Browsing Tag r&b
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 Cardigansā Hey! Get Out Of My Way. It isnāt, however. That said, itās very hard to find out what it actually is. I mean, calling your project Who isnāt 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 Whoās 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 itās 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. Sheās a very fine (Danish) artist in her own right. Iām especially fond of her early singles, like Deep Sleep and Never Played The Bass from circa 10 years ago.
Anyway, āwhoāever Who is or are, Hey! Get Out The Way is a great debut, that echoes Lizzoās Good As Hell. Whatās not to like about that? If you like a good pop-r&b-soul crossover, this one’s for you. The single is this weekās Carte Blanche Music Wildcard, which means itāll feature prominently at the top of this blog for a whole week!
Follow Who on Spotify
In the Wildcards 2021 playlist youāll find all of this yearās 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.
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 EPās. Her songs were playlisted by radio stations and curators all over the world.
Now, sheās ready for the next step. Ahead of her debut album Formation, due out in the Autumn, sheāll release another set of singles. According to a statement these will be ābigger, more poppy and personalā. 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: āI 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.
Wernerās Weekly (week 8)
This is Wernerās 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 Youāre High
- Ivan & The Parazol – MĆ”st VĆ”rtam
- 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 Wernerās 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.
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 Hollowayās 1980 single Love Sensation. Her lyric “Thank you baby, ‘cause you’reĀ 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. Itās 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 songās hook. Subsequently, The Bamboosā stellar singer Kylie Auldist does what no-one would have thought possible: she does complete justice to Loleatta Hollowayās inimitable vocal.
Ride On Time will be the closing track on their upcoming tenth album Hard Up, which will be out on 7 May.Ā Itāll also feature the bandās 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) – Iāll 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.
TESSĆ – Salope
Marseille-based TESSĆ is an upcoming artist on the French music scene. She moves somewhere halfway pop princess AngĆØle and urban acts like Damso.
Only 19 years old, she deals with a grown-up subject on her new single Salope (French for ābitchā). Itās about women being harassed by men in public spaces. Since rejecting the advances might evoke aggressiveness, itās better not to look around, but to just walk on, TESSĆ pleads.
Salope is the first single off her forthcoming EP ĆtĆ© (āsummerā), which follows the EP Printemps (āspringā). With a nod to Vivaldiās Four Seasons, the singerās third and fourth EP in this series will be titled Automne (āautumnā) and Hiver (āwinterā).
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.
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 publicās 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 Sueās) doesnāt 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 thatās all the song needs.
Josephien doesnāt believe in musical monogamy. Therefore, she hasnāt 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.
Wernerās Weekly (week 45)
This is Wernerās 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:
- Palaye Royale – Hang On To Yourself (Wildcard this week)
- Lizzo & Ariana Grande – Good As Hell [Remix] (Wildcard last week)
- Barrie – Drag
- Hayley Mary – The Piss, The Perfume
- Inge van Calkar – Get Out Of My Way
- Therapie Taxi – Candide Crush
- Zola – Crystal Floors
Click the links for more info and listen to each of the tracks via the Wernerās Weekly player below.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Also added last week: Ariana Grande (with Chaka Khan), Haim, Pixies, The Script, and many 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.
Latest Wildcards: Client Liaison, Sheila & The Kit, Kasador, Lizzo & Ariana Grande
Aaaaaaaaaand, weāre back! After a great holiday in Australia, Iām completely ready to continue and recommend you the best new tracks. Most of them are too good for the radio, but as a music missionary man, I see it as my duty to provide them with a platform. In the end, of course, itās you who decides.
October wasnāt only a great month to take some time off, it was also a great month for new music. Traditionally, in anticipation of the year-end period, October is a month with many releases. This year is no exception. Throughout my holiday, I updated my Carte Blanche Music Spotify playlist regularly. Head over there for an overview of recent new tracks you wouldnāt want to miss. Today, Iāll also resume my recommendations on this blog. But for a start, let me present to you the Carte Blanche Music Wildcards of the past four weeks:
Week 40: Client Liaison – The Beat Supreme
It only felt appropriate that the first Wildcard during my holiday would come from an Australian act. Enter indie-pop duo Client Liaison, consisting of Monte MorganĀ (vocals), andĀ Harvey MillerĀ (keyboards, producer). I wrote about their earlier single The Real Thing before. The band are influenced by late ā80s and early ā90s electronic and house music, as can be heard again on their new single The Beat Supreme.
Week 41: Sheila & The Kit – Mike [Edit]
Easy Lover by Philip Bailey & Phil Collins was the very first Wildcard in 1985. Mike by Sheila & The Kit was #1800! Itās a track off the Dutch alternative synth-pop outfitās first EP, appropriately titled EP. Since it lasts 7ā39 on there, I suggested it should be edited and put out as a single. And ta-dah⦠someone listened š. Although four and half a minute have been chopped off, the song still has the same great vibe and energy. It now fits the dance floor and the radio!
Week 42: Kasador – Givinā It Up
You may know CanadianĀ indie-rockĀ band Kasador from their recent track High Rise. This is one of the 12 tracks on their debut album Brood And Bloom. The long-player was partly produced by Rob BakerĀ andĀ Gord SinclairĀ of The Tragically Hip, and partly by Graham WalshĀ (Sam Roberts, Lights, Wintersleep). The latter produced the bandās new single Givinā It Up.
Week 43: Lizzo & Ariana Grande – Good As Hell [Remix]
In 2016, Lizzo recorded Good As Hell for the soundtrack of the movie āBarbershop: The Next Cutā. It also served as the lead single from her debutĀ EP Coconut Oil.Ā Following her performance at the MTV Music Video Awards, itās climbing up the Billboard charts. A new version of the song, as a duet with Ariana Grande, will only enhance this success. A well-deserved belated hit.
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.
Wernerās Weekly (week 40)
This is Wernerās 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:
- Georgia – Never Let You Go (Wildcard this week)
- MĆ©lodie Lauret – 23h28 (Wildcard last week)
- Ana & The Changes – Beneath My Lungs / I Turned 30 Yesterday
- Lizzo – Good As Hell
- Madame Psychosis – Kapow
- Sheila & The Kit – Mike
- The Lighthouse – Pretty Classy
Click the links for more info and listen to each of the tracks via the Wernerās Weekly player below.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Also added last week: Liam Gallagher, SlĆøtface, Tegan & Sara, Temples, and many 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.
Lizzo – Good As Hell
Lizzo is becoming more and more of a phenomenon. Correction: Lizzo is a phenomenon. To such an extent, that even her older songs belatedly prove to be hits. Melissa Jefferson (the 31-year-old American singer and rapperās real name) is currently #1 in the Billboard Hot 100 with Truth Hurts, a song originally released in 2016. But another song from that same year is doing great as well.
Following her performance at the MTV Music Video Awards, Good As Hell is climbing up the Billboard charts. It was originally recorded for the soundtrack of the movie āBarbershop: The Next Cutā, and served as the lead single from her debut EP Coconut Oil. Do yourself a favour and also check the track Worship off that EP.
Despite not being on Lizzoās recent album Cuz I Love You (not even on the Deluxe Edition), Good As Hell is about to be re-released worldwide as her new single. A great choice, for the tune totally lives up to its title.
Recommended as well:
Lizzo (feat. Gucci Mane) – Exactly How I Feel
Lizzo – Juice
Lizzo – Boys
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.