Loud

Timo Maas

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 19, 2002)
• Original Release Date: March 19, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Kinetic Records
• ASIN: B00006313V
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,676 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #51 in	Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > Germany
  #65 in	Music > Dance & Electronic > Trance

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Timo Maas's remix of Azzido Da Bass's Doom's Night brought him fame and 2000's Music for the Maases brought him acclaim, but Loud establishes the Dusseldorf DJ as the Teutonic master of the dance floor. Matching the ferociousness and accessibility of Thriller with the warped sonics of Dig Your Own Hole, Maas creates a doom-laced, freak-beat ultraworld. While 4/4 is still the message, Maas matches surreal sounds with alienated dialogues, sultry vocals, and a song-oriented approach, giving Loud its irresistible, codeine-like buzz. "Help Me" begins with the sound of grinding gears followed by campy effects and Kelis's breathy vocal. Bits of downtempo and electro in the form of "Hash Driven" and "Shifter" ratchet up a sense of gleeful foreboding; "That's How I've Been Dancing" recalls KC and the Sunshine Band entertaining a Nuremberg rally. "We Are Nothing" could be a Trainspotting outtake, smarmy dialogue adorning a bubbling dance track. Loud closes with "Bad Days," a gentle way to end a weirdly wonderful album. --Ken Micallef

From URB Magazine
He's a tricky one, this Timo Maas. Mention his name to dance-floor denizens at large, and they'll regale you with tales of his notoriously rocking DJ sets, righteously moving butts with his patented blend that combines elements of techno, house, new-school breaks and good old-fashioned funk without actually being any one of those things. More 'spotter-minded types are likelier to get all worked up about his illustrious career as a producer and remixer, with the most fervent praise reserved for his endlessly lauded retooling of "Doom's Night" by Azzido Da Bass. This is the cut that fully established Maas as the superstar DJ heir apparent, not to mention find its way into the flight cases of a wide variety of top-shelf jocks, genre be damned.

Now with Loud, Maas has taken that daunting step into the treacherous world of the "artist album," a place where even the mightiest have crashed and burned with dazzling abandon (see DJ Rap and Josh Wink). It's the eternal curse of daring to reach outside of one's prescribed sonic confines: You run the risk of estranging core fans, while there's usually a good chance that those ever-evasive potential listeners will simply turn a deaf ear, content with whatever TRL is selling that week.

But our man Maas defies the odds by crafting an album that will appeal to the hardcore heads but still has the capacity to ensnare a more mainstream audience without alienating either.

The album gets off to a promising start with the spooky but damn catchy pop of "Help Me," with punk-funkstress Kelis working it wonderfully on vocals. It's a nice return favor for the hot dance mix Maas whipped up for her "Fresh and New" single. The two are a combustible combo that would do well to work together again.

He brings it back to the floor with "Manga," a pulsating track that more than lives up to the title reference with cinematic synths, dramatic soundtrack pauses and ethereal bell breakdowns. After indulging in a bit of seriously chill downtempo (the appropriately titled "Hash Driven"), Maas and MC Chicaboo channel classic dance-pop on the infectious '80s-influenced "Shape Shifter." Other vocal tracks "That's How I've Been Dancin'," "To Get Down" and "Ubik" are similar in the way they allude to how bands of that era (think Heaven 17, Blancmange, ABC) deftly combined strong songwriting with decidedly danceable rhythms.

Fans of Maas' more punishing productions will gravitate toward tracks like "Hard Life," "Old School Vibes" and "Like Love," moody booty-bumpers that on occasion are reminiscent of early Underworld (which is never a bad thing).

Ending on the quiet, Asian-tinged "Bad Days," it's quite clear that Maas has more to offer than just anonymous dance tracks and is truly an artist to be reckoned with. Who knew?

Scott Sterling

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad... really not bad, May 18, 2003

By	"montecarlostar2" (Chihuahua, México) - See all my reviews

I'm not a fan of electronic music, DJs and stuff, but when I fisrt heard the single "Help me" on TV, I couldn't but be amazed. All in that song is fantastic, the beat, Kelis voice, the super-hero like vibes, all of it. So, I considered to buy it.

I gotta say that I didn't expect to like it much, I just wanted the record for the single, but I was surely surprised to find fresh, driving, exciting electronic sounds, that I had thought I'd never like in my life.

I really recommend this album, for me, Timo Maas is one of the most creative and original DJs of our time, and... well, this record rocks it real hard.

