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. 13 of their singles made it into the German Top 50, and three into the Top 20. Each and every album hit the Top 50, including two which climbed into the Top 10. They also scored a spectacular triple whammy by occupying the Top Ten album, singles and compilation charts simultaneously with Substance, Desire and The Mix respectively.
BLANK & JONES have teamed up with a number of top international stars in their career to date. The Cure mastermind Robert Smith, Bernard Sumner (New Order), Anne Clark, Sarah McLachlan and Claudia Brücken (Propaganda) have been immortalized on BLANK & JONES tracks, giving them a certain credibility way beyond the boundaries of dance music. Further evidence of their versatility can be seen in their contributions to the Café del Mar compilation series and their own chill-out albums, Relax and Relax (Edition 2). Next up, the people behind the Buddha Bar series have also made enquiries..
The release of the A Forest single and the accompanying album Monument in the USA last year also laid the foundations for BLANK & JONES to create a solid fanbase across the Atlantic.
Seven albums, 3 mix albums (The Mix 1-3) and 15 singles later, BLANK & JONES and their longstanding production colleague Andy Kaufhold have chosen this moment to collate their finest material on one release - The Singles. Comprising the best tracks and greatest successes of BLANK & JONES plus two brand new tracks, recorded exclusively for this album. “We felt the time had come to put all our singles together on one CD, “ Piet and Jaspa explain. “We prefer to see it as one step along the way, rather than a mere retrospective. A little breather before we move on to pastures new.“
Over 20 tracks were in the reckoning for The Singles collection, most of them penned by BLANK & JONES themselves. From the first single Sunrise via chart smashes such as Desire, DJ Culture and Beyond Time all the way to entrancing collaborations with the like of Elles DeGraaf on Mind Of The Wonderful, Claudia Brücken on Unknown Treasure and Steve Kilbey (The Church) on Revealed, the album is packed with original material. One of the few covers is, of course, A Forest with Robert Smith of The Cure on vocals.
An absolute must for fans is the all new WMC Retouch version of Nightfly, direct from the Miami Winter Music Conference (WMC), where BLANK & JONES headlined in March of this year. So new, the track was hot to the touch as it made its way onto the album, having been premiered to rave reactions at the dance convention. BLANK & JONES’ Nightfly WMC Retouch was the talk of the town the following morning on various online sites and blogs.
The album also features two completely new tracks. One is Somebody and the other is Catch, the newest single, based on Kosheen’s 1998 tune. Vocals supplied once again by the fantastic Elles DeGraaf.
BLANK & JONES have taken the utmost care in getting the sound right. Tracks have been remastered but not remixed. “Our aim was to retain the flair of each original track“ Piet and Jaspa elucidate. “We wanted them to sound just as they did when we made them, but clearer, in the same way as one restores a painting. You don’t paint it from scratch, you just bring out the colours again.“ Such loving attention to detail is typical of BLANK & JONES, making them the artists they are today, ready and able to see the bigger picture.
The album is also being released in Limited Edition format, in which The Singles are complemented by an additional DVD, bringing together all BLANK & JONES videos on one disc for the first time. The BLANK & JONES clips are something worth seeing, with a artistic quality rarely seen in such a genre. BLANK & JONES’ dramatic credentials are matched by their sense of humour. Numerous famous names have featured in their videos, including Estella Warren and Til Schweiger in Beyond Time, the latter having also directed the clip.
The DVD was produced and designed by Thomas Jahn, renowned as scriptwriter and director of “Knocking On Heaven’s Door“ and also the man responsible for The Hardest Heart, Mind Of The Wonderful, Perfect Silence and Desire.
The video for the latest single, Catch, was directed by Conchita Soares and Toni Froschhammer and features the thespian talents of TV actress Nadine. The piece will not only be presented on the music channels, but will also be shown at short film festivals over the summer.
BLANK & JONES’ roots are firmly placed in DJ culture. Year after year, millions of ravers around the globe feel the heat of their sensational sets at major events like Mayday, Nature One and Love Parade as well as in clubs all over the world. BLANK & JONES mix DJ and live, making the most of today’s technology. “We do everything digitally, on the basis of Final Scratch, which allows us to use our own edits and mixes, nothing comes straight from tape. Every set we play is unique, not only sound-wise but also in terms of what we play and how we play it. Roughly 60% of our set consists of our own repertoire, as where better to present our own material than via the DJ decks.“
BLANK & JONES are global players in the best sense of the word, with a worldwide reputation to match. They are more than welcome guests at the major festivals and raves in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Russia. At the beginning of the year, they played to 15,000 fans in St. Petersburg! They also travel further afield on a regular basis, to Canada, Mexico, South America and Australia.
2005 saw BLANK & JONES spend a lot of time in the USA, where A Forest proved to be a big success. Electronic music is growing and growing Stateside, so BLANK & JONES will return to LA, San Diego, San Francisco and many more cities in North America this year. Overwhelmingly positive reactions to Catch on the initial installment of the BLANK & JONES tour mean that the American fans can hardly wait for The Singles to be released. This will be the third BLANK & JONES US album.
Not content to rest on their laurels, Piet and Jaspa are already preparing an exciting, new and unusual project. On May 26th, BLANK & JONES will perform together with the Robert Schumann Kammerorchester conducted by Alexander Shelly in the Tonhalle Düsseldorf. The definitive electro-classical crossover extravaganza!
www.blankandjones.com
www.myspace.com/blankandjonesinfo
www.myspace.com/relaxedition
www.blankandjones.com/rlx09
Mind of the Wonderful
Blank & Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And no one knows..
