Reconstructed

"Kein Zurück für dich - there's no way back" - in production duo Blank & Jones' studio in Cologne, those words from the song "Dr. Mabuse" by the German band Propaganda are blaring from the speakers. Even though the track is already 30 years old, the voice and sound seem fresh, bold and menacing.

"There was a click in the recording - we just removed it," says Jaspa Jones, staring with concentration at the audio tracks as they roll by on the screen of his Apple computer.

Ticking clock

Together with his partner Piet Blank, Jones has freshened up and re-arranged "Dr. Mabuse" and other classics held by the British label ZTT. During my visit, there wasn't much time left to do so ahead of the release of their new versions of the song under the title "So80s Pres. ZTT."

The two sound engineers worked for four months on the project, editing the songs, coordinating the design - and bearing the financial risk for the outcome. The album's release represents the fulfillment of a long-held dream.

Back to their roots

As teenagers, Blank and Jones bought many albums put out by ZTT. The label was founded in 1983 by music journalist Paul Morley along with producer Trevor Horn and his wife, Jill Sinclair. Within just a few years, it was setting standards in the industry with bands like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, The Art of Noise and Propaganda - acts that sold millions of records.

Horn and Morley also revolutionized things like recording techniques, cover designs, music videos and marketing. In particular, labels today continue to draw lessons from the numerous maxi singles and remixes ZTT put out.

Armed with these sorts of singles, Blank and Jones got their first jobs as DJs. In the 90s, they started releasing their own records and have sold 11 million albums to date. Then, a few years ago, Blank and Jones went back to their roots and started the album series "So80s." They searched through label archives for maxi versions and remixes of hits from the 90s, from Depeche Mode, the Pet Shop Boys, INXS and also from German-speaking artists including Falco or Hubert Kah.

Through their research, they discovered many rarities, and they also put together updated versions of the original recordings - to appeal to music collectors and connoisseurs of the genre.

Preservational approach

With "So80s Pres. ZTT," the two music veterans are continuing with their combination of research, reworking and republishing. They asked ZTT for studio recordings of classics from the 80s and got access to them. In their studio in western Cologne, they restored them and re-arranged the songs. "But just like they did back then," Jones notes.

In terms of both sound quality and dramaturgy, Blank and Jones oriented themselves around ZTT's golden era in their new versions of "Relax," "Two Tribes" and "Dr. Mabuse."

Unexpected comment

Actor and TV moderator Peter Illmann said he's excited about Blank and Jones' latest project. In 1984, Illmann presented Frankie Goes to Hollywood's first appearance on German television for the show "Formel Eins," in which the band sang "Relax."

"That was a brand new sound that we had never heard before," he recalls, continuing, "When ZTT released music, there was really something to it. From the band's sound to the image, everything had been thought through and calculated. It speaks to the brilliance of Trevor Horn that ZTT was able to find a place in the mainstream without sounding as dumb as a lot of other productions back then."

Even 30 years after "Formel Eins," Illmann says there's still big interest in the music of that time. Illmann, for example, is working for a private German TV broadcaster on a continuation of his series from back then.

"With new releases like the one from Blank and Jones or with an anniversary DVD release of 'Formel Eins,' younger people also get a chance to hear the music or see music television from back then," he says.

In browsing comments on music forums ahead of the release, Piet Blank came across an especially nice surprise. On the site "Super Deluxe Edition," Holly Johnson, the former singer for Frankie Goes to Hollywood, wished the two Cologne-based producers much success with their ZTT project.

"That's really something special," Blank says, explaining that - after a long legal battle with Trevor Horn and Paul Morley - Johnson had once said he never wanted to discuss ZTT again. That bit of validation from one of their early influences is a clear source of pride for the producers.