Self-styled purveyor of 'percussive wet funk'. Producer and
remixer of more than 85 productions in three years, including classics
like Orinoko's 'Mama Konda' (Top 20 UK & US club charts). DJ'd
everywhere from Germany's 'Love Parade' to London's 'Turnmills' and
Chicago's 'Karma'. Not to mention a slew of forthcoming releases in
Y2K, kick-started by the wickedly minimal 'Der Schieber', out March
27th on Perfecto Imprint 48K. Timo Maas is a man with a mission, a man
sick of the "cheesy shit" that clogs up the clubs and the charts,
stifling creativity: "I like the idea of building up a unique sound, of
working with different sounds to create something new and fresh. I
suppose I may always be the underdog but at least I won't have sold out
like some other German acts."
Re-rewind to the early eighties:
Timo, born and brought up in Hanover, Germany, is just thirteen - but
already storming the decks: "I used to play at my friends' house
parties, whilst they were all too busy snogging each other." And as
both Timo and the crowds steadily grew over the next few years, he soon
found himself playing the biggest commercial clubs in his hometown -
yet still managed to drop the odd credible track into the mix...
It
was Timo's residency at The Tunnel in Hamburg, at the time one of the
biggest clubs in Germany, that marked his breakthrough. Teaming up with
resident Gary D, the duo produced an "aggressive trance" record that
would prove a landmark in his career. 'Die Herdplatte' instantly won
him acclaim overseas and led to his current involvement with hope
recordings. Soon he was booked everywhere from 'Lakota' in Bristol to
'Energy Parade' in Switzerland, Austria, and of course his native
Germany.
Lucky he'd quit his 9 year long job selling mobile
phones for German Telecom by then... After the success of 'Die
Herdplatte' Timo spent his apprenticeship at the renowned Peppermint
Jam studios, learning "everything from recording to distribution", and
hooked up with resident producers Andy and Martin to record under the
moniker Kinetic A.T.O.M. The track was the irresistibly funky 'Borg
Destroyer', which sold an amazing 8000 copies - unaided by any
marketing, press, or TV campaigns.
Yet it was the genre-defining
'Mama Konda', recorded in 1997 under the incarnation 'Orinoko,' that
caused the biggest stir in the dance fraternity. A standard in the
boxes of every DJ from Morales to Sasha, 'Mama Konda' was a Timo Maas
Biog- Page 2 percussive floorslayer that cemented Timo's reputation as
the hottest kid on the block, reaching the Top 20 in both UK and US
club charts. Every record since the mighty 'Mama Konda' has sold around
10,000 copies, from its sequel 'Vila Nova' to Bush releases like
'Eclipse' and 'Riding On A Storm.'
Meanwhile Timo's remixes
have been garnering acclaim from all quarters, from his mixes of
Lustral's 'Everytime' (Hooj) BT's "Never Gonna Come Back Down"
(Nettwerk) to 'Dooms Night' by Azzido Da Bass - "the mix that pulls
together all the different pigeonholes in the UK scene right now,"
according to one leading dance magazine. And so if you've set foot
inside a niterie recently, the chances are you'll have boogied to one
of this man's productions - as well as Hope Recordings and current
label Perfecto, he has also recorded for Hooj Choons, FFRR and Bush.