Wounds that just won't heal..
Not even you..
Like a ghost that came from an old beginning
You heated up the freezing destiny
But I told myself I had the chance to live a better life
I miss the mind of the wonderful
I let the ice see thoughts run through me
Cold, and no one knows
I keep the pain of a broken soul
Wounds that just won't heal
No one knows, not even you
We had a love, a future, we were honest
But my truth held so many little lies
Can turn the page, can rearrange, it's written in the sand
And the tide is closing in
[x2]
I miss the mind of the wonderful
I let the ice see thoughts run through me
Cold, and no one knows
I keep the pain of a broken soul
Wounds that just won't heal
No one knows, not even you
[x6]
Cold is the night, cold are my hands, cold as my heart
ahh.. ohh..
I miss the mind of the wonderful
I let the ice see thoughts run through me
Cold, and no one knows
I keep the pain of a broken soul
Wounds that just won't heal
No one knows, not even you
ahh.. ohh..
The song "Mind of the Wonderful" by Blank & Jones explores the idea of past hurts and regrets that continue to haunt us. The opening lines suggest that the "mind of the wonderful" is a place of great beauty and potential, but it is elusive and mysterious, something that no one can truly grasp or understand. The next few lines talk about wounds that won't heal, which suggests that the singer has been hurt in some way and is struggling to cope with the pain.
The second verse introduces the idea of a past love affair. The singer talks about how they once had a love and a future, but there were lies and deceptions that eventually led to the end of the relationship. The singer seems to regret this, as they mention that they can "turn the page" and "rearrange" things, but the past cannot be undone. The final lines of the song talk about how cold and lonely the singer feels, emphasizing the idea that their pain is something that they must carry alone, as no one else seems to understand or even be aware of it.
Overall, the song seems to be about the struggle to move on from past hurts and regrets. The "mind of the wonderful" represents a brighter, happier future that seems just out of reach, while the wounds that won't heal represent the pain and trauma of the past that continues to hold the singer back.
Line by Line Meaning
The mind.. of the wonderful..
A reference to a peaceful, positive and euphoric state of mind
And no one knows..
This state of mind is personal and solitary
Wounds that just won't heal..
The pain from past emotional trauma still lingers
Not even you..
The individual themselves may not even fully understand the depth of their pain
Like a ghost that came from an old beginning
The memory of past pain still haunts the individual
You heated up the freezing destiny
A reference to a relationship that provided warmth and love, but may have ended badly
But I told myself I had the chance to live a better life
The individual has moved on and found happiness in a new relationship
By loving someone new
The individual has found comfort in the love of another
Cold, and no one knows
Despite their new love, the individual is still haunted by their past and keeps their pain hidden
I keep the pain of a broken soul
A view into the deep emotional pain the individual still carries with them
We had a love, a future, we were honest
Reference to a past relationship built on love and honesty
But my truth held so many little lies
Despite the honesty, there were still areas where the individual wasn't fully truthful with their partner
Can turn the page, can rearrange, it's written in the sand
The past is done, the individual can move on and start anew
And the tide is closing in
Time is passing and the individual can't hold on to their past forever
Cold is the night, cold are my hands, cold as my heart
A visualization of the coldness the individual still feels despite their new love
Contributed by Gabriella Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Zizousef
Like a ghost that came from an old beginning
you heated up the freezing destiny
but I told myself I had a chance to live a better life by loving someone new
I miss the mind of the wonderful
I let the icy thoughts run through me cold
and no one knows
I keep the pain of a broken soul
wounds that just won't heal and no one knows
not even you!
We had a love, a future - we were honest
but my truth held so many little lies
Can't turn the page, can't rearange
It's written in the sand and tide is moving in.
Cold is the night
Cold are my hands
Cold as my heart
@MateuszMysza
Chciałbym żeby wróciły tamte czasy, tamci ludzie, tamta muzyka... było biedniej, ale prawdziwiej.
@tomaszrudnik4748
Nawiązując do tego utworu 2004 rok z perspektywy czasu, gdy sobie wszystko przypominam, było jakoś fajnie. Wchodzenie w dorosłe życie. Pierwsze miłosne epizody, pierwsza praca, zakup własnego samochodu itp 😃 Czy było biedniej? Nie uważam
@michalpoznan8252
Milion razy lepiej
@PATRYKOS1988
pięknie napisane
@nicolehaupt7992
Was waren das noch für schöne Zeiten als die Musik noch interessant war und den Körper zum tanzen brachte! Mir fehlt die Disco Zeit total! Die 80er, 90er und 2000er haben einfach zeitlose Musik hervorgebracht. Nicht so einen unkreativen, langweiligen Einheitsbrei wie heute läuft. Wir brauchen wieder mehr gute Musik! Daumen hoch für dieses Remaster.
@druese1970
Bin voll deiner Meinung
@oakcherry
Bin absolut bei Dir. Da fühlte sich alles noch viel offener an :(
@gloriamartincalavia7900
Totalmente deacuerdo
@blueberry3806
Wir wollen alle zuruck... egal welche land. Das war echt gute zeit...mfg
@manumanson8181
😊wohl wahr 🎉.. das war noch music.. tolles Lied immer noch