2009 three CD set, the first volume in the So80s series. The finest collection of original classic 12" club & extended mixes. So80s was mixed by German DJ duo Blank & Jones and features non-stop mixes of great '80s tracks from legendary bands like by Yazoo, O.M.D., Ultravox, Simple Minds, Pet Shop Boys, Talk Talk, Erasure, Bryan Ferry, Duran Duran and many others.
The second installment in the Blank & Jones So 80's series, this triple disc release includes a continuous mix CD followed by two CD's of unmixed rare extended versions of hits by some of the '80's biggest artists. Features tracks by New Order, Kajagoogoo, Billy Idol, Duran Duran, Fra Lippo Lippi, OMD, Howard Jones, a-Ha, Endgames, Simple Minds, Bronski Beat, Corey Hart, KTP and many others.
For the third time, Blank & Jones take a journey to the depths of the archives of the '80 and offer up a tracklist full of surprises and exclusives. This triple CD deluxe set is a virtual non-stop mix featuring remastered and uncut rare mixes and extended versions. The booklet contains commentary from Blank & Jones on all of the tracks plus pictures of the original 12" single sleeves. Features tracks from INXS, Visage, Duran Duran, OMD, the Cure, Billy Idol, Simple Minds, Real Life and many others.
2011 three CD set, the fifth volume in the So80s series. The finest collection of original classic 12" club & extended mixes.
Blank & Jones' fifth So80s mix continues the duo's omnivorous presentation of '80s club music. Within the span of only a few tracks, the first disc moves from Bananarama's "Cruel Summer" to John Carpenter's "The End" and Liaisons Dangereuses' "Los Ninos del Parque" - from chart-topping pop to deep, cult-level gems. Among the other inclusions are Rick Springfield's "Celebrate Youth," New Order's "True Faith," Deacon Blue's "Real Gone Kid," and Thompson Twins' "Hold Me Now." Listeners with similarly broad taste will lap it all up.
As with the other volumes in Blank & Jones' 12"-oriented So80s series, the selections here are mostly from the first half of the '80s, and they balance major pop hits with relatively deeper cuts as a way to catch the interest of a wide listening base. This fourth volume includes extended mixes of Gang of Four's "Is It Love," the Cure's "Close to Me," and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "Telegraph," as well as alternate mixes of ABC's "King Without a Crown," Propaganda's "Dr. Mabuse," and Act's "Snobbery and Decay." The CD edition contains a DJ mix from the German duo, while tracks are provided unmixed on discs two and three.
2014 has been an exceptional year for Blank & Jones and their so8os brand: they not only released the critically acclaimed artist edition for Alphaville to celebrate their 30th anniversary, they were also asked to put their hands on the ZTT catalogue an reconstruct some of the finest 80s productions by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Propaganda and Art Of Noise. 2015 now starts with a Bang! It s been 1,5 years since so8os Volume 8, but in February, the long awaited Volume 9 will hit the streets as a triple CD Deluxe Box! All three CDs will be filled with tracks from Original Master Tapes, no vinyl rips. All unedited, unmixed pure Extended Versions!
Blank & Jones hit double figures with their long running SoEighties series, with the announcement of so80s 10, another three-disc compilation of extended versions of from the best decade in pop, the 1980s. The tenth edition in this series contains over 30 remixes including the near 12-minute long version of the Sisters Of Mercy This Corrosion, Pat Benatar’s Love Is A Battlefield, and Laura Branigan’s Self Control. Sade make a rare outing on a remix compilation with the extended version of Sweetest Taboo, and the Pet Shop Boys‘ Love Comes Quickly, which somehow peaked at a lowly number 19 in the UK back in the day, is included in full-length Shep Pettibone Mastermix guise.
Unlike most DJs, the German duo of Piet Blank and Jaspa Jones actually write some of their own music. Hence this impressive album, the duo's fourth, which consists almost entirely of original compositions. Would that it also consisted almost entirely of original beats, but alas, most everything thumps along in predictable Euro-dance fashion, with the exception of the wonderfully funky and breakbeat-based title track. What redeems the sameness of the beats, though, is the shifting array of fine vocalists, the lush atmospheres, and the unabashedly sweet melodies that dominate the album. More impressively, the singers even make it possible to overlook the songs' giddily horrible lyrics ("Like a ghost that came from an old beginning/You heated up a freezing destiny," etc.)…
Piet Blank and Jaspa Jones - the producers known worldwide. For two they have let out already many albums and tens magnificent singles, reliably having fixed in world history of dancing music. Their hits more than once appeared at tops of charts, and each new album stably got to number 50 of the best to Germany. It started in 1997 with their debut single "Sunrise", the first step towards producing their own tracks. Nowadays, one cannot imagine the electronic elite without Blank & Jones. During their career they have known no musical boundaries and have worked with Artists such as Robert Smith from The Cure, Bernard Sumner from New Order, Sarah McLachlan, the Pet Shop Boys and Keane to name just a few. Their sound has evolved over the years and so has their worldwide success…