"That is fantastic!" says an evidently delighted Piet Blank down the phone from Cologne, when we break the news that Blank & Jones are in the Top 100 again. "Our sixth consecutive year - we're very happy!" The good ship Blank & Jones has continued to steam ahead in 2009. In the clubs, of late the pair have stepped away from what Jaspa terms the "classic trance sound". "We're enjoying using more '80s elements at the moment and combining them with techy grooves - it's working well!" In their 2009 canon, they'll have an extraordinary five longplayers out by the end of this year. In and amongst that crowded field, is a fourth outing for their chillout series, 'Relax'. "Our most exciting moment this year was receiving the European Impala Award for the first one, though. In 2003 nobody believed in the idea so this was a big vindication for us." Their globe-circling gig activities may be long-running, but 2009 has still seen them arrive in some nations for the first time. "We made our DJ debuts in Slovenia, Greece and Tunisia this year," says Piet. "They all shone in their own way. We played on Santorini Island, in Greece, with a fantastic view of sunset, but the best thing was its incredibly open-minded music policy. It was the kind of gig a DJ lives for!"
"That is fantastic!" says an evidently delighted Piet Blank down the phone from Cologne, when we break the news that Blank & Jones are in the Top 100 again. "Our sixth consecutive year - we're very happy!" The good ship Blank & Jones has continued to steam ahead in 2009. In the clubs, of late the pair have stepped away from what Jaspa terms the "classic trance sound". "We're enjoying using more '80s elements at the moment and combining them with techy grooves - it's working well!" In their 2009 canon, they'll have an extraordinary five longplayers out by the end of this year. In and amongst that crowded field, is a fourth outing for their chillout series, 'Relax'. "Our most exciting moment this year was receiving the European Impala Award for the first one, though. In 2003 nobody believed in the idea so this was a big vindication for us." Their globe-circling gig activities may be long-running, but 2009 has still seen them arrive in some nations for the first time. "We made our DJ debuts in Slovenia, Greece and Tunisia this year," says Piet. "They all shone in their own way. We played on Santorini Island, in Greece, with a fantastic view of sunset, but the best thing was its incredibly open-minded music policy. It was the kind of gig a DJ lives for!"
