Browsing Tag r&b
album track
Wyn Starks – Black Is Golden
After releasing 14 singles in just two yearsâ time, Wyn Starks finally came up with his debut album Black Is Golden. A record as diverse as diversity gets, which puts an extra dose of soul in modern r&b. Meanwhile, the album combines Starksâ upbringing in Minneapolis with the innovative sounds he discovered upon relocating to Nashville.
In online magazine Euphoria he explains: âWhen I say black is golden, I think about so many artists, activists, and everyday people that have inspired me. People like Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin, Cornel West, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Prince, and my mother Cheryl Ann Johnson (just to name a few). Itâs important we acknowledge their contributions to society, music, and the world. I stand on their shoulders. I hope that through this album I can inspire someone in the same way. Thatâs why I decided to call it Black Is Golden. Itâs a celebration of people who have inspired me on this road to becoming Wyn Starks.â
The title track is my favourite song on the album. It was written in response to injustice and racial inequality when it comes to black people. A track with an important message, wrapped in a sound thatâs both vintage and progressive.
Follow Wyn Starks on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single track
Pip Millett – Hard Life
13 August, British songstress Pip Millett will put out her new EP Motion Sickness. Following recent single Running, Hard Life is the second track to be released in anticipation. The song mixes gospel, old-school soul and a bit of modern R&B, the same way Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill did. Whatâs not to like about a song that incorporates organ, guitar bass and a little bit of horns?
Talking about the single, the singer says: âHard Life is about exactly that. Itâs about moving through unresolved trauma and understanding that ignoring those things doesnât mean they go away. It takes learning and listening to yourself and lots of patience.â
Follow Pip Millett on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
werner's weekly
Wernerâs Weekly (week 16)
This is Wernerâs 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:
- Yelle – Noir (Wildcard this week)
- Who – Hey! Get Out The Way (Wildcard last week)
- Ashe – Iâm Fine
- Carla de Coignac – Danse
- Glades – Limbo
- Jan-Marten Block – Never Not Try
- The Vain Travail – Do You See The Sun?
Click the links for more info and listen to each of the tracks via the Wernerâs Weekly player below.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Also added last week: Barenaked Ladies, Fickle Friends, Pale Waves, and more.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
werner's weekly
Wernerâs Weekly (week 15)
This is Wernerâs 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:
- Who – Hey! Get Out The Way (Wildcard this week)
- RoseeLu – Playing Alone (Wildcard last week)
- Danilo – Bringing It Back
- Devon – Warning Signs
- Paloma – 2AM (Love Again)
- Rori – The Same Way
- Vistas – Start Again
Click the links for more info and listen to each of the tracks via the Wernerâs Weekly player below.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Also added last week: Alice Merton, Crowded House, Texas, Twenty One Pilots, Years & Years and more.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single track, wildcardWildcard (week 14):
Wildcard (week 14):
Who – Hey! Get Out The Way
When I spotted a track with the title Hey! Get Out The Way in the Danish New Music Friday playlist, I presumed it would be a cover of The Cardigansâ Hey! Get Out Of My Way. It isnât, however. That said, itâs very hard to find out what it actually is. I mean, calling your project Who isnât going to make it easy to find any info via Google, is it? Furthermore, a Spotify bio is lacking as well. The only thing I know for sure, is that Hey! Get Out The Way is Whoâs debut single. And a damn fine one as well.
The rest remains pretty much a mystery, and it might even be meant to be. One can only guess itâs a Danish project, as it appeared in the Danish NMF playlist. This guess appears to be confirmed by the fact the track was co-written by Nabiha Bensouda. Sheâs a very fine (Danish) artist in her own right. Iâm especially fond of her early singles, like Deep Sleep and Never Played The Bass from circa 10 years ago.
Anyway, âwhoâever Who is or are, Hey! Get Out The Way is a great debut, that echoes Lizzoâs Good As Hell. Whatâs not to like about that? If you like a good pop-r&b-soul crossover, this one’s for you. The single is this weekâs Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, which means itâll feature prominently at the top of this blog for a whole week!
Follow Who on Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 playlist youâll find all of this yearâs Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single track
Jessy Yasmeen – Holy Water
Jessy Yasmeen is an emerging artist with both Dutch and South-American roots. Over the past years, she played over 200 shows in The Netherlands and Germany and won some important music awards. In 2020, under the wings of a new label, she released several singles and two EPâs. Her songs were playlisted by radio stations and curators all over the world.
