Loud

The opening "Help Me", all ghostly theremin and funky deep house bassline, features an uncharacteristically-restrained vocal performance from Kelis, while an on-form Finley Quaye weighs in with a handful of demented, stoned ramblings on the shimmering, psychedelic "Caravan". Elsewhere, the chunky acid squelch of "Manga" and the Teutonic disco pulse of "Shifter", featuring the warping vocals of garage MC Chick-a-boo should appeal to fans of the tune that made Maas' name back in 2000, his pioneering overhaul of Azzido Da Bass' "Dooms Night".

Ultimately, Loud is a spot more refined, progressive and laid-back than the cartoonish pop antics of this record's closest precedent, Fatboy Slim's You've Come A Long Way Baby--but it might just catapault Timo Maas into a similar league. --Louis Pattison

The downtempo breakbeat tracks 'Help Me', 'Caravan' and 'Hash Driven' are all good examples of Timo's ability to create something other than a 4/4 prog tune. When he does throw in the odd hard houser they're not particularly good, 'Old School Vibes' for example is instantly forgettable and will be one you skip over every listen.

All in all though, a good Debut LP from a traditionally "loud" techno DJ/Producer, his album however is dinstinctly different. Not bad.


this is a great compilation   June 12, 2003
dja
The perfect mix of acid, tough bass lines, innovative drum kicks, some breaks, heavy-hitting synth loops, spookiness, yes spookiness, and all the sporadicly placed samples that ONCE AGAIN prove Timo to definitely be a modern, dance music pioneer.


this is house/techno?   April 24, 2002
4 out of 16 found this review helpful

this was an OK CD, was more experimental than techno & there is no mixing of songs. That might be fine for some but if you are looking for progressive than pass on this CD. No banging in this box.


All hail Mr Mass for he is king!!   April 14, 2002
antoni@andor.fsnet.co.uk (leeds)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Timos stuff always oozes class but can this boy write as well. This isnt just a dance album, while there is plenty for hard house fans to get their teeth stuck into this album should appeal to all types of music fans. its progressive but not overly self indulgent, varied but every track hits the spot. its not very often that i buy an album and like every track but everything on this cd is AWSOME - LONG LIVE TIMO!!!!!!


Timo Maas is back!   March 10, 2002
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

I always think it's fun when a house/techno artist releases a good album that's written mainly by himself. It shows that great DJs can also make good music themselves, not just spin records. That's much like what Oakenfold did with the music to the movie "Swordfish". It made a real impact on me, since it was a complete album by himself that pretty much followed the same beat all the way.

Not that "Loud" sounds the same. No way! At last, the track "Ubik" is released on a real album, not just on weird singles with busloads of remixes. And this version sounds much better and speedier than the other "original versions" I've heard of it before.

"Help Me", now with vocals, sounds much better. That one was called "Maas Attacks" on an Oakenfold remix on "Ibiza", without lyrics. I've lost control of my 12 inches these days, so I can't recall why. This version is the definitive original version for me from now on!

There are other great, new tracks too. "Old School Vibes" really rocks the house with an extremely strong background beat and an interesting change of pace in the end sequence, at around 2:30 to go. That's something I like! Most of the other stuff is pretty high class too, like "Manga". And let's not forget "How I've been dancing", this time with lyrics by Martin Bettinghaus, same guy with the lyrics on "Ubik".

I could keep this up for all the tracks, but there's no point in boasting every track up into the sky. This is one great album, hear it for yourself and be convinced! Keep this up, Timo!