In a growing number of circles, Timo Maas is considered the next big thing, and this release will in no way harm his chances of reaching the lofty heights enjoyed by a select few DJs/Producers. Though a prolific producer and remixer with approaching 100 credits to his name over the past three years, this is the first full-length album he has released.

Over the course of the 2 CDs, TM surprises with sounds that are inclusive of many different genres of dance music. Unlike many that have tried this approach though, his excellent track selection ensures a smooth ride from trance to house, techno, breaks, drum and bass and back again. His feel for the mix as a whole means this collection provides for much more than the anthem megamix approach, which seems to be all the rage among so many DJs currently.

The first disk is probably a little funkier than the second and after the initial Rez-like sounds of ‘Zoe’, he dips into his house collection to bring a bit of groove back into proceedings. The vocal mix of Lustral’s ‘Everytime’ (complete with oh-so-cheesy vocal line over the obligatory strings) takes him back into trance mode, and signals the feel for the remainder of disk 1. Poseidon’s ‘Supertransonic’ in particular will please all you lovers of melodic uplifting trance. In then end he finishes with two distinctly different remixes of Orinoko’s ‘Mama Konda’, the second of which is very chilled, and actually reminds me of a Nerve Agent track (!?) I have been listening to recently.

Disk two is the more adventurous Timo, opening with Azzido Da Bass’ ‘Dooms Nights’ and getting into the dirty beats of Muse’s ‘Sunburn’ and Mad Dog’s ‘Better Make Room’. After the classic ‘Drive By’ he drops in his own ‘City Borealis’, a dreamy trance number accentuated by some nice cut up beats underneath. From here he delves more into techno and tech-house, including a number of his own productions that invariably feature that “wet” sound for which he is becoming known. The final two tracks are storming little numbers that you may already be familiar with, ‘Der Schieber’ and Green Velvet’s ‘Flash’.

When Drey asked me to review this, I was unsure if I was the right person for the job, after all, there seems to be quite a number of unabashed TM fans contributing to the site, and I had considered him, wrongly as it turns out, just another in the long-line of progressive jocks doing the rounds. I’m happy to admit I underestimated him though, particularly with the way he mixed up the beats throughout (disk two especially), and just have to give it the two thumbs up.

Now if Drey will just forget I have his copy…

Buy: Music for the Maases from Chaosmusic