Timo Maas

If ‘Doom’s Night’ blew up the spot, then his solo albums – and we are now on his third – are where he’s forged a reputation for brave collaborative choices and cinematic sounds. Although Maas has been widely described as a purveyor of techno, tech house or a whole load of other genre prescriptions, the striking thing about his music is the effortless ease with which it morphs chameleon-like from one style to another. His latest album, for example, runs from the almost Beatles-esque raga of ‘Visions’, which features the sitar work of fellow German Torsten de Winkel – the pair having been introduced by our old friend Prince Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe.

For those that have followed the trajectory of Maas’ albums, Lifer contains yet more wildly divergent collaborators, from Brighton chanteuse Katie Cruel (now signed to his own Rockets & Ponies label), who weighs in with the haunting ‘Articulation’, the gritty rap delivered by Mikill Pane on ‘Grown-Up’, through to Placebo singer Brian Molko’s contribution to ‘College 84’, while James Lavelle delivers a primo vocal on the dramatic ‘The Hunted’. “This is the only vocal outside of U.N.K.L.E. he has ever done,” says Timo. “So I feel quite honoured. Out of everything on the album, I think it’s probably the nearest in sound to the old Timo Maas material, especially around the time of the Loud album. We’d never met each until recently when we played at a festival together and we realised we were mutual fans of each other’s work. Originally the idea was to produce a track together. But after he’d sent me something, I just said, ‘You know, I’d really like you to sing.’ And I absolutely love what he’s done. It’s perfect.”

This eclectic approach makes for a great listening experience, yet Maas insists he has also found room in his extensive club sets to play many of the tracks from his album. “Well, I do play certain tracks off my album, in fact I’ve played many already,” says Timo. “But it’s not just dance music, it’s also a way of expressing myself more with my production partner, Santos. I’ve never only produced dance music. It’s only my third full artist album, but I’ve always done this. I don’t pay too much attention about anything fitting into a genre. I love so many different styles of music and I try and interpret them in my own way. This is how it comes out.”

One sure measure of Maas’ studio success has been the vast array of games, movies and TV shows that have looked to his music to provide soundbeds and the appropriate atmosphere. “Well, we work with great sync-licensing people, but with all the albums it’s been the same situation. They are all relatively timeless and they have this cinematic quality. This is what the new album has in common with the first two. And, as a gamer myself, sometimes in the studio, you do think, ‘Wow this bit would sound amazing on a racing game!’”

Yet it is still his club work that informs and drives much of the desire in the studio. “I come from DJing,” he asserts. “For me it’s the connection to the world outside. It’s where I can experiment, where I hear about things, it’s just so important to what I do. How can you have a feeling for clubs when you are not going to them?”

Indeed. In clubs, as in the studio, there’s only one way to describe Timo Maas: lifer.