Blank & Jones

Major figures in the commercialization of trance, Piet Blank and Jaspa Jones are a German production and DJ duo also known for their eclectic downtempo material, myriad club remixes, and dozens of compilation albums. With the 1997 single "Sunrise," they began releasing upbeat, euphoric tracks which appealed to dancefloors as well as pop radio, and they scored major hits with songs like 1999's "Cream" and 2002's "The Hardest Heart." While they continued to produce dance music, they began branching off into downtempo and ambient music starting with the first of many Relax full-lengths in 2003, in addition to compiling the multi-volume Chilltronica and Milchbar compilations. They also explored their obsession with '80s pop, dance, and new wave through collaborations with Robert Smith and Bernard Sumner as well as their extensive so80s (Soeighties) mix series, which they initiated in 2009. They returned to their club side with 2017's #WhatWeDoAtNight. In the 2020s, they've continued the Milchbar series, anthologized the Relax series, and have seen their work celebrated and updated with Rediscovered Works (2025). Blank and Jones (born Rene Runge) first crossed paths at a Popkomm trade show. Together with help from producer Andy Kaufhold, they formed the Blank & Jones production team in 1995, and debuted in 1997 with "Sunrise." The same year, under one of their aliases, Da Bomb, they also carried out their first high-profile remix via Moby's "re-version" of "James Bond Theme." In 1999, the duo made commercial and overseas breakthroughs with the more forceful but just as melodic "Cream," a number 24 U.K. pop hit. The same year brought In da Mix, their first album, a continuous set of their own tracks. Through the 2000s and 2010s, Blank & Jones 12" releases, studio albums, DJ mixes, and other projects -- ranging from floor-fillers to home-listening sets -- shot forth at a dizzying rate. 2004's Monument included their version of the Cure's "A Forest," which featured the band's vocalist, Robert Smith. Retrospective The Singles, 1997-2006 appeared two years later. Beginning in 2007, the majority of their output was released through Soundcolours, the label stamped on several-volume series such as Relax (devoted to original chill/lounge material), Milchbar (downtempo compilations), and So80s (Soeighties) (extended mixes, hits, and deep cuts from the 1980s), as well as on singles and albums from vocalists and contemporaries like Sandra and Medina. Blank & Jones' 2008 full-length The Logic of Pleasure included collaborations with Bernard Sumner (New Order), Vanessa Daou, and Claudia Brücken (Propaganda). The duo collaborated with Mark Reeder on the 2009 full-length Reordered. Starting in 2011, Blank & Jones began releasing So80s volumes dedicated to a single artist, including Ultravox, Culture Club, and Falco. They also dipped into smooth jazz with 2012's Relax: Jazzed.Blank & Jones resumed making dance music in 2017 with #WhatWeDoAtNight. Dance-pop singles "Love from the Start" and "One" followed in 2018, with so80s 13 arriving one year later. By the end of 2021, they had released an 11th volume of Relax and Milchbar Seaside Season 13. The Best of a Decade 2003-2013 rounded up Relax highlights in 2023. Instead of offering another straightforward retrospective, Blank & Jones teamed with Marc-George Andersen (of Denmark's Bliss) for Rediscovered Works, a set that retouched some of the duo's downtempo works.
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