Browsing Tag orchestral
Jasper Erkens – Am I Scaring You, My Love?
Belgium-born, Holland-based Jasper Erkens graduated with distinction at BRIT School in London as a singer, producer and songwriter, following in the footsteps of Amy Winehouse, The Kooks, Katie Melua and many others.
That solid background can be heard on his new EP Innocent Desires. It’s a collection of four acoustic songs, Am I Scaring You, My Love? being my favourite. A beautifully orchestrated song, which Erkens wrote with Eg White, who worked with the likes of Alison Moyet, Natalie Imbruglia, James Morrison, Duffy, Adele and many many many more.
Fun fact (a.k.a. side step): Eg White started Brother Beyond with his brother David White in the late ‘80s, but left just prior to their chart successes. He then formed Eg & Alice with Alice Temple. Do yourself a favour and check their 1991 single Indian. Goosebumps!
But anyway, here is Jasper Erkens’ Am I Scaring You, My 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.
morgxn & Nicholas Petricca – Blue
As a companion to his 2018 album vital, American singer-songwriter morgxn (pronounced as ‘morgan’) just put out the EP vital : blue. It contains five tracks, four of which are ‘stripped’ versions of tracks from vital, including home. The latter was a single at the end of 2016, and re-released last year as a collaboration with Walk The Moon. More precise: as a duet with WTM singer Nicholas Petricca. This version was a Wildcard here at Carte Blanche Music.
Apparently, the collaboration gave every satisfaction, for the opening track on the new EP, a brand-new song, is another duet between morgxn and Nicholas Petricca (this time under his own name). Blue is a beautifully arranged winter song.
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.
Mercury Rev feat. Norah Jones – Okolona River Bottom Band
Mercury Rev’s new album, out on 8 February, will be a reconstruction of Bobbie Gentry’s underappreciated 1968 cult classic The Delta Sweete. A star studded rendition, featuring contributions from Norah Jones, Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval, Lucinda Williams, Margo Price, Beth Orton, Susanne Sundfør from Norway, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab fame, Dutch actress Carice van Houten, Rachel Goswell, Vashti Bunyan, Kaela Sinclair, Marissa Nadler and Phoebe Bridgers.
Louisiana Man, off the original album, is missing from the project. It will be replaced by a new version of probably Bobbie Gentry’s best-known song Ode To Billie Joe (a Billboard number 1, which was in fact from her same-titled debut album). Mercury Rev’s version features Lucinda Williams’s vocals. Tip: also check the version Sinéad O’Connor recorded in 1995 for the infamous Help! album.
The Delta Sweete’s opening track, a beautifully orchestrated version of Okolona River Bottom Band (feat. Norah Jones) is the set’s intriguing new single. Looking forward to the rest!
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.
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 Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
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 Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
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 Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
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 Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
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 Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
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 Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart.