Now, sheâs ready for the next step. Ahead of her debut album Formation, due out in the Autumn, sheâll release another set of singles. According to a statement these will be âbigger, more poppy and personalâ. And, for the first time, self-produced. Her new songs are meant to challenge listeners to be vulnerable, help conquer personal battles with underlying fear, and break those taboos.
Holy Water is the first, very promising example. This earworm is a cross between pop, soul and R&B. Sure to go down well with fans of Adele, Joss Stone and Alicia Keys.
Yasmeen says the track started as a song about her narcissistic ex. However, the meaning changed figuring out it was all about her not loving herself. She recalls: âI looked up to him. I adored him like a God. His words were like the testament to me and his will like the commandments. But if he was God and God was love then why was I not fulfilled? It was me that was feeding his ego afraid of losing him. Because I already gave up on me. But the day he left me was a blessing. That’s when my formation started, a purification of the soul.”
Follow Jessy Yasmeen on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
werner's weekly
Wernerâs Weekly (week 8)
This is Wernerâs 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:
- Drew Sycamore – 45 Fahrenheit Girl (Wildcard this week)
- Almost Monday – Live Forever (Wildcard last week)
- Amen Mustang – (The Shit You Say) When Youâre High
- Ivan & The Parazol – MĂĄst VĂĄrtam
- Just – Walk Slow Smile More
- L U – Liquid Gold
- The Bamboos – Ride On Time
Click the links for more info and listen to each of the tracks via the Wernerâs Weekly player below.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Also added last week: The Fratellis, Pale Waves, Smith & Burrows, Sondre Lerche, and more.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
cover, single track
The Bamboos – Ride On Time
Back in 1989, Italo-house/Euro-dance act Black Box released Ride On Time. A great floor filler, based on a vocal sample of Loleatta Hollowayâs 1980 single Love Sensation. Her lyric “Thank you baby, ‘cause you’re right on time” was misquoted in the song title. Nevertheless, it topped several European charts and went on to become the bestselling single of the year in the UK.
32 Years later, the song gets a complete make-over. Australian nine-piece The Bamboos turn the track into an infectious soul/funk tune. Itâs not the first time they sink their teeth in another track to turn it completely upside-down. They did so before with songs by everyone from James Blake, Kings Of Leon to London Grammar.
Their reinvented version kicks off with tight, up-tempo drums, followed by the three piece horn section, which carries the songâs hook. Subsequently, The Bamboosâ stellar singer Kylie Auldist does what no-one would have thought possible: she does complete justice to Loleatta Hollowayâs inimitable vocal.
Ride On Time will be the closing track on their upcoming tenth album Hard Up, which will be out on 7 May. Itâll also feature the bandâs three 2020 singles Hard Up, While You Sleep (feat. Ev Jones) and Power Without Greed.
Recommended as well:
The Bamboos – Night Time People
The Bamboos (feat. Montaigne) – Iâll Make You Happy
Follow The Bamboos on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single track
TESSĂ – Salope
Marseille-based TESSĂ is an upcoming artist on the French music scene. She moves somewhere halfway pop princess AngĂšle and urban acts like Damso.
Only 19 years old, she deals with a grown-up subject on her new single Salope (French for âbitchâ). Itâs about women being harassed by men in public spaces. Since rejecting the advances might evoke aggressiveness, itâs better not to look around, but to just walk on, TESSĂ pleads.
Salope is the first single off her forthcoming EP ĂtĂ© (âsummerâ), which follows the EP Printemps (âspringâ). With a nod to Vivaldiâs Four Seasons, the singerâs third and fourth EP in this series will be titled Automne (âautumnâ) and Hiver (âwinterâ).
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
single track
Josephien – Talk To Me
Incredible how a small country like Belgium can hold so much talent. Take Josefien Deloof, for instance. In 2018, she and her band won the publicâs choice award at the Rock Rally competition. Since then, they toured a lot in Belgium and its neighbouring countries. During that time, she changed stage names a few times. Josefien became Josephine, but she now goes by the moniker of Josephien. Details matter!
Early this year, I saw her performing a Warner Music showcase at the ESNS festival. An impressive set, even though she was onstage with only a keyboard. And honestly, her recognizable, husky voice (reminiscent of Selah Sueâs) doesnât need much instrumental accompaniment. Her debut single Talk To Me is great proof of that. The start of it, with only a simple guitar melody alongside her voice, immediately makes for a lounge-y feel. Only a few soft high synth notes and a languid rhythm section are added, and thatâs all the song needs.
Josephien doesnât believe in musical monogamy. Therefore, she hasnât decided upon her musical direction yet. But the restrained happiness of this confident, soulful debut single fits her like a glove.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
