(Hope Recordings/Hussle)

German producer Timo Maas is back with another remix retrospective following up on the original Music for the Masses released in 2000 which received Album Of The Year from both Ministry and Mixmag magazine. Known for his rare production style which mingle between various genres including house, trance, and techno, the expectations for this release are high from fans. Maas has compiled a great representative cross-section of current tracks and then twisted each one in his own unique style, adding his trademark funky electric vibe. Spanning popular club tracks and even a couple of rockier tunes the compilation has something for everyone. Maas and production partner Martin Butterich have cut loose in the studio, and produced some astounding results, even from some tracks which are not entirely amazing to start with.

The first track to cop the Maas treatment is Young Fresh & New from Kelis, where he adds his own special dark sound and phat beat to this track. Great electric guitar samples feature throughout, and Maas transforms this fairly standard R&B tune into a banging techno-funk monster. Next is a funky breaks remix of Garbage’s Breaking Up the Girl; which retains its grungy flavour but continues on the funk laced beat set by the first track. The remix of Starecase – See takes a step in the progressive trance direction with it soft melodies and peaceful male vocals. This song smoothly sails into Timo’s new electro creation Unite. Here the distorted vocals contrast perfectly with the rolling bass line. The great repeating melodies and numbed techno beat almost add a psy-trance twist to this track.

Familiar Feelings, is loaded with warm full vocals from Moloko. Here Maas’s trademark beats populate the track giving it a very bouncy groovy feel. Use of dirty electric guitar samples once again and used in such a manner that they amalgamate into the track perfectly. Haktan O’Nal – Subfreakie has a nice progressive house feel, complete with spatial tribal rhythms, and an amazing bass heavy breakdown. Fatboy Slim’s – Star 69 is also re-worked with some huge whumping bass squeals and nice break beat accompaniment; with a similar feel to Doom’s night. The remix of Moby’s feel-good track We Are All Made of Stars is reborn as an atmospheric ass-shaker with a devastating bassline, and vocoded vocals. The final track Placebo – Special K cruises smoothly to the finish.

In summary, this is an outstanding collection of remixes from one of the most successful producers in dance music. Throughout the eleven tracks, Maas journeys through a myriad of production techniques and interesting sounds. Maas sums it the vibe of the CD perfectly with the following comment: ‘It’s not trance, it’s not techno, it’s just ass shaking music!’ This ass-shaking feel is present in some way in each of the tracks; with Mass abandoning the big techno beats of previous work to present fans with a fresh bouncy sound that retains his own unique style.