By the way, the art work for the album is so fantastic, the little girl on cover and the rest of the fotos are just so cool, perhaps it doesn't have much to do with the music, but the girl is lovely and just made me enjoy the record so much more.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Emergence of a New Force in Dance Music Artistry, April 13, 2002

By	the enlightened one (under the tree of enlightenment) - See all my reviews

Take everything you know about Timo Maas and dump it in the trash right now. He separates us from everything we currently know about him to a whole new level with his latest artist-driven album, "Loud." Let me explain in a bit, because first I must talk about who Timo really is.

Timo Maas is a German DJ/producer already permanently inscribed on the list of best international DJs in the world. His brilliant remix of Azzido da Bass's "Dooms Night" not only brought him immediate fame but also marked the beginning of a very successful career. Around the same time Timo released his own assault of hit singles, namely "Der Schieber" and "Ubik (Dance Mix)." His two DJ-mix albums called "Music for the Maases" and "Connected" hit well in the United States and continued to spread his name across the globe.

Still unsatisfied and always trying to be the best he can be, Timo released his first artist album, spanning his many influences and taste in music. My immediate reaction when first hearing "Loud" was shock. What I expected to hear was Timo's unique brand of Hard Techno, Trance, and House. Instead, he surprised his fans by taking a completely different route. "Loud" sounds reminiscent of the new Chemical Brothers' album "Come With Us," catching its same Big Beat Techno sound and energy. On certain tracks there are some influences from Trance music, but not many and generally only because those songs use a 4/4 beat. It wasn't quite as dominant as everyone thought it was going to be upon hearing Timo was releasing something new. In fact, it's only in the songs "Old School Vibes" and "Like Love" that actually sound like Trance.

I'd have to say my favorite songs on the album are "Help Me (feat. Kelis)" and "Shifter (feat. MC Chickaboo)." "Help Me" is a strong and upbeat start to the album. In the background you can hear samples from the old sci-fi movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still," while your main focus is drawn towards Kelis' mysterious vocals. "Shifter," on the other hand, is some GREAT Electro-Breakbeat music and for a moment makes me wish we were back in the days when breakdancing was all the rage.

One other very noteworthy track is "We Are Nothing," which is not music but actually two minutes of thought-provoking dialogue. Kinda makes you go hmm... "We Are Nothing" is in the middle of the CD and marks the breaking point between the beginning-half and the end-half. I also enjoyed the hidden track on "Loud," the Fatboy Slim remix of "To Get Down." This song and "O.C.B." both have really cool guitar licks. The original version of "To Get Down," which is track 10, is still good but lacks Fatboy Slim's vision and therefore falls short of becoming the big hit that Slim's version is right now in Europe. This song is headed straight for a GAP commercial near you, it's THAT catchy.

Well, if you were to ask me how I liked the album, I'd have to say it was solid and a very impressive artist debut from Timo Maas... with a few minor imperfections. Some of the songs on "Loud" lack gravity and none of them are really THAT loud. Some of the buildups and breakdowns that Timo attempts are not dynamic enough and therefore don't have the impact that they should on the listener. Timo's songwriting skills are not quite as creative and innovative as similar artists like the Chemical Brothers and Groove Armada, but he sure has potential.

Give this album some time, and it'll become a staple in your CD collection, especially if you enjoy Big Beat Techno, Breakbeat, or Funky House. I give "Loud" 3.5 (rounded to 4) stars for being able to get me off my chair at moments and just dance!!

- the enlightened one

So what's Timo's next move...?

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars To the punks with one star, August 26, 2003

By	devas brah (All Over) - See all my reviews

Especially to the one who said Oaky's cd was better, here's a little heads up, Oaky doesn't write his own tracks and if you had two bits of knowledge about electronica, (rather than what you gathered from somewhere) you'd know that.

Incidentally, I heard Timo Maas for the first time on an Oakenfold live mix set of Radio One in 1998, he was playing Ubik (The Dance) of which you'll find the breaks remix out (sadly no Techno remix :( like there was on the vinyl). Help Me, and To Get Down were out long before the album release, and had everyone in the world playing them. Funny enough, I've just gotten around to hearing the rest of the cd and it's definetly worth a listen just b/c it does NOT follow the normal 4/4 beat pattern (maybe time scale but definetly not a constant, consistent drum kick).

And also, my last attack is on the person who said Timo's drums needed help. My friend, he does not write trance; your saying that does no credit to your knowledge of the electronic genre. You might as well go back to calling all electronic techno. Everyone knows the greatest thing about "The Dance when it hit in 98' was the DRUM. I agree his remix of Azzida blew him up out the water in terms of popularity (catchy little bugger), but Ubik is in fact and in my opinion the hallmark of Timo. He's still keeping it real.