Artist: Blank & Jones
Album: Relax: Edition 4
Label: Soundcolours
Style: Ambient/Lounge/Chillout/Chill House
No. of CDs: 2
There are some artists in the Electronic Dance Music industry who show up with amazing music, then disappear for a while, then show up again with new sounds & styles. Some of those artists come up with amazing new music using those sounds/styles and fuck it up, and others simply excel at it. Blank & Jones are pretty much the latter of the two.
Since their shift from Trance (not entirely) into more abstract and ambient sounds, all their music have been astonishingly well put together. The first edition of the Relax CDs was released back in 2003 - probably as an experiment - and it did pretty well. So I guess since then, they enjoyed the new style and released Editions Two & Three with those being double CDs. CD1 being Sun, and CD2 being Moon. It sort of became a format for their Relax CDs with Sun being the more beachy/relaxed style with long lead sounds and extensive use of guitars of many types, percussions, drums, and many other instruments that are meant to relax you. Moon CDs are more dusk/evening oriented and tend to get into the mood of enjoying a relaxed evening using styles of groovy and chill house music. Somewhere along the lines of a summery night under the stars, or an outdoor bar/restaurant with a blissful atmosphere. Could pass for deep house, but not so much. CD1 lies on the more emotional and relaxing ambient atmosphere with vocals here and there while CD2 captures the evening sparks and turns it into a moving, groovy, emotional (with vocals) yet abstract atmosphere. I would personally use CD1 for a nice massage at my terrace and CD2 for a steamy night of love making.... On the terrace.
If you have listened to Edition Three, you would probably think that this was their peak. If you thought so - just like I did - you were wrong! Edition Four continues to present some truly relaxing sounds and tracks that are deeply made for summery days and evenings. The most fascinating thing here is, regardless of the rise of the likes of Roger Shah and the amount of similar tracks that made it to the market, Blank & Jones are still bringing us the best of relaxing EDM. Check out the tracklist below:
CD1: Sun
1-01 Face À La Mer (6:25)
1-02 Happy Dreamer (Blank & Jones Relax Mix) (4:54)
Vocals - Laid Back
1-03 Nuits Blanches (4:06)
1-04 Relax (Your Mind) (6:12)
Vocals - Jason Caesar
1-05 Chilled Cream (6:56)
1-06 Try Again (Blank & Jones Relax Mix) (5:18)
Vocals - Keane
1-07 Heart Of Wax (Late Night Mix) (4:47)
Vocals - Vanessa Daou
1-08 Smooth (4:22)
1-09 Up 2 You (5:39)
Vocals - Laid Back
1-10 Blue Moon (5:10)
1-11 Pure (6:10)
1-12 Consequences (Late Night Mix) (8:01)
Vocals - Vanessa Daou
1-13 Lullaby (Les Yeux Fermes) (5:51)
CD2: Moon
2-01 Where You Belong (Poolside House Mix) (7:05)
Vocals - Bobo (3)
2-02 Lazy Life (5:19)
2-03 Listen To My Heartbeat (5:55)
Vocals - Laid Back
2-04 Butterfisch (9:08)
2-05 Do It (7:08)
Vocals - Mike Francis
2-06 El Verano (7:43)
2-07 Relax (Your Mind) (Boutique Mix) (6:00)
Vocals - Jason Caesar
2-08 Fierce People (5:01)
2-09 Beauty (5:31)
2-10 Every Day Every Night (4:37)
I strongly recommend this double CD album to everyone here! You can get it from Amazon.de and other online stores.
Enjoy
