Timo Maas
Music for the Maases 2
Hope / Kinetic
Following his Music for the Maases remix album on the back of last year’s outstanding Loud, it’s something of a disappointment that Timo Maas has only made room for one original track on here, the eerily upbeat “Unite.” However, Maas is one of the most exciting remixers out there, and the initial disappointment is swiftly swept away when the strength of this album is revealed.
Music for the Maases 2 is a remix compilation of sorts, with Maas putting some of his finest work over the last couple of years into one continuous whole. Unless you’re an avid Maas fan who collects hard-to-find singles just to get that one Maas remix, you’re probably not familiar with much of the material on here.
An inimitable artist, Maas injects his remixes with a unique individual touch, adding those twisted nuances that somehow make perfect sense to the whole, inserting his weird signature twists without ever losing sight of maintaining the beat and keeping the music flowing. As a remixer, Maas is subtle but efficient, elegant but physical. Kelis’ “Young Fresh and New” is given a whole other urgency, while Garbage’s “Breaking Up The Girl” receives the eerie chill treatment. Moby’s “We Are All Made of Stars” is even more sleazed-up than the original and Fatboy Slim’s “Star 69” is out-big beat-ed by Maas knob-twiddling.
It’s not a faultless album, with Moloko and Spice tracks providing less interesting moments. But Maas again proves himself to be not only one of the finest remixers of electronic-addled pop music, but also as the standout moment “Unite” attests, an amazing songwriter in his own rights.
Kinetic Records: http://www.kineticrecords.com/
