Timo Maas Self-styled purveyor of ‘percussive wet funk’. If ‘Doom’s Night’ blew up the spot, then his solo albums – and we are now on his third – are where he’s forged a reputation for brave collaborative choices and cinematic sounds. Although Maas has been widely described as a purveyor of techno, tech house or a whole load of other genre prescriptions, the striking thing about his music is the effortless ease with which it morphs chameleon-like from one style to another. His latest album, for example, runs from the almost Beatles-esque raga of ‘Visions’, which features the sitar work of fellow German Torsten de Winkel – the pair having been introduced by our old friend Prince Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe. One sure measure of Maas’ studio success has been the vast array of games, movies and TV shows that have looked to his music to provide soundbeds and the appropriate atmosphere. “Well, we work with great sync-licensing people, but with all the albums it’s been the same situation. They are all relatively timeless and they have this cinematic quality. This is what the new album has in common with the first two. And, as a gamer myself, sometimes in the studio, you do think, ‘Wow this bit would sound amazing on a racing game!’” Yet it is still his club work that informs and drives much of the desire in the studio. “I come from DJing,” he asserts. “For me it’s the connection to the world outside. It’s where I can experiment, where I hear about things, it’s just so important to what I do. How can you have a feeling for clubs when you are not going to them?” Indeed. In clubs, as in the studio, there’s only one way to describe Timo Maas: lifer.