Browsing Tag orchestral
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 Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
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 Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
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 Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
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 Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Frida Sundemo – Gold
Frida Sundemo’s voice lends itself to big electronic productions. Her latest single, Gold, features synths, orchestral parts, choirs and upbeat digital percussion, making for a cinematic experience. As if Hans Zimmer meets Robyn.
6 October, the Swedish singer will release her album Flashbacks And Futures, which also includes earlier singles Keep An Eye On Me, We Are Dreamers and It’s OK.
Regarding the new single, Frida says: “Gold is about being brave and embracing the beauty of life. It’s about having the courage to risk something that’s ‘alright’ for the chances of getting something you really dream about.”
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 15)
If you like diversity (and musical diversity in particular), I kindly recommend you to subscribe to the Carte Blanche Music playlist on Spotify; a constantly updated playlist with only the best new music, regardless of genre. Just three months in, 2017 has already produced 17 hours’ worth of great tracks. Only the last week, I added brand new songs by Aimee Mann, Yelle, The Charlatans, Beth Ditto, Jamiroquai and many more.
And then there is Werner’s Weekly, my hand-picked, alphabetically ordered selection of the very best of my recommendations that I published here last week. Where ‘the very best’ is not a description of my prose of course, but of the music that it’s about. If you trust my judgement (and why would you not? ?) that’s the playlist for you to subscribe to.
If you continue reading, you’ll find Werner’s Weekly of this Monday. The audio is to be enjoyed via the Spotify player in the sidebar, the accompanying texts via the links. Have fun!
- Kasabian – Comeback Kid (this week’s Wildcard)
- The Gift – Big Fish (last week’s Wildcard)
- Colin Waters – Change The Game
- Rat Boy – Revolution
- Stromae – Repetto x Mosaert
- The Kooks – Be Who You Are
- UNKLE (feat. Mark Lanegan & Eska) – Looking For The Rain
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
UNKLE (feat. Mark Lanegan & Eska) – Looking For The Rain
When UNKLE (then consisting of Mo’Wax label boss James Lavelle and Tim Goldsworthy) worked on their debut record in 1998, they collaborated to a great extend with DJ Shadow. The resulting album Psyence Fiction was a star studded affair, featuring Richard Ashcroft (The Verve), Badly Drawn Boy, Mike D. (Beastie Boys), Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Ian Brown (Stone Roses) across the tracks.
In 2017, UNKLE only includes James Lavelle, but his upcoming fifth studio album The Road Part 1 has a comparable all-star line-up, featuring Andrew Innes (Primal Scream), Liela Moss (The Duke Spirit), Jon Theodore (Queens Of The Stone Age), Justin Stanley (Beck) and many more. The album’s out on 23 June, with work on The Road Part 2 already underway.
UNKLE’s cinematic, driving new single Looking For The Rain features both former Screaming Trees and Queens Of The Stone Age singer Mark Lanegan and Mercury Prize nominee Eska.
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Stromae – Repetto x Mosaert
Only last January Paul ‘Stromae’ Van Haver announced he’d stop making music for a while. Together with his wife, stylist and fashion designer Coralie Barbier, he wanted to focus on his unisex fashion line Mosaert (an anagram for Stromae, obviously).
Last Friday they presented their fourth collection: a line of shoes. Ballerina flats for men, to be precise. For this collection the pair partnered with footwear brand Repetto. Together with these shoes, Stromae launched a surprise single: the instrumental Repetto x Mosaert.
So now you know what the title came from, but what inspired the music?
Let me take you back to the beginning of 2015, when French/Israeli singer Yael Naim released her song Coward. A beautiful track that stood midway between medieval chamber music and church music. Not exactly radio material, but nevertheless I played it in my radio show Carte Blanche.
When Yael Naim read in an interview that the last song to make Stromae cry, was her song Coward, she invited him to use the song for his directorial debut. Together with his brother, filmmaker Luc Junior Tam, and director Martin Scali, Stromae made an impressive video for the song, which you can enjoy below. The melody of this song is now the basis of the maestro’s own new track.
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Werner’s Weekly (week 4)
As always, Werner’s Weekly consists of the very best of all tracks that I put in my Carte Blanche Music playlist last week. In this container playlist, which features the highlights of all music releases in 2017 so far, you’ll find additions of Halestorm, The xx, Temples, Declan McKenna, K’s Choice feat. Skin, Spoon, Lady Antebellum, and many more. But only the following have made it to my narrowed down selection (in alphabetical order) of top tracks. Activate the player in the sidebar to listen to the songs and if you want to know more about them, click on the links below:
- Powers – Dance (this week’s Wildcard)
- Izzy Bizu – Talking To You (last week’s Wildcard)
- Blackfield – How Was Your Ride?
- Blaenavon – Orthodox Man
- Dan Croll – Away From Today
- Electric Guest – Back From Me
- Gloria Estefan – One Day At A Time
- Saint Motel – Move
- Train – The News
Mind that as of this week I give extra support to the Wildcard by featuring it twice in Werner’s Weekly: in the current week and the week after.
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
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. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
