuring only the best releases of 2018 so far, I hand-picked new songs by Cats On Trees, Gin Wigmore, Manic Street Preachers, and Sea Girls, among others.
But only the cream of the crop makes it onto Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters. You can listen to the tracks via the player in the sidebar, and learn more about them by following the links below:
- JZMN JYN – Going Under (Wildcard this week)
- Everything Everything – Breadwinner (Wildcard last week)
- Jimi Charles Moody – Happy Song
- Rae Morris – Dancing With Character
- Sennek – A Matter Of Time
- Theo Lawrence & The Hearts – Never Let It Go
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 Charts.
Sennek – A Matter Of Time
Belgium has built itself a reputation at the Eurovision Song Contest. The last three years, the country ended in the Top 10, twice of which (Loïc Nottet and Blanche) in fourth position. The entry for 2018 is equally dark and broody as these Top 5 songs, so it looks like Belgium will make it four in a row.
This year’s candidate is 27-year-old Laura Groeseneken, who goes by the stage name of Sennek. In recent years she wrote songs for Hooverphonic and played keys in Ozark Henry’s band, two of my all-time favourite Belgian artists. On A Matter Of Time, Hooverphonic’s Alex Callier returns the favour. He co-wrote the tune, so it comes as no surprise that it has James Bond written all over it, although A Matter Of Time sounds a little more stripped-down, less bombastic. Producer Maxime Tribeche, who also worked with Delv!s, did a fine job at that.
Callier wrote the opening sentence ‘Sometimes it feels like it’s meant to be broken’, after he broke his beloved tea pot while making tea during the writing sessions. This event also features in the video. With a song as good as this, it’s hard to believe Sennek’s Eurovision dream will break to smithereens as well…
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 Charts.
Werner’s Weekly (week 41)
Only once a week, this forward-looking music blog looks back: every Monday morning I present you with the best new music of the past week. This shortlist, called Werner’s Weekly, is a compilation of all of the tracks I added to my longlist Carte Blanche Music in the last seven days. These include new songs by artists as diverse as Dua Lipa, Liam Gallagher, Lukas Graham, The 1975, Tiggs Da Author and Tricky.
However, only six of them have made this summary. You can hear them all via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar. For more info: click the links below…
- Isaac Gracie – Silhouettes Of You (Wildcard this week)
- The Hunna – Summer (Wildcard last week)
- Delv!s – Home Again
- Mullally – She Don’t Know Me
- Philip Selway feat. Lou Rhodes – Walk
- Témé Tan – Coups De Griffe
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 Charts.
Philip Selway feat. Lou Rhodes – Walk
Best-known as the drummer of Radiohead, Philip Selway already released two solo albums: Familial and Weatherhouse. A departure from these albums, his latest release is a soundtrack album to the film drama ‘Let Me Go’.
The music is mostly instrumental and features occasional singing by Selway. A clear highlight however, is the song Walk, featuring Lamb’s fabulous Lou Rhodes.
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 Charts.
