Timo Maas has been a fixture on the international stage ever since he broke though every genre barrier with his colossal Dooms Night remix back in 1999. He had already been releasing music for a number of years at that point, but this remix made him a household name as it hit charts around the world. Since then he has her key residencies in Ibiza, run his own record label and continued to demonstrate his passion for electronic music with a continuous stream of singles and albums. Now he’s joined forces with the Stripped Down label and has taken time out to chat to us about his music, career and more….
WWD: Hi Timo, thanks for taking time to talk to When We Dip. What were the things that personally got you through the tough year that was 2020? And what are your hopes for 2021?
It’s been one of the roughest years i remember really… it’s quite disturbing when your whole life concept doesn’t work anymore from one day to another without having the ability of take control of the situation.
However, not all was bad… i got married, definitely my personal highlight this year!!! I also released quite a lot of music and the feedback has been very good… lets just hope, that we can slowly get back into what we all love so much in 2021…
WWD: You’ve been prominent in the dance music world for over 25 years now, can you tell us about a few of the highlights from the last two and half decades?
Oh mate… Surely something to mention is the different residencies i had over the years beside playing nearly all relevant venues and events all over the world… DC10, Twilo, Gatecrasher, Cream, Tribehouse, The End…and some more.. 🙂 I had/have the pleasure of working with such amazing talent and great artists too. I’ve pretty much seen it all, and I’m still loving it like crazy .. I had such awesome nights (and days too) all over the world with truly amazing people… cannot wait to get back into that!
WWD: You have a new release on Claudio Ricci’s Stripped Down label, how did you get involved with the label and can you tell us a little about the record, it’s a remix release right?
Claudio and I met a few years back and instantly liked and respected each other a lot… together with the mighty Basti Grub I also did a remix of the very first Stripped Down Release “Warschauer Strasse” by Claudio…, I sent UTOPIE to Claudio a good year ago…he and the lovely SD crew instantly loved it and there was the original release including some amazing remixes last summer… Now is another 4 brand new set of remixes, which I am very happy with.. all 4 show different sides of modern club music and are all really well produced and vibe on a high level… Surely that’s not the last work together with the label…I really like what they do.
WWD: Where are things at with your Rockets & Ponies label, you put out some great releases there, is the label still active?
It’s in hibernation at the moment, but I’m making some plans to get back into releases…
WWD: What are the albums and mixes that have been favorites for you over the last year?
The mindblowing ‘Corona album’ I honestly haven’t discovered yet, I guess there’s a LOT of fresh different music coming out, when the pandemic slows down and the market gets drive again. I really enjoyed some DJ Mixes over 2020… Mr G, Robag Wruhme are amongst the favorite ones, that really stood out for me.
WWD: What are you passions and pursuits outside of the DJ booth and studio?
I think, its no secret that I love cooking in all its forms… i also run a little IG page called @timolovescooking where i post footage of my homecooking sessions 🙂
WWD: Have you got any specific plans for once things return to some normality, will you be touring or taking up a DJ residency?
A residency is something i would love to do again…its the best place for experiments, but yes…hoping for a re start sooner rather than later…