Timo Maas is a consummate professional DJ. After getting his start in the ’80s DJing records in top 40 clubs, Maas made the transition to Techno sometime in early ’90s and hasn’t looked back since. After quickly becoming a fixture on the European club scene, it was just a short time before his fame obliged him to enter the studio to put his own name on things. Never one to work alone, Maas enlisted the help of a series of collaborators to steer him on his path towards DJ super-stardom, peaking in the mid-2000s with Martin Buttrich who soon after launched on his own path to stardom. Changes were in the works however. Following the music industry’s near-total breakdown at the beginning of the decade and also changing fortunes in Maas’ own releases, not to mention Maas’ own desires to start a family and change his lifestyle, he took some time off between 2006 and 2007 to reconstruct his life, both professionally and personally, breaking his longtime relationship with Buttrich and moving to a country house to raise his new daughter while releasing only a few remixes to keep his name current.
Such a pastoral break was not to last for long however. Quickly feeling the call of the clubs and the crowds, by 2008 Maas had enlisted the studio smarts of the single-named Italian sensation Santos and was storming the charts in a way that he never had before. Beginning with their first collaboration, 2008’s Subtellite, released on megalabel Cocoon, the duo took control of the big room dance floors and catapulted themselves and their many aliases to the upper echelons inhabited by such names as Dubfire. Interestingly, they did this not through overblown anthems but rather through a style of production that fused more traditional House with darker Techno strains and their own idiosyncratic ideas, and the sound stuck with the crowds and has since kept them in the limelight. Now back on tour in the United States for the first time in a few years, Maas is looking to capitalize on the newfound popularity of dance music in a country that has too long ignored one of its biggest contributions to global culture. Ahead of his appearance on the freshly minted custom sound system of the highly touted District 36, halcyon took some time to chat with the German star about his new life and current events in the industry…
H: You famously relocated to the country, started a family and broke a longtime creative partnership with Martin Buttrich in the past few years, as well as finding a new collaborator. That’s a lot of lifestyle changes and shake-ups in a short time. How has this challenged you creatively?
Lets say it`s a new confidence. Life`s been crazy the past few years for me. I have realized what’s good for me and not and made my plans to move forward.
H: Do you find the country life more conducive to working in the studio? I also would imagine it might somehow affect the tonal color of your music – maybe make it more pastoral or more intimate. Do you see any of these influences creeping into your music?
Sure! The sound is a lot more intimate. In fact, my partner Santos and I have all the creative spaces to make it as perfect as we want to do it.
H: We’ve heard here at halcyon you’re quite the wine connoisseur. Has your new country life let you devote more time and space to your cellars?
I love wine, but I`m not going too crazy on it. I always have a good selection of nice wines.
H: Certainly changes in the music industry in the last few years must have forced you to adapt. How have you weathered the storm of decreasing sales, disappearing shops and labels, and general hard times in the industry? Was this part of the reason for your relative lack of output in 2006-2007?
Not really. I had to find myself in all that madness. My private life and business were much more important to me. I see the new music world as more of a challenge now than anything else.
H: I find the new technologies for DJing and production are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore – there’s a lot of DJ-specific computer software and hardware that’s really changing the way people play, making new things possible and making difficult things easier – people are playing 4 or more tracks at once on software, doing really wild things. How do you feel about all of this innovation? Have you had a chance to play with any of this stuff?
Yes i tried a lot of things. i find it still quiet irritating, when a so-called DJ is not using headphones anymore , using the sync buttons on his software. it’s more a music selector than that what I understand as DJing. I play CDs these days. I do miss my vinyl and don`t like laptop DJing so much, as the “DJ” only watches the screen of his computer.
H: What do you think is new on the musical horizon in the last few years? I’ve noticed both classic house music and progressive sounds making a bit of a comeback, as well as a whole lot of new stuff in the UK. What’s been on your personal radar?
Really loads of different music styles. I was never stuck in any particular style and obviously always open for new sounds. No idea what the name for the “new style” is? Maybe it’s going to be west coast polka??? joking ;)
H: It seems to me that the United States has been getting more up-to-date with dance music in the last few years or so. Have you noticed this also? How has the response been on your recent US tour dates?
I agree on that. It’s a bunch of cooler clubs around with crowds a lot more open-minded than back in the days, but i think that’s the nature of things. Dance music is not “new” anymore really in the US.
H: You’ve just released your first mix in a few years. I read in other interviews that you spent months reviewing thousands of tracks – that sounds like an exhaustive (and exhausting) process. What were your criteria for including tracks?
It wasn`t exhausting really. I love to listen to music in general. My criteria? I wanted a certain style of “trip” i had in my head before even starting selecting my music and i tried to achieve that in listening to as many tracks and songs as possible.
H: I noticed your new mix has a lot of exclusive material on it – that’s a pretty gutsy move as it tends to alienate people looking for familiar tunes. Was this stuff you included just for this mix or is it a good representation of your creative direction right now? Do you still have some special stuff saved up for the fans to watch out for?
Santos, myself and also our family of the Rockets&Ponies label are very creative and we all love to make a lot of music. Some of the tracks are just for the Balance album, some will be released and loads more music is coming soon!
H: We’re very pleased with District 36, and we think you should be too. The sound system has been called “ridiculous” – you’re also one of the first people to get a chance to take it for a test drive. How do you feel about this opportunity?
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…I`m excited to treat you right! Can`t wait.
RSVP here
