Guess what I found under the Christmas tree? A playlist full of great new music! ‘Great new music?’ you’ll ask? Yes, indeed. Because despite the fact that Spotify curiously didn’t upload New Music Friday playlists in several countries last Friday, there still is a lot to discover, music-wise. I mean, I didn’t exactly have a hard time finding fine new tracks by !!!, Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Hunna, Shy Luv and The Hunna, all of which I added to my container playlist Carte Blanche Music, featuring the best music that came out in 2017.

The hardest part, each week, is narrowing this selection down to only a few tracks, that deserve a spot in my alphabetically ordered ‘best of the best’ playlist Werner’s Weekly. But I managed, and these – apart from the recommendations I’ll post this week – are the last songs I’d like you to consider this year. For your streaming playlist, your radio show, the magazine you write for or just for your own listening pleasure. All of these tracks have the Carte Blanche Music stamp of approval, which means – as I hope you discovered the past year – that they’re catchy, rich in melody and accessible. Whatever the genre.

Well, just check for yourself. You can listen to each of the songs via the Werner’s Weekly player in the sidebar, and find more information by clicking the links below. Enjoy!

• Turin Brakes – Wait (Wildcard this week)
• Delilahs – Bricks (The Outsider) (Wildcard last week)
• IAMJJ – You In My Arms
• Joan – Tokyo
• Shanguy – La Louze
• The Phase – Burnout

But if you’d really rather hear Christmas music these days, without having to plow through the obvious Wham!s, Mariah Careys and Chris Reas, I can recommend this playlist. Happy X-Mess!

Werner Schlosser

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.