"Prior to his 2002 move to Detroit, Christian Bloch held rank among the Denmark elite regarding his soulful yet minimalist hard techno. Born and raised in northern Denmark, his DJ skills are legendary in the history of techno parties in the city of Aalborg. Bloch has impacted the world-renowned Tresor club in Berlin and has played the Roskilde Festival alongside talent including Super Collider, Plaid and Slam, in 2001.
Bloch's passion infiltrates his widespread talents ranging from Berlin dub, classic Detroit beats, gritty and textured German beats to an unmatched English minimalism. Bloch has released on Deep Night Essentials, LL Records, and Tresor. Other notable releases include Funque Droppings (Bloch's own label), Canadian Restructured Records and several smaller labels. Producers such as Pacou, Damon Wild and Sean Deason have remixed Bloch's techno and his talent can be heard on Ricardo Villalobos' "Love Family Trax" mix cd.
Following a tour of Canada and the United States in the summer of 2001, Bloch settled in the Cass Corridor of Detroit for one year before heading west to San Francisco ... and here is where the linkage to Thinner starts - following his first album entitled "Young American" reflecting the big move from Europe to America we're more than proud to present "New Age", Christian Blochs next autobiographical album that seamlessly continues the minimalistic soulful style 'Young American' las left.
T: The statement on your website tells: 'Now I am about as far from my place of birth as I can get, yet I have never felt more at home.' Is it the theme of "New Age"?
C: Definitely. It's sort of a coming-of-age album. It's a reflection on the journey I've taken from unemployed newly immigrated 'Young American' in Detroit, to a new age of employment, satisfaction, and adulthood.
T: Compared to 'Young American' the new album sounds a bit more warm and soft. Does it relate to the comparison of the cities Detroit and San Francisco, the one being more home of heavy industries while San Francisco is much more sunny and also has a more inviting landscape?
C: Definitely. San Francisco certainly has it's problems, but it's in no way run-down and abandoned the way Detroit is. I miss Detroit a lot, but it's hard to say no to San Francisco. The cityscape as well as the amazing nature areas around here, the ocean and mountains, it really is very beautiful. Of course you also pay for it in living expenses.
T: The album also feels like a voyage from Detroit to San Francisco, like a voyage through your personal life, that has been constantly moving onwards...
C: Spot on. That's exactly what it is. Like I said, it's about reaching a new level of adulthood and about moving to a place where all of a sudden, it all sort of came together in my personal life." T: Was it difficult to leave Detroit?
C: It was. And still is. I love Detroit. Out here I can't just swing by Submerge, hit up Mad Mike, play out every week, etc. My musical life has definitely become more solitary since I moved. But also more focused, I think.
T: The title Southbound 101 - it is a highway ...
C: ... I drive south on Highway 101 every weekday on my way to work and the melodic SH-101 baseline in the track just made title a very obvious title.
T: What about 'The Struggle' - is it self reflected, being worried about finding a new job and getting settled at the new place?
C: 'The Struggle', is about being an underdog, about succeeding in the face of hardship. About overcoming obstacles that seem insurmountable. The title also relates to the broader topic of oppression. It's about Jamaica and homage it's reggae and dub music and struggle with poverty.
T: 'Pacific Sunset' indeed sounds like a pacific sunset - the moving dub chords feel like waves coming from the ocean.
C: My wife took this beautiful picture of a deep orange sunset over the Pacific one night when we were having a bonfire on the beach and it inspired me to make this track. As a side note, the percussion is slightly disco-inspired. I had this idea at the time of making dub techno more danceable by using elements of disco rhythms (not samples, but the way the percussion is programmed). This is the one track I actually got around to making. I think it works.
T: What about the reprise?
C: The long fade out and slow reversal and fade in brings a nice circularity to the album and takes the listener out of my world and into that of the remixers. I originally intended to have the reprise be the intro, that was before the remixes came in, and have the full track be the last track, so that if you listen to the album on repeat, it's cyclical. In the end, I like this way better.
Indeed, the two remixes on this release are from Christians mates back in Aalborg, namely Deadbone with a super analogue tinged remake of Southbound 101 and Ruben Andersen from Kondi Records with a minimal cycling slightly straighter version of 'The Struggle'.
This album can also be bought in limited edition at funquedroppings.com with lossless audio quality and nice packaging including a bonus track 'Mixed Feelings' with additional Curse remix. If you like this piece of work, support the artist!" (From the Thinner's release page)